12:40 p.m. update – After speaking with Tim Brown of the Kent County Water Authority, police chief Bryan Volpe and CCFD chief Andy Baynes have been advised that the water authority will not be shutting off fire hydrants in Central Coventry and have no immediate plans to.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, three of the five Central Coventry Fire District fire stations have been ordered closed per order of Special Master Rick Land and Chief Andy Baynes. The move is one of the first steps in an impending liquidation process.
The foundering fire district has been in a court-ordered special mastership for nearly six months.
The doors of Station 1 located on Hill Farm Rd., Station 3 (Washington), Station St. and Station 5 (Harris), Main St. are now locked, each donning a notice that reads "This fire station is closed. In an emergency, call 911."
In an effort to reduce spending, the district's minimum manning has been reduced from 10 fire/emergency employees to eight and hydrant service has also been terminated throughout district.
Officials have noted that the remaining in-service apparatus are two engines and two rescues operating out of the Flat River Road station and Arnold Road headquarters.
CCFD taxpayers rejected a revised budget and a tax levy on Tuesday night by an overwhelming margin of 1,357 to 484 votes, along with $252,000 in additional firefighter contract concessions made after Land's initial proposed budget was rejected 228 to 204 on Feb. 11. Following the voting results, Land admitted that without collecting income in the form of taxes, the district has run out of options and its fate will ultimately be decided by the court.
"One of the fundamental problems about not passing a budget is that there is no money coming in to pay people," he said. "We just need to speak with the court and figure out what our options are."
Superior Court Judge Brian P. Stern, who has been overseeing the case since October, has scheduled a hearing regarding the fire district's fate for today Mar. 29 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 4F at Kent County Superior Court, 222 Quaker Ln., Warwick, RI.