City fire department and volunteers in court. Judge in Connecticut tells both sides to settle.

The Turn of River Fire Department’s Engine 62 from the department’s website.

The Turn of River Fire Department in Stamford, CT believes the City of Stamford is trying to force it out of business. Volunteers at Turn of River and other neighboring departments believe a merger in 2007 providing career firefighters at three stations, along with subsequent budget cuts, violate their contract and city Charter.

It is a somewhat complicated situation that I can’t say I completely understand. A Superior Court judge trying to figure it out has suggested both sides settle this out of court. Read the details from The Advocate.

On its website, Turn of River makes its case about attempts to force the volunteers out of business and raise taxes at the same time.

One of the interesting parts of all of this is the statement on the home page for TRFD: “We provided 80 years of continuous fire protection and received ZERO complaints in that time.”

I am impressed, because I can’t go 80-minutes without a complaint (and that doesn’t include my wife), much less 80-years.