BLUEFIELD -
While fires continue to pop up across the city of Bluefield, for the SECOND time in 5 months, the city of Bluefield's fire chief is stepping down!
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"Glen was asked to make a decision that was morally unacceptable you are putting people in danger," Kevin Scanlon, Former Chief said.
Kevin Scanlon knows all too well what Fire Chief Glenn Sutphin is up against.
Last May, he resigned as the Bluefield City Fire Department's Chief because the city was not providing the funding to allow him to run fire operations up to professional standards.
Now 5 months later... Sutphin is in the same position putting in his resignation.
"It is my professional opinion that, it is not safe practice and the other concern is that the allocated money for nonscheduled over time will run out. There is a bridge we are going to have to cross. So my question for the last 5 months has been, what are we going to do," Glenn Sutphin," Former Bluefield Chief said.
This is the question he has been asking local leaders for months and when we asked if staffing or proper equipment was an issue the city manager of Bluefield didn't have much to say.
"We want to make sure they have everything and as far as I'm concerned they do have the equipment and we don't have anything to make us think otherwise," Jim Ferguson, Bluefield City Manager said.
Ferguson said the streets are safe and fire operations are running normally. But for those closest to the flames, it is a matter of time before someone gets burned.
"You've got two guys who just left in the matter of 5 months... that coffee is brewing, isn't anyone smelling it," Scanlon said.
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