Superior Court Judge Brian P. Stern on Wednesday issued a stern warning that the Coventry Fire District is approaching a public safety crisis and residents could be without fire protection in the imminent future.
The judge issued an order that state emergency and revenue officials be notified that fire and rescue protection might end soon and set a Thursday hearing date for lawyers for the firefighter’s union to appear.
The judge said he wants to find out if firefighters in the district will continue to work without pay. So far they have gone 40 days without a paycheck.
Yesterday, Coventry Credit Union froze the district’s bank accounts, adding another layer of problems to the district, which has been in crisis mode for several months following the revelation that the district’s books were a mess and a prior fire board that oversaw the district failed to address serious budget problems in a timely fashion.
Coventry Credit Union is owed about $465,000 . And that’s just one slice of the overall pie -- the district began the year with a deficit of more than $600,000, according to Board Chairman Frank Palin.
It does not appear that there is any backup plan in the event the district completely crumbles. Firefighters in Coventry have been calling for a town-wide fire department and the elimination of fire districts, but political forces in this town present a major obstacle for such a consolidation.