Patagonia Volunteer Fire & Rescue (PVFR) Dept. Chief Tim Regan and Emergency Medical Services Chief Karina Hilliard have resigned from the department. Assistant Fire Chief Zay Hartigan will now serve as acting Chief.
Regan, who has served as Chief since July 1, announced his resignation via email on Friday, Aug. 30. His resignation is effective today at 11:59am.
In his email, Regan said he was resigning in response to controversy that had followed his Aug. 17 letter threatening the suspension of three volunteer EMTs. The volunteers—Jade DeForest, Dan Goff and Ike Isakson—had responded to Regan’s Aug. 17 letter with an Aug. 26 letter, delivered to Regan, in which they resigned from their EMT roles in the department, explaining they were unwilling to serve under Hilliard, whom they described as “childish, unprofessional, condescending, slanderous and manipulative.” A fourth volunteer EMT, who asked to not be named, briefly resigned, avoiding suspension, but has since rejoined the EMT roster.
The controversy and the threat of losing the four volunteers, which would have left only one EMT to serve the area, sparked heated public comments and calls for Hilliard’s removal.
Hilliard was unavailable for comment for this report.