The smoke has cleared at the Peyton Fire Station after the forced removal of ex-fire Chief Jack Rauer and the reinstatement of seven volunteers.The debacle in February brought positive change to the process of selecting and appointing a fire chief. Under the current policy, the board of directors selects a chief, with little input from firefighters.William Beary, secretary of the Peyton Fire Protection Board, has presented an alternative. Under his suggestion, firefighters would submit applications and letters of interest; board members would select those on the list who qualify and present the modified list to firefighters for a vote.ìOne of our goals in reviewing the policies is to have greater involvement of the firefighters,î Beary said. ìIt is something we have all discussed together in the process of rebuilding our team.îFire Lt. Grant Finley and firefighter Michael Deckard volunteered to help the board of directors create the new selection process. ìThis is a great idea,î Finley said. ìThis way, we can make sure that both the firefighters and the board work well with the chief.îThe official electoral process will be decided on and formalized as policy at the next board meeting June 14. A new chief will not be appointed until July, at the earliest. ìWe would like to do this right, rather than do this quickly,î Beary said.Meetings will be held between firefighters and board members to refine the process before it is formalized.Firefighters who earlier had resigned and were later reinstated are hoping for renewed support from the community.Meanwhile, itís business as usual at the department. Interim Fire Chief Sharon Brown said the number of incidents this year total 87, an increase from this time last year.Brown, who has been with the department 26 years, said the fire ban has been lifted but only temporarily. For safety measures, she said, ìThe biggest thing is to keep the area around your home clean and mowed. Keep dead trees away from your house.î
