Deal Reached, Assets Unfrozen, Coventry Fire District to Operate Through November

The Coventry Fire District will continue to operate until at least mid-November and firefighters could soon see some pay after agreements were hammered out in Kent County Court on Monday.

Judge Brian P. Stern summoned the cash-strapped district’s fire board to the courthouse to take some type of action as the ongoing financial crisis reached a breaking point with residents on the verge of having no fire and rescue service at all.

Board chairman Frank Palin said after a more than two-hour closed-door meeting held Monday at the courthouse, the district’s fire board has reached an agreement with Coventry Credit Union, releasing the district’s frozen assets.

The firefighter’s union will get 70 percent of the money, which presumably will go to pay firefighters who have been working for 45 days without pay.

The remaining 30 percent will go to fund ongoing operations and the board will try to work out an contract agreement with the union.

Other items on the board’s agenda were tabled, including a provision to bring private EMS services into the district on an emergency basis. The company that had been in talks to provide service announced that it had backed out on Sunday after allegedly receiving threats from the union, an allegation the union denies.

Photo courtesy: Rebecca Turco/ABC6