Posted on 12/23/2021 10:21:08 PM PST by Impala64ssa
Ten out of 13 members of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department quit at a fire district board meeting on Monday night after a convicted arsonist was appointed acting fire chief.
The Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Protection District Board of Trustees met in East Carondelet on Dec. 20 and fired Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Chief John Rosencranz, KTVI reported.
The board gave no reason for the termination as they replaced Chief Rosencranz with Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Assistant Chief Jerame Simmons, who was sitting at the same table.
In a statement released after the meeting on the fire department’s official Facebook page, the board of trustees simply said it had become apparent “over the last several months that a change in the Fire Department’s leadership is needed.”
But their choice to replace the popular Chief Rosencranz quickly became a huge problem.
Simmons is the son of Herb Simmons, the long-time director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, KTVI reported.
But 20 years ago, he pleaded guilty to arson after setting fire to a vacant home and setting a small fire in Dupo High School.
Simmons was 18 when he set the fires, and he told KTVI that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has since pardoned him.
But that’s not good enough for the firefighters on the department that he will be heading and some members of the community he will serve.
“It’s a pardon. Still, the town remembers the school being set on fire,” former Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Captain Laura Rosencranz, who is also the wife of the now-former chief, told KTVI.
“The town remembers the house set on fire where we had firefighters fall and be injured,” Laura Rosencranz added.
A soon as the board appointed Simmons to acting chief, firefighters rose from their seats and began turning in gear right in the meeting room along with their resignations, FOX News reported.
By the time the meeting had ended, 10 of the 13 firefighters on the department had submitted their resignations.
“I think it’s appalling and disgusting,” the now-former Chief Rosencranz said. “We’re not going to have the adequate protection here. It’s not going to be as it should be here. I’m kind of blindsided but not. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t expect it to be a couple of days before Christmas.”
Fire chiefs from neighboring departments have said they will step in to fill the gap left by the mass resignation if needed, FOX News reported.
Having an arsonist on the inside is easier than hoping for an earthquake or a nervous cow in a barn with a nearby lantern. A citywide fire would be a media treasure trove.
HA!
Its actually unbelievable. But we do live in the land of kray kray.
Y your thoughts if b8xen quit and half of congress quit with him the same day, its because biden was a better leader?? We all did stupid stuff as young adults. I set my room curtains on fire when I was 10, does that mean I am forever a convicted arsonist waiting for my next set of curtains to burn? I also used to date 14 and 15 year old girls. When I was 15 and 16, does that make me a life long pedo? Give the man a break, if my hoa president was voted out of office and the VP quit with him, Id do a little dance and have a few shots.
And yes, put him in charge, in the town where it all happened, with people that still remember.
That may be called a “crap sandwich “, served with a smile. The board can appoint whoever they choose, and the firemen that resigned have every reason to do so.
Some professions should be closed to those with certain criminal proclivities.
Some teenager that cuts up animals for fun should not be a veterinarian.
Bossy pants children should not allowed to be politicians in charge.
There has got to be more to this story than a 20 year old conviction. The operations guys don’t like or trust the new Chief and its not just for that incident.
Reno is an arson supporter.
MarvinStinson is a drama queen.
If the guy can get a job where he has no relatives with clout—that is fine.
But—this smells of nepotism.
The 💩 never rolls far from the pig.
***Tagline worthy phrasing, so I updated the tagline page
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3992415/posts?page=329#329
And some wonder how the same type of people end up in D.C. start at the bottom nobody is looking.
I wonder why they didn’t quit when he was appointed Assistant ?
or when he joined the Fire Dept. ?
Thanks Marv.
And let cheaters run the sport leagues and let thieves run inventory.
The beauty of being a volly firefighter is you can pick and choose what calls, if any, you decide to respond to. You also get to decide to quit if you don’t like the chief officers. The best way to ruin a volly fire organization is to let the civil government decide who runs the show.
Obviously 85% of the current roster is not happy, the civil government will have to solve this problem which they created. It takes btw about a year or more to train a volunteer firefighter in just the basics.
One of our mutual aid companies went through a township/fire service power struggle. We now provide fire protection to that district while the district tries to repair the damage. This has been going on for about 3 years and and looks to be almost futile.
Mr.Unique is an arson queen.
Yeah, but, there is also this:
Title: Police say mayor’s son had a vape during strip club clash. Others say he had a gun.
Excerpt: An altercation at a strip club involving the son of a local mayor who also heads the 911 program for St. Clair County raised the question: Did the suspect pull a handgun or a vapor cigarette from his front pants pocket?
The question was important to Jerame Simmons, a 38-year-old felon convicted of arson, because if there was probable cause that he had held a gun he could have been charged with another felony.
Instead, he was charged with a Class C disorderly conduct misdemeanor that is still winding its way through St. Clair County Court.
From: https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article213982269.html#storylink=cpy
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