Ouster Culminates Weeklong Debate Over Chief's Certification

SALTVILLE, Va. – Veteran Fire Chief Joe Frye was fired by the town council Friday in an emergency vote that culminated a week-long, drama-packed, contentious debate among council members and firefighters.

The controversy flared Tuesday when Assistant Town Manager Eddie Asbury demanded that Frye, who has been chief of the volunteer department for two years, produce a copy of his Firefighter 1 certification, which Asbury said the state requires of all fire chiefs.

By 3 p.m. Friday, Frye had yet to produce the certificate, so the mayor ordered all operations at the fire department stopped and the locks on the firehouse doors changed until the matter could be settled.
“I understand that it’s been out on the street that we’re without fire protection,” Asbury said in an interview before the 7 p.m. council vote. “That’s not true.”

Asbury said the towns of Glade Spring, Chilhowie and Nebo had been notified of the situation and were on hand to assist in the event of an emergency – a protective move members of the volunteer fire department said was inefficient because of the distance between the towns, and the windy roads that connect them.

By 9 p.m. Friday, fire house operations had resumed, after the council appointed a new fire chief, Gerald Arnold, and asked firefighters at the meeting if they’d respond to an emergency that night, to which “at least half raised their hand,” said Rusty Cahill, town councilman.

“The state fire safety board requires that the fire chief be at least Firefighter 1 certified, our chief was not, we have given him a year to get his training,” Cahill said.

Frye, who has 17 years of experience as a firefighter, said he was not evading Asbury’s request, but Asbury contacted him Tuesday while he was on a construction job in Roanoke and demanded the documentation immediately.

“He said it was for his personal use,” Frye said. “I told him it wouldn’t be that day, and on Wednesday he called and demanded I fax a copy to him.”

Both men agree the conversation turned into a “shouting match.”

When Friday’s meeting started, Frye produced the document requested by Asbury and Mayor Jeff Campbell. But Councilman Dickie Dye said the document showed that Frye had not completed his certification.

Frye said it was the same document he provided when the council gave him the job two years ago.

“OK, well [Dye] was given this piece of paper when I started and it was passed,” Frye said, addressing the board. “Why was it passed then if it isn’t OK now?”

More than a dozen firefighters at the department attended the meeting and rallied in support of their chief, whom they ardently defended as a capable, innovative and invaluable leader.

Bobby Frye, the former chief’s brother, said, “We all know training in the classroom and in the field are different things.”

Another member, Jared Stanley, said, “Can’t we at least have a chance to fix it? I’ve been at three different departments in my six years, and Saltville is the only one making any improvements, and that’s because Joe is a good chief.”

After hearing several appeals, Cahill moved to appoint an interim chief until Frye completed his certification.

“I think it’s in the town’s best interest of liability to appoint an interim chief,” said Cahill.

After the vote to fire Frye, the meeting moved into a closed session for more than an hour, during which members of the fire department gathered outside in support of their chief.

“If you can’t trust the members of your fire department, you can’t fight fires. It’s like the military. It’s a brotherhood,” said firefighter Dale Keene.

Another, Jim Smith, said “I come all the way from Glade because of him. He’s a good chief, he’s honest and he’s nice to his guys.”

When the meeting reopened, Smith said, the council announced they would appoint Gerald Arnold as fire chief and allow a one-year grace period during which Frye could attain his certification – a process that requires 140 hours to complete. If he does so within a year, the department can vote to re-instate him, Cahill said.

“The town holds sovereign immunity so that if something happens and a mistake is made, we can’t be held accountable,” Cahill said. “But I just don’t feel comfortable with that. If something were to happen and our chief weren’t up with state regulations, then I could foresee it causing a problem.”Smith, summing up his take on the council meeting, said, “Pretty much, we got kicked in the face.”

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