Firefighters from New Underwood resign en masse

SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — Members of the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department posted a letter of mass resignation on their Facebook page Tuesday night.

The letter, addressed to Casey Knuppe, Chairman of the New Underwood Fire District Board, announced the resignation of the current volunteer firefighters and officers.

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In the letter, they cited “untenable conditions” as well as “politically motivated attacks” made by the board that were the main issues leading to the mass resignation.

Todd Tobin, former member of the Pennington County Fire Protection Service Board, announced on his Facebook that “The New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department, a South Dakota private non-profit corporation, officers and numerous firefighters were left with no option but to resign tonight.”

“The amount of commitment our volunteer firefighters give to our communities responding to 911 calls each year is staggering,” Tobin wrote.

Spokesperson for the officers who resigned, Todd Tobin said there is no check and check and balance system from the state for boards like the New Underwood Fire District Board of Directors.

“These fire district boards have are essentially unchecked, there is no check and balance system from the state. Every other government agency or entity has a check and balance system,” Tobin said.

He added that these boards think that they own the fire department.

“They are a state legal entity, they are a government agency for the state of South Dakota sanctioned in the state statutes. Fire departments just about without exception certainly in the western part of the state are non-profit private corporations,” Tobin said. ” So you have a government agency and you have a private contractor.”

Tobin said the board has gone far beyond their intended purpose, stating that the board is demanded things like having total control over the fire department’s training records and stated that a fire district is just supposed to be a check and balance system for the public funds that are being collected

He added that the board had asked the fire department to comply with open meeting laws and asked certain financial accounts be transferred over to the district which was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Tobin said they are planning to pursue action against the board

“We are planning and going to be perusing a formal complaint with the attorney general’s office and the department of public safety,” Tobin said. “We are hoping to not only get this board into a more reasonable and sane functioning manner with the future of the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department and fire departments across the states with other districts that have these same challenges.”

The Pennington County Fire Administrator, Jerome Harvey, said in a statement that, “Pennington County and the Fire Service Board are aware of the letter sent to Casey Knuppe, Chairman of the New Underwood Fire Protection District. The county fire office is assisting the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department in restructuring. I’d like to thank all current and past members of the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department for their time and service. Some specifics are we have been given a roster from the existing members of the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department that meets the state-mandated requirements of 15 members and we are meeting tonight with the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department and assisting them on their path forward, there is no changes to dispatch, no changes to any mutual aid agreements and we have full confidence in the people that are there currently on the roster and or joining the fire department in their ability to respond to incidents.”

KELOLAND News has reached out the New Underwood Fire District Board of Directors and will update the story if additional information is received.