BRADFORD, Vt. — The majority of the volunteer fire department, including the chief, resigned this week in protest of the Selectboard’s effort to expand its oversight over the department.

Fire Chief Ryan Terrill, 38, called a Tuesday night meeting at the Bradford firehouse to formally announce his resignation in response to a Selectboard decision earlier this month to replace him.

“I’ve served the Bradford community for 20 years — 12 years and one month as Fire Chief. That one month matters to me because it makes my term just a little longer than my father’s,” he said as he read a prepared statement in front of a crowd of about 20 people composed of firefighters, residents and a few Selectboard members. “Effective immediately, at the conclusion of this meeting, I am resigning from my position as fire chief and as a firefighter for the Town of Bradford.”

For 50 years, the fire department has been a self-governed nonprofit. In recent years, the Selectboard has tried to convert the firefighters town employees so they can garner higher stipends, receive benefits through the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and additional training, and so the board can monitor the department, Selectboard Vice Chairman Michael Wright said.

“We’re not looking to take over the fire department,” Wright said. “We’re looking to umbrella it under the Selectboard, so we can oversee it.”

Terrill decided to make this formal resignation after the Selectboard called him during an executive session on April 24 to tell him that they would not be reappointing him to the position of chief and would instead be appointing firefighter Tony Stockman to the post of interim chief effective May 1.

His fellow firefighters largely joined him on Tuesday in a shared statement against the Selectboard’s approach to managing the department. By the end of the meeting, 10 out of the 14 Bradford Fire Department firefighters had resigned.

After Terrill finished his statement, Deputy Chief Zach Bagley stood to announce his resignation, followed by Capt. Hunter Bingham.

“I also have three more resignations here, one from Brandon Perkins, one from Nate Thompson, and one from Zach Peebles,” Terrill said as he walked to the back of the room and placed the stack of resignation letters in front of Selectboard Chairwoman Meroa Benjamin, who was among those in attendance.

One by one, firefighters stood from their seats to announce their resignations and make their way to the back of the room where they stood together in a line.

“I devoted over a half century to this fire department,” Assistant Chief Gary Moore said. “I had hoped to stay a bit longer, but as we have lost the trust of the Selectboard and they have treated us like dirt, I’m resigning, effective immediately.”

“How are we here?” resident Amy Emerson asked from her seat. “How are we losing our entire fire department?”

Once the stream of resignations at Tuesday’s meeting slowed, Benjamin stood up and introduced herself to the room.

“I am not here to defend the decision, I am here at the invite of Ryan,” she said. “However, I do want to say that the Selectboard has been working very hard to try to improve the fire department.”

When it comes to picking a chief, the firefighters vote and turn the results over to the Selectboard, which then has the final say in the appointment.

This year, instead of honoring the firefighters’ vote, the board appointed Stockman, who was among the few members of the department who did not resign on Tuesday.

“We’re looking to create new bylaws and processes,” Benjamin said in a phone interview before Tuesday’s meeting. “Tony Stockman has more experience in that area and we’re hoping to tap into that.”

Stockman, 40, grew up in Bradford and has been a firefighter since 2004. He served on departments in South Carolina, New York and Burlington before joining Bradford eight years ago.

“This is not something I wanted,” he said in an interview before Tuesday’s meeting. “I’m just filling a void until they figure it out.”

It’s not the changes, but the way the Selectboard is handling them that bothered Terrill.

“If they wanted to change the fire chief, they should’ve come to me,” Terrill said in a phone interview before the meeting.

Terrill said on Wednesday he did find an April 1 email that he had missed from Benjamin asking him to come in for a meeting, but still believes the board should have been more proactive in trying to reach him.

The board has asked the department for an equipment wishlist as well as assistance in purchasing a new fire truck to no avail, Benjamin said.

“We have never, ever denied them any kind of equipment or resources,” she said at the meeting.

The firefighters burst out laughing.

When Benjamin said she thanked Terrill for his service to the town during last week’s phone call, Terrill stormed out of the room before quickly returning.

“You keep mad if you want to, but that’s the truth,” she said before walking out of the meeting herself.

Former Bradford Fire Chief Bob Wing stood and faced the line of firefighters. “Please, do not leave the town of Bradford in the lurch because you’re pissed off at the Selectboard,” he said. “Think long and hard before doing this.”

After the meeting, Nicholas Vance, one of the firefighters who had just resigned, said he would consider rejoining the department if changes are made.

“The Selectboard should sit down with all of us and see what we can do to work it out,” he said.

But Terrill said he doesn’t see himself returning no matter what.

“My plan is to get on another department but I have not filled out any applications,” he said.

On Wednesday, morning Benjamin called an emergency Selectboard meeting to vote on naming Stockman interim chief a day earlier than his effective date. The motion carried, 3-1-1, with Dan Perry not present for the vote and Wright casting a nay vote, Wright said.

After the Wednesday morning meeting, Benjamin released a statement about the resignations.

While she said Terrill “has done nothing grossly wrong, illegal, or detrimental to the department,” she added that there were “numerous issues that have been unresolved under the current leadership.”

“These issues include declining active membership, required accountability tags, equipment not being serviced timely, building maintenance, supplies being outdated, air-packs not tested as required, firefighter training requirements not up-to-date, trucks out of service, and by-laws not being followed,” the statement said.

Benjamin’s statement also said only four of the 10 firefighters who resigned had been active in the past year. However, reports provided by Terrill show only two of the members who resigned have not responded to a fire since January of this year.

Reached Wednesday, Terrill acknowledged that because the firefighters have other jobs, “some of the stuff probably fell through the cracks,” but said the air-packs were tested in October 2024, on schedule.

When it comes to Bradford’s fire safety, Terrill said he is concerned about longer response times, but has faith in the remaining firefighters and surrounding towns’ departments to provide mutual aid.

“I harbor no ill will toward any of the firefighters, including the ones who stayed on the department,” he said. “They’re trying to do what’s best for the department.”

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.