Two veteran Danville Firefighters have responded to their last alarms. Assistant Chief Tom Pruitt has retired after 30 years of service and Tad Beddow is leaving after holding several leadership posts.
Danville Public Safety Director Larry Thomason says some temporary promotions have been made to cover the positions. Captain Todd Spicer is moving to Acting Assistant Chief to fill Pruitt’s old position. Director Thomason says it is similar to the move made earlier when David Milholland was promoted to Acting Assistant Chief.
Pruitt (shown here) has been speaking out at some recent City Council meetings in support of Danville Firefighters when there were threats being made to cut positions. Those threats occurred during recent budget discussions. As he left the department today (Wednesday) Pruitt posted a message on Facebook saying he hopes people in Danville understand that the fire department has lost approximately 28 positions over 30 years. ‘’And the fires are still occurring and the fires are now hotter, burning faster and more unpredictable than they were 30 years ago,’’ he added.
Director Thomason says a committee is continuing its discussions on reorganizing the fire department. The Danville City Council earlier voted to close station 3 on North Griffin Street, but Thomason says a final decision on the closing and other recommendations from the committee are now expected by June 6th. Thomason adds the talks with Danville Firefighters Local 429 have been very productive.
