The Unity (ME) fire chief and fire department are in hot water with the town’s officials after he allegedly misused fire trucks by going to a Fourth of July parade without authorization and using a tanker truck to fill his swimming pool, according to a report published by the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
According to the report, Fire Chief Blaine Parsons took the town’s ladder truck to a parade in a neighboring town even though he was allegedly told by the selectboard to take a smaller truck to the parade because of the high costs of fuel. The chief also acknowledged a Unity tanker truck was used to fill his swimming pool, but said the exercise was being used for training purposes and it just happened to be his swimming pool, according to the report, which also indicated the selectboard said town equipment shouldn’t be used for private uses.
The chief also said, according to the publish report, that the fire department requires its members to have driver training and he suggested that having the fire truck drive slowly in a parade used less fuel than it would being driven on the open road.
The Unity selectboard did not immediately decide what, if any actions, it would take against the chief, but did decide to work on a policy regarding use of fire apparatus for the town, according to the report.
