Community Watch:  Pumpkintown Residents Left Without Firefighters

Tempers flared after more than a dozen firefighters left their posts Monday night, leaving residents in the small Pickens County community of Pumpkintown to fend for itself. Now, residents are pointing the finger at County Board members.

People living in Pumpkintown are upset after volunteer firefighters walked off the job. Now, residents are upset with County Administrators and saying that if a fire breaks, they're not covered and they could lose everything they own.

This all comes after the acting Chief of two years, David James, was not appointed a permanent position as Chief and the other firemen didn't want to go on without him .

Tim Cooper resigned last night. He says, "there's been a trouble at least 3 years here."

Board member Rhonda Billingsly says, "We evaluated our chief and at the time when we voted, we decided not to reappoint him."

Billingsly says they have 20 volunteer firefighters right now and the board does plan to appoint a new volunteer fire chief as soon as possible. The board has alerted nearby towns of this situation. Pickens county and Dacusville are also ready to help.