POLAND, N.Y. — Tension between the Poland Fire District and the Poland Fire Company has led to a community vote on the future of the fire district.
Registered voters in the Towns of Ohio, Newport, Deerfield, Norway and Russia will decide on Feb. 10 whether to dissolve the Poland Joint Fire District. The Fire District ended its relationship with the Poland Fire Company on Aug. 19, 2025 for several reasons.
Steve Smith, chairman of the Poland Joint Fire District Board of Commissioners. Smith said the decision to cut ties with the Fire Company was “related to operational, training, performance, personnel. I would say that the issues that exist can generally fall in those 4 buckets.”
The Fire District is responsible for protective services in these towns. The Fire Company has introduced a resolution for residents to vote on dissolving the Fire District. The Fire Company wants to create a new fire district with a board member from each town. Smith said the current board already includes representation from each town.
“And even if the district wasn’t to exist any longer, and there was maybe an attempt to work directly with municipalities, that doesn’t make those infractions that caused that separation to go away. There are issues and those issues still need to be addressed,” Smith said.
The Poland Fire Company cannot respond to calls until they are reinstated. They have taken their case to the Supreme Court to be allowed to provide services again, but the judge will wait to make a decision until after the vote.
Smith said, “Right now, the 10th is not about the volunteer fire company. It’s about the dissolution and there are real outcomes from that decision, so those have to be contemplated. I’m not saying that the Fire Company issue is not important. It is, it’s just on a separate path and has to be dealt with on that path.”
The vote on dissolving the Poland Joint Fire District will take place on Feb. 10 at the Town of Russia Municipal Building at 8916 North Main St. in Poland.
The Poland Fire District and the Poland Fire Company have been at odds and there will soon be a vote on whether to dissolve the Poland Joint Fire District.