Letter to the Town of Union Vale
To the Town of Union Vale:

You know me. I'm your friend and neighbor. I live down the street, up the hill, in the valley, maybe around the corner. I'm somewhere between about 18 years old and 72. I'm the one who left my kid's birthday party when your kid fell out of the tree. I'm the one who left Christmas dinner because your basement flooded. I was there when those wires went down in front of your house. I was there when your baby was choking, I was there when your Dad had those chest pains. When your sister got in to that horrible wreck, I was the one who got her out of the car. I was there when your barn caught fire, and it didn't matter to me that it was snowing and about 10 degrees outside...you needed me, and I was there. For over 50 years, I've been there for you....the first face seen when you are in peril or danger. I've worked for you, worked with you, comforted you, cried with you....and all you've had to do is call me, any time, day or night. I am your Fire Department.

Certainly the desire to serve one's community and fellow man is one of our motivating forces. Another motivating force is the example set by the people we elected to serve under. The person we serve under is a very, very important choice for us. He's the guy that makes the tough calls, the one that makes the decisions that affect the outcomes of the calls we go on. Some of those decisions may involve our lives. The pressure must be excruciating, and we know that. The man we selected was, by overwhelming majority vote, the man we felt best qualified to lead us and command us. He is the man we chose to entrust our lives to, should it come to that. The man we elected to lead us is Chief Dave Schmoke.

Being a chief involves more than making the tough, on scene decisions. He must be a coach, a referee, a peace maker, a task master. He must act as Father Confessor, Mother Superior and Brother in arms. Sometimes, that answer to a question asked must be "Because I said so." So he has to be someone who commands enough respect to wield that phrase and get results. Dave Schmoke is all of the above.

In addition to Dave Schmoke being highly respected by those in the fire company, Dave is highly respected by those in EVERY fire company around here. In addition to having served since he was a kid and having more experience and wisdom than almost anyone in our ranks, Chief Schmoke is at almost all company functions, drills, truck checks, meetings, and every single call he can possibly make. Oh, did I mention he does all of this on a VOLUNTEER basis?

Our vote, our choice...for the man we want to lead us...was recently negated by a meeting of the Town of Union Vale Fire Commissioners. The Union Vale Fire Commissioners suspended him. "Insubordination" was the charge. Dave was not allowed any defense, we were not allowed any rebuttal. This was done under stealth of night with no warning, no notice. We will not accept it. Not for a minute.

It is the sworn duty of the commission to act in the best interests of the citizens of the Town of Union Vale. We feel that each commissioner that voted to remove Dave Schmoke from office is in direct violation of their sworn duty. Chief Schmoke is under fire because he stands up for your interests and ours, and is not afraid to take a stand. The details of the commissioners suspected vendetta against Dave in favor of their "personal agenda" will come to light in the weeks to come, as the activities of the Board of Fire Commissioners is brought into the light of day.

In a recent emergency meeting held to discuss our plan of action in protesting the suspension of our chief, we asked one of the two commissioners who showed up WHY Chief Schmoke was suspended. We were told that he was suspended for "personnel" reasons. As members of the Fire Department, we asked what those reasons were. No comment. As tax paying members of the community, we asked what those reasons were. No comment. We asked if Chief Schmoke had been properly informed by mail of these proceedings. We were told that a letter had been sent, but no receipt was presented or offered. Chief Schmoke did not receive that letter. Basically, Chief Schmoke was informed of the board's decision by means of a phone call at 11pm of the very night they suspended him, effective immediately. His suspension was not put on the printed agenda for the commissioners meeting, but announced at the onset of the meeting. He was not personally informed, so he could be there to defend himself. None of us were. We then asked if Chief Schmoke was suspended as both the Chief AND as a firefighter. We were told that he had been suspended as both, but again were given no specific charges. One of the commissioners drove by the fire house the day after Chief Schmoke had been "suspended", and saw that Chief Schmoke was there. He phoned the fire station from his home, and demanded that Chief Schmoke be removed from the premises. Even HE did not have the courage of his convictions to stand face to face with Chief Schmoke and tell the most respected man in our entire company to leave the company he has served for decades.


We feel it is time to involve the community, and we will do so with whatever means possible. There will be a meeting held at Station One on July 17th that we are asking that you attend, so that we may confront the issues facing our community on this matter. We ask for your support and involvement, and we assure you that throughout all this, we will continue to serve you all, regardless of the fact that we have been dealt a crippling blow.
We can state with 100% certainty that as firefighters, we will be there for you in whatever capacity you need us in, and we will be there for any company that needs us to help them and their communities as well. As townspeople, though, we can no longer "let sleeping dogs lie." These dogs have sunk their teeth into the heart of the community, and the very soul of the Fire Department.

Concerned members of the Union Vale Fire Department

Sakes Alive!
The Union Vale Fire Commissioners have, for the past several months, initiated actions contrary to the continued existence of our VOLUNTEER Fire Company. Their secrecy and their latest act, the suspension of the Union Vale Fire Chief, has created an atmosphere of disgust which has the potential of eroding the membership of the VOLUNTEER Fire Company. In short these five Commissioners are guiding the all volunteer Union Vale Fire Company to its DEATH. THIS MEANS HIGHER TAXES FOR US ALL! It’s time to stop this insanity by DEMANDING the resignation of these five Commissioners. Make yourselves heard! KEEP TAX SANITY! Sakes alive! DUMP ALL FIVE

Why we're here
A growing number of Union Vale New York residents, and a vast majority of the Union Vale Volunteer Fire Department, are in a battle for truth, justice and the American way...against our own board of Fire Commissioners.

We feel that our commissioners are running wild, and in our opinion, have launced a vendetta against certain members of our company...especially our chief.

We will be using this site to voice concerns, updates, projects and work details in regards to our efforts to battle the suspected illegal and unjust suspension of our Chief.