A heated dispute between firefighters from two departments over positioning a pumper at a fatal house fire turned physical in August.
The firefighters were called to a fire on Old River Road by a motorist who spotted it from the highway on Aug. 25.
Bellows Falls Fire Lt. Ben Masure was first on the scene, as the fire was at his neighbors house. He arrived before the department’s ladder truck, which was en route. Rockingham Fire Captain Lawrence White next arrived at the scene, with the Rockingham department’s pumper, the Brattleboro Reformer reports.
The location of the fire put it in Rockingham’s jurisdiction. The call to the scene was somewhat confusing because it wasn’t clear until firefighters arrived whether they were going to a structure fire or a brush fire.
Once Masure arrived, he spoke to the occupant of the home who told him her 95-year-old husband was trapped inside their burning home.
The two firefighters then disagreed over where to locate the pumper truck. White positioned it in a spot where Masure wanted the Bellows Falls ladder truck positioned when it arrived.
Swearing and arguing commenced until, Masure charges, White grabbed him by the collar and pushed him into the pumper truck. Hostilities broke out between other department members later in the incident, as well.
Masure and the Bellows Falls Department forwarded the complaint to Vermont State Police, which is investigating. The Reformer reports there is a history of friction between the two departments.
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