BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE and DAVID ECK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- There were no tearful hugs, handshakes or speeches among firefighters Wednesday, the last day of the Mason-Deerfield Joint Fire District. In fact, the only emotion most employees expressed was relief.
"Some of the guys were counting the days until this thing was over," said Stephen Pegram, chief deputy of the new Mason Fire Department and a former firefighter - paramedic with the joint district. "Many of us are just glad that the political process is over, not that the joint district is gone. We're just ready to move on."
With just hours to go before the two communities went their separate ways at midnight, most firefighters in one of the Tristate's largest suburban fire departments were too busy to think about the breakup. But the sentiment wasn't lost on Mason Councilman William Kidder.
"Personally, it's a very sad day for me," he said. "(The district) was something that we put together for the people and it was working very well for the people. And it's a sad day when you have to take something apart and cost the taxpayers more money."
Squabbles between Mason and Deerfield Township officials over several issues, including the city's annexation of tax-rich land from the township, deteriorated their working relationship to the point that the future of the joint fire district was also threatened. Trustees voted Dec. 29, 1997, to dissolve the district.
Wednesday marked the end of a three-year marriage between Mason and Deerfield Township officials that spawned one of the most successful and respected fire divisions in Warren County.
The two governments begin operating separate fire departments today with former joint-district Fire Chief Billy Goldfeder leading the Mason contingent, while newcomer Bill Kramer will head up the Deerfield post.
Closing the joint district will not affect public safety, officials insist. In fact, there are about 50 more firefighters and four more emergency vehicles in the separate districts as there were in the joint department. But it has hit residents in the wallet: For the two separate departments in Mason and Deerfield, tax levies were passed in the respective communities in August.
Some firefighters wonder if the separate departments are necessary.
"Yeah, the fire district breaking up is bad, but with the two new departments, things are going to go on just like they always have," said Capt. Ralph Richey, who has worked as a firefighter for 22 years in Mason. "But it's really sad to see all the money, the millions of dollars, that has been wasted by having two separate departments. And you wonder, why?"
Like a child caught between two feuding parents going through a messy divorce, district employees could only wait while the politicians tried to sort out their differences after the December vote.
After months of squabbling, finger-pointing and negotiations aimed at saving the district, Mason and Deerfield officials reached an impasse. The decision to fold the shared district was made in late May.
The controversy proved to many that fire protection and politics do not mix.
"The trustees and city officials don't like each other and they probably never will," Zach Vanlieu, a part-time firefighter with Mason's fire department, said as he stripped away the joint district's logo from a paramedic vehicle. "And the end result is game over, no more district."
"The breakup of the district is a sad thing," Chief Goldfeder said. "We can't run into anybody that doesn't feel that way -- township or city. But what's over is over. We really had no control over it."
Despite its historic significance, the final day of the joint district proceeded with little fanfare. There were no curious passersby stopping to pay their last respects. No banners hung from buildings honoring the joint district.
Firefighters and other officials said it appeared people in Mason and Deerfield had come to grips with the fact that what's done is done.
"One day it's here and the next day it's gone, but tomorrow is the start of a new fire department and a new way of life," Mr. Vanlieu said.
Chief Goldfeder added: "I feel glad that they appreciated us and me as their chief for all these years, and now it's time for all of us to move on."
Deerfield chief created department
