Fasbender files complaints with Boyceville fire board
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
BOYCEVILLE — During the February 18 meeting of the Boyceville Community Fire District Board, Boyceville firefighter Tim Fasbender filed complaints with the board.
Fasbender supplied copies of the complaints to the Tribune Press Reporter.
Here is the document dated February 18, 2025, addressed to the Boyceville Community Fire District Board:
“I am making you aware of the recent stripping of my rank as 1st Lieutenant. I feel this was in retaliation of my complaints given to the Boyceville Community Fire District Board on September 11, 2024. On January 20 of 2025, your appointed fire chief stated the current fire officers, at our monthly meeting. He did not say my name. When it was allowed time for anyone present to talk, I asked to confirm that I was no longer an officer. His reply was yes. At no time before this was I spoken to in regards of my rank. The adopted bylaws of the Boyceville Community Fire District do not allow his actions as he did. Again, I feel this was more in retaliation of my previous complaint, which included the fact that the department had no working gas meters and responded to two calls without one.
“A sidenote, one call being a carbon monoxide alarm in which the crew did not call for an additional department with a working gas meter. This was a health and safety hazard for our crews along with the public. This now falls under section 101.055 Wisconsin Statutes for retaliation of a public employee health and safety law. The department was negligent for providing working equipment/personnel for a request from the public. The state of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development equal rights division will be contacting the board.
“The Boyceville Community Fire District and the current appointed fire chief are operating outside of the current bylaws dated as of September 1, 2018. The board has made it clear that they backed the fire chief 100% in his decisions. A couple illegal decisions from the board and chief include removing a firefighter from a fire officer rank, appointing new officers, and continued officer rank with refusal to do his/her duty.” Signed — Tim Fasbender.
More details
Another document from Fasbender was filed with the Boyceville Community Fire District Board on September 11, 2024:
“As requested by you, the Boyceville Community Fire District Board, is my complaints from back in January 2023. I was told later that my complaints were lost and/or never received by other members. My complaints were towards the certain fire department members and also the board. I have also provided a copy of the most recent fire department bylaws, Wisconsin Fire Service Guidebook, and WI SPS laws which we fall under. Besides continued hostile environment, the currently appointed fire, chief, Matt Lunderville, has been absent in most of his duties, as described below. As you can read in the Wisconsin documents I have provided, the fire chief is held to a higher standard. He/she is responsible for the entire fire department. Since Matt’s inappropriate appointment, he has done a disservice to the department as well as the community. I feel he does not have or want to put the needed time or devotion into the position and which is required. He has done nothing to improve, educate, or better educate himself to fulfill his duties as a fire chief. A fire chief for a volunteer department has the same responsibilities as a fire chief for a community which provides a full-time fire chief.
• Continued ignored phone messages. Not checking and responding to phone messages left on the answering machine in a timely manner. The machine has often been full and would not allow more messages. People have even called back multiple times or a few months [later] with no return call or their business taken care of. This included other municipalities, billing questions, and calls for service. The Village of Boyceville clerks have also received calls for BFD since at times no more messages could be left and/or no return calls.
• The new command vehicle is still not in complete operation. The radio has been out of service for weeks now, which makes me believe it was not installed by a professional. Not all of the decals are applied yet to make it a safe vehicle for highway incidents, and the emergency lights do not meet the required 360 degree strength.
• The portable radios are in need of a major overhaul. There are multiple different channels set up. Each radio should have the same channel guide for safety purposes. This is common practice. Some radios are missing some of our tactical channels. Most radios the batteries need to be replaced. They go powerless within 15 minutes of use.
• The gas meters have required annual calibrations. At times the meter will have been out of service for months. This happened last year along with this year. We responded to two calls without a working meter. A representative of a business we use for calibrating that contacted Matt back in the beginning of June about a meter coming due for calibration. He stated that we had a meter that was currently out of service and that he didn’t want to send in our other meter until that meter was taken care of. When I inquired about the missing meter last week, he stated it was in his office. I was able to get it and have it serviced along with our other meter in a matter of days. Our meter was out of service since June at least and the other was out of service since July. I was able to borrow one from Menomoneie Fire. We had to contact a neighboring department to respond to a call because we were unaware of the out of service meter until we found it while at the fire call.
• Unfilled officer position. Not sure why. This is unacceptable for nearly 2 years. We have no training officer. We have no training standards. Training has been canceled numerous times. Retention is a huge problem with volunteer departments and when we don’t keep them trained and interested, they leave. Firefighter is given their gear and thrown in.
• We had some firefighters [who] planned on attending a class through the local tech college. Two days before the class started, I found out the students were not registered, and books had not been ordered. Further in this class, the firefighters were required to do shadowing at a larger department. This was never set up. I ended up working with the college in providing a class for the students in their last weeks of class.
• We have no accountability. The continued hostile environment continues. People are afraid to speak up because they don’t want a target on their back. A firefighter stated he witnessed a firefighter say that if a wall collapsed on me and/or my son that they wouldn’t come rescue us. This was said at a scene where we were working in the basement of a collapsed home. Not acceptable. No accountability.
• Fire inspections not done for one to two years, however, we still accepted our 2% dues. We provide no fire prevention. Only a showing of a firetruck at one of our schools. No preplanning or disaster preparedness.
There is no drive and no leadership. Our community is missing out. Our firefighters continue to not have the opportunities that they and the community have a right to. I have more and would like to talk about this along with bringing in my son, Brady, who was pulled away physically by Corey Green one night at the fire station. This was unacceptable, and we called the sheriffs department to report to track this since no leaders or board members seem to know and/or care about this. — Signed, Tim Fasbender.
