TOWN OF VADENBROEK, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Six volunteer firefighters at the Vandenbroek-Kaukauna Fire Department have recently quit, and up to ten more may follow.
“At the end of the day, we all want to go home to our families,” said former Vandenbroek-Kaukauna firefighter Justin Uitenbroek.
Trevor Prusinski tells FOX 11 he’s resigning because he doesn’t feel safe.
“If I don’t feel comfortable, or feel that that person has been trained or qualified to that standard, because they have no certifications, how does that help me, when I don’t know if I’m going to behave somebody to have my back to make sure that I’m safe?”
The former Vandenbroek-Kaukauna firefighters say leaving the 26-person department was best for their well-being and safety.
Resignation letters cite leadership, lack of firefighting knowledge and failure to meet the state’s minimum training.
“The state set forth standards in 2018, requiring firefighters to comply with the standards and gave a one year grace period until 2019, and yet those standards have yet to be followed,” Uitenbroek said.
The former firefighters also say protective equipment is expired, and some firefighters can’t physically do the job.
“Things have changed over the past decades, and we need to change with it,” said Uitenbroek. “It always evolves, just like anything else.”
Prusiniski and Utienbroek tell FOX 11 six to ten other firefighters may quit, too.
“That becomes a safety concern for the residents of both the town of Vandenbroek and the town of Kaukauna to make sure that you have trained firefighters to answer that call,” Prusinski said. “Is somebody gonna answer that call?”
Prusinski says all the firefighters who’ve quit say they’d come back in heartbeat, under one condition.
“If there’s change forward and leadership has changed, all six of us have stated that in our resignation letters that we will return.”
Efforts were made to get a reaction from the Vandenbroek-Kauakauna fire chief. He said he had no comment.
