Gallatin County

Central Valley assistant fire chief talks about position elimination

Posted: Feb 13, 2013 4:09 PM by Adam Bell
Updated: Feb 13, 2013 4:09 PM

Raw Inverview: Central Valley Assistant Fire Chief Brian Crandell

BOZEMAN - Central Valley Assistant Fire Chief Brian Crandell is speaking out after the board of trustees voted to restructure his position.

"The board of trustees for the Central Valley Fire District fired me at a public meeting last night. We didn't expect the action of the board to take place. No one told me before that meeting that I was going to be fired at that public meeting. I have not at any time waived my right to privacy," Crandell said.

On Tuesday night, in a move to restructure the department, the board voted to accept a recommendation from Fire Chief Ron Lindroth that included the elimination of Crandell's position, in favor of hiring two full time firefighters.

Board member Gill Moore says that the board was not targeting one person in particular in this decision, but rather saw the need for increased firefighters to keep the community safe.

"You have to consider that this department has grown in 10 years from about 800 calls to almost 1,600 calls. We find that we need more firefighters to be able to more quickly respond to the calls because of the volume," Moore said.

Crandell has been with the Central Valley Fire District for seven years. He has been a firefighter for 37 years.

Watch the raw interviews with Crandell and Moore in the player above.