New trustee restores Wabash Township Fire Department starting Monday

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Firefighters smiled, laughed and enjoyed the camaraderie Thursday inside Wabash Township Fire Station No. 1 in a scene that’s became unfamiliar over the past 14 months, many of the firefighters remarked.

The lighthearted atmosphere followed Trustee Angel ValentÍn announcing the restoration of the four full-time firefighters.

“Effective as of Monday, we will be bringing back all four firefighters that were let go,” ValentÍn said. “It’s a start of a new era here at the township, and we’re going to make sure we’re building up our fire protection … to meet and exceed the needs of our community.”

Jennifer Teising, now a convicted felon and former trustee, fired Chief Ed Ward on Dec. 21, 2020, claiming repeated insubordination despite nothing in his personnel file to substantiate her allegations.

Then Teising fired paid firefighters Joe Wade, Drew Hampton and Travis Merkel on June 30, 2021, claiming there was no money to pay them, despite the township board providing funding through 2023.

“We hoped and prayed that this day would come,” Ward said Thursday during a news conference to announce the restoration of the department's paid staff. “We’re excited. It’s the first time in a very long time.

“Do we keep expecting someone to pop out and say we’re being punked? Absolutely,” Ward joked.

Starting Monday, the four paid firefighters begin to reintegrating with the volunteers who sustained the fire department for seven months and only missed six medical calls.

Those missed calls were picked up by Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service, Deputy Fire Chief Jim Lewis said.

On Wednesday, a paid firefighter will man the firehouse 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Ward plans to schedule volunteers to specific shifts so they have time off, as well as a familiarity with the crews with whom they respond.

“Today’s a new chapter for the Wabash Township Fire Department and our history, and we’re all excited to see where it goes,” Ward said.

He also plans to apply for federal grants that, if approved, will allow the department to hire six additional firefighters, Ward said.

Looking back over the past 14 months, no one said it was pleasant.

“It was a tough time," ValentÍn said. "There were so many days when just we felt like we were just there to stop the worst of it. Most days we felt like we were unsuccessful.

"Our township can now begin the work of rebuilding our department and training additional volunteers to provide you the level of protection that has been the trademark of the Wabash Volunteer Fire Department."

The township board will meet next week to approve additional appropriations to provide the funding for the firefighters' salaries, benefits and retirement, Valentín said.

Rehiring ends most of the upheaval inside the department that started Dec. 21, 2020, when Teising fired Ward.

One lingering side effect of the upheaval is Ward’s pending lawsuit against the township and against Teising. Neither Ward nor Valentín commented on the lawsuit.

After Teising's conviction that forced her from office, Ward and the township filed a motion to stay the lawsuit. It has not been dismissed.

More: Former Fire Chief Ed Ward's lawsuit against ex-trustee Jennifer Teising put on hold

“We’re treating it as two separate pieces," ValentÍn said when asked during the news conference about the pending lawsuit. "We’ll work through that. We’re excited to have Ed back.”

Merkel and Hampton attended Thursday's news conference wearing their dress uniforms. Wade was working and unable to attend.

Merkel, Hampton, Ward and Lewis posed for pictures in front of one of the department's fire engines.

“I got a call from Deputy Chief Jim Lewis who said, 'Your job is available if you want it,' ” Merkle said about how he learned about the department's restoration.

“It’s very good news. It still feels like a dream,” Hampton said.

Since Teising's firing of the three full-time firefighters, Hampton and Wade served at the Cass County Fire District in Logansport, while Merkle took up a friend's offer in automotive sales.

“They’re a good department," Wade said of his friends in Cass County. "I’m going to miss the shift I’m working with. They are truly amazing.”

But 10 years with the Wabash Township Fire Department beckoned to Wade, and he's returning to the department that he's seen grow with the expansion of the unincorporated areas around West Lafayette.

All three jumped at the chance to come back to Wabash Township Fire Department, even though all three found success in the seven months since Teising terminated them.

“I don’t know what it is that draws me back," Hampton said.

During Thursday afternoon's news conference, there was no shortage of gratitude for the support and encouragement they received during the past year from a township and residents who never waivered from their backing of the department and the paid staff.

"I can’t thank the township and the community enough for their support,” Merkel said.

The future

Ward noted that 2021 was the fire department's 50th anniversary, and should have been a year of celebration.

Going forward, he plans to work with Indiana state Senators Rick Niemeyer and Ron Alting to adopt Senate Bill 304 that provides a method to remove wayward trustees from office so they will not endure what Wabash Township suffered.

The bill was passed out of committee on Thursday and goes before the full Senate for a vote.

Ward also plans to work to secure a grant that would fund six additional paid firefighters for the township.

Valentín already started working to adjust the township's population stats in order to increase the township's property tax levy for fire protection. This will provide the revenue stream for full-time firefighters that Teising failed to secure.

As for Monday, the firefighters will report bright and early for work.

“I think there’ll be a little bit of celebration in the morning, then down to the work," Wade said.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: New trustee restores Wabash Township Fire Department starting Monday