BUCKEYE LAKE, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Buckeye Lake Fire Department is facing some uncertainty after the fire chief and a number of firefighters resigned Monday.
The exact number of firefighters actively working in the village is unknown at this time.
Former Buckeye Lake fire chief Keisha Amspaugh had been with the department for seven years. She said the decision was a tough one, but she resigned because of what she saw as a lack of support from the village administration.
Amspaugh said multiple firefighters within the department resigned because of this as well.
“When I turned in my resignation no one even reached out to ask why,” Amspaugh said.
She is now concerned about the people of Buckeye Lake because she believes there are not enough employees to successfully run the department.
“That’s a big deal because there’s not staffing and if there is an emergency here that’s going to affect run times, it’s going to affect how long these people are waiting and that is a huge concern,” Amspaugh said.
Lisa DiSalvo, a resident of the village, said this is worrisome, especially in life or death and time-sensitive situations.
“A fire can happen at any moment, any time,” DiSalvo said. “If they’re not present and something happens it’s not a good thing for the people of Buckeye Lake.”
Village Council President John Lemmon said the Buckeye Lake Fire Department is understaffed right now but that the mayor did hire some new firefighters over the past few days and has more interviews coming up.
“We don’t need to be out scaring citizens, telling them we have no fire department, there’s no coverage. There is coverage,” Lemmon said. “The current mayor has made sure that everything is working well.”
Lemmon said other communities nearby are helping in the meantime. He said this will cover any emergency in town as they work to rebuild the fire department.
“We do have mutual aid from other departments," Lemmon said. "They have been informed. The mayor sent a notice out to council today making sure that we emphasize they are covered and the village is covered."
NBC4 spoke with the mayor of Buckeye Lake over the phone and she reiterated that citizens should not be worried and are very safe in the village.
