OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Rumors have been going around Ottumwa lately that the Ottumwa Fire Department would be taking over the operations of the Wapello County Rural Fire Department.
On Friday, Ottumwa Fire Chief Tony Miller made it clear to KTVO that these rumors are not true and that both fire departments will continue to operate as normal.
“We’ve been getting phone calls here at the fire station about this happening. We were doing a fire extinguisher demonstration yesterday, and the first question was not about how a fire extinguisher works, it was about when we are going to take over Wapello County. I have talked to the fireboard chairman and let him know my feelings on this, and he let me know his feelings with Wapello County. We both came to the agreement that we needed to get this settled,” Miller said.
Chief Miller says that they have a great working relationship with the rural fire department, and that they will continue to in the future.
“We are two separate departments. They do a fantastic job at what they do, and we do a very good job if not fantastic job at what we do. I just want to stop all of what I keep hearing about us taking over Wapello County. It is absolutely not true,” Miller said.
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