Fire company silent on vehicle use

More than six weeks after most of the administrative officers of the Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Company resigned, and State Police were asked to investigate the use of fire company vehicles by line officers, current fire officials have decided to remain quiet on the issue.

The president, vice president, secretary and member-at-large of the volunteer company resigned on August 8 after asking front-line fire officers to stop using the company’s Suburbans except for official fire business.

Previous attempts to draft a vehicle-use policy that both sets of officers could agree upon had fallen flat.

The administrative officers then asked West Virginia State Police and the Morgan County Prosecutor’s office to investigate whether there had been any criminal wrongdoing in regards to the use of company’s vehicles.

Both the police and the prosecutor characterized the issue as an internal conflict, not a criminal matter.

Following the mass resignation, new administrative officers were elected at the end of August.

New President Danny Clark has declined to say whether the company has resolved the issue or created a vehicle policy that outlines who can use the SUVs and for what purposes.