USTIN MURPHY
Staff writer, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Firefighters from the West Brighton Fire Department are attempting to force a referendum to have the West Brighton Fire Protection District dissolved, a counter-intuitive strategy they hope will help stave off the town’s plan to contract with the Rochester Fire Department.
The Town Board voted in December to bring in the city department as the primary fire responder in the protection district after a consultant said the West Brighton Fire Department was doing a poor job there. The West Brighton firefighters would still be active but in a secondary role.
The switch hasn’t happened yet, and on Thursday morning, the mostly volunteer firefighters threw what they hope will be a wrench into the process. They turned in a petition with the signatures of 232 fire protection district residents asking that it be dissolved.
That petition, if verified, will force a referendum in the next few months on the question of the district’s existence. Dissolving the protection district would forestall action by the town and force the town to rethink its plan for fire protection in the seven-square-mile district.
West Brighton Fire Department lawyer Brad Pinsky said he hopes the town eventually will create a new district with commissioners, similar to the Brighton Fire District to the east.
