The removal of the Paris Fire Department from Norway fire’s automatic call list has fueled rumors that the departments are at odds following a verbal argument between the chiefs at the scene of a June house fire. 

The chiefs, though, say it’s all much ado about nothing.

Until recently, Paris and Oxford fire departments and PACE Ambulance Service of MaineHealth Stephens Hospital automatically accompanied Norway Fire & Rescue units to calls for first alarm structure fires in Norway. Second alarm agencies are Harrison, Otisfield, Greenwood, Waterford and West Paris. Third alarm calls go out to Bridgton, Mechanic Falls, Woodstock, Buckfield and Poland.

But when Norway Fire Chief David Knox last month removed Paris from what fire departments call a “run card,” which is a guide that 911 dispatchers use when calling neighboring agencies for mutual aid, it did not go unnoticed by Paris residents, who went to Norway’s Select Board for an explanation. 

As it stands now, Oxford is the only department Norway immediately calls for assistance with first alarm fires. Paris continues to call Norway and Oxford for first alarm fires, and Oxford calls Norway and Paris for first alarm fires.

Norway Fire Chief David Knox explains to the Select Board Thursday night that when he removed Paris from his priority 911 dispatch instructions it was a matter of resource management and not meant as a personal slight against Paris Fire Chief Mark Blaquiere. (Nicole Carter/Staff Writer)

Knox said this week that the issue is a simple matter of a change in internal protocol. Paris Fire Chief Mark Blaquiere told a reporter that it’s all water under the bridge.

Still, rumors around Paris and Norway spread like wildfire as speculation that a verbal altercation between Knox and Blaquiere at the scene of a June 13 house fire on Eddie Kahkonen Road in Norway was to blame.

Two Paris residents, Troy Ripley and Scott Buffington, attended Norway’s Aug. 7 Select Board meeting to question board members about the protocol change. 

Enough residents heard about Ripley and Buffington questioning the “run card” adjustments that Norway officials began receiving phone calls and emails wanting to know what had happened to the long-standing protocols for calling for mutual aid.

On Aug. 8, the Advertiser Democrat filed Freedom of Access Act requests with the towns of Paris and Norway for the incident reports. 

Both towns provided reports, but neither included references to the rumored June 13 argument between Knox and Blaquiere.

Page 1 of a Paris Fire Department incident report regarding a June 13 fire in Norway.

However, the newspaper separately acquired an internal document submitted by Blaquiere and Paris Fire Lts. David Blaquiere and Ryan Thomas that detailed the exchange, which they say started when Knox advised Chief Blaquiere he would be the operations lead for the fire scene at 246 Eddie Kahkonen Road on June 13.

Page 2 of a Paris Fire Department Incident Report regarding a June 13 fire in Norway.

Blaquiere’s letter says Knox objected when Blaquiere called for Oxford County Dispatch to start a third alarm after the second alarm crews never arrived. According to the letter, Knox said that he was in charge and ordered Blaquiere to stay off the radios. Blaquiere then explained, “I have crews inside and we are shorthanded.”

Their exchange became heated to the point that Knox demanded Norway police Reserve Officer James Labbe remove Blaquiere and all Paris firefighters from the scene, the letter says. Later, the letter says Knox calmed down and there were no further issues. 

After Norway’s Select Board learned about the “run card” situation Aug. 7, Knox was summoned to the next meeting to explain his reasoning.

“Back over the winter, me and the deputy chief at the time looked at the ‘run cards,’” Knox told the board Thursday. “’Run cards’ are a fire department thing. Usually it’s a leadership thing, it’s the chief and it’s a dispatch thing.

“They were kind of old and antiquated (from) back when most departments were not staffed and were all volunteer. A lot of departments loaded their runs to dispatch other departments so they would get an automatic response from certain departments.”

As Knox told the board, the officer in charge takes the initial call and decides what is needed for mutual aid. For an incident near Paris, he would call Paris immediately. A couple of departments further from Norway are called automatically because it takes longer for them to respond. 

“That’s basically the only change,” he said. “I took Paris off the ‘run card’ but I didn’t take them off from being called. Because I can call Oxford (County) dispatch and ask for any department at any time. It makes it easier for me and resource management to manage who I need in what part of town.”

Knox said that it’s more efficient to call for mutual aid according to where in Norway an emergency occurs. In the vicinity of Route 117 he would call Otisfield and at locations in proximity to Oxford he would call the department there.

Knox did not remove Oxford from his “run card,” however.

“It’s not a slight against Paris, which somebody seemed to make it seem,” Knox said. “I can call dispatch and have them dispatched immediately, which I have recently. … There’s no danger to any public safety, other than if you want to be totally safe in your house, you don’t leave the house.”

Knox did not address the alleged verbal altercation with Blaquiere on June 13.

Blaquiere declined to comment for this story.

Select Board members accepted Knox’s decisions, with Vice-Chair Sarah Carter acknowledging it is not the board’s role to micromanage Norway’s municipal departments.

But members also indicated it was a jarring discovery and referenced the personal differences that exist between Knox and the Paris Fire Department.

“What I noticed really is that you deleted Paris from all of this and had Oxford as our No. 1 backup,” said Select Board member Anita Hakala. “That was a little shocking to me because Norway and Paris have always worked closely together.”

Select Board member Danielle Wadsworth questioned the close proximity of the altercation between the chiefs and the “run card” change. 

“It’s the correlation of another incident that took place between you and the Paris chief right before the change,” Wadsworth said. “That was what triggered the urgency and concern that there was something else going on. … The dates were so close together. As long as we’re safe and the right towns are being called, it’s wonderful.”