A city in South Carolina abruptly fired its longtime fire chief, prompting a wave of reaction from local firefighters who are pressuring city leaders to reverse the decision.
York City manager Seth Duncan dismissed fire chief Domenic Manera on March 9 for demonstrating “a pattern of dishonesty” and “lack of common sense”, according to records obtained on Monday through a application for open records.
In particular, Duncan wrote that Manera – York fire chief since 1994 – spread false information during an October 2020 City Council work session, lied about his whereabouts, used city equipment inappropriately, did not respond to calls and used a telephone issued by the city to address issues that were unrelated to the city’s business.
“He lost my confidence and security as head of the York Fire Department, making permanent and immediate separation inevitable,” wrote Duncan in a March 9 note to Manera.
Supporters of Manera in the city of 8,400 inhabitants see this differently. His posts calling for Manera’s reinstatement have been shared dozens of times on Facebook, with many commentators thinking it should be Duncan – not Manera – who gets kicked out by the City Council.
The defenders considered Manera’s shooting unjustified, attributing it to a personal dispute between the fire chief and the municipal administrator. Manera had been in the department for 31 years, they noted.
The volunteer fire department in the tiny town of McConnells, York County, was among those who expressed support for Manera.
“We here at MVFD fully support the boss and we cannot thank you for everything you did to help our organization,” wrote the department in a Facebook post with five photos of Manera.
Efforts to contact some of these supporters for additional comments have not been successful.
York City Council will meet at 5 pm on Monday. Manera’s supporters asked each other to appear en masse to demonstrate their support for the former boss.
This is a developing story that will be updated.