Dayton fire members temporarily resign, resume regular operations Friday after MOU

SHERIDAN (WNE) — All Dayton Fire volunteers and staff temporarily resigned late Thursday evening but have resumed regular operations after a memorandum of understanding was signed Friday.

“The fire district got involved, along with the mayor and myself on a conference call (Thursday night). The mayor promised us that he would have an MOU signed by 10 this morning (Friday) with the language that he was fighting against in there,” Dayton Fire Chief Chris Bernard said.

According to the MOU document, The Town of Dayton and the Dayton Fire & Rescue Foundation entered into an MOU outlining the transfer and future use of nearly $250,000 currently held by the nonprofit foundation.

The MOU document states, “the parties find it necessary to enter into this MOU to facilitate the use of funds currently held by the Foundation.”

Under the agreement, the foundation will transfer $249,689.90 to the town within 15 days. The funds will be deposited into the Town of Dayton Fire Department Donation Account and may only be used for the benefit of the Dayton Fire Department.

The agreement states expenditures must be requested by the fire chief and approved by the Town of Dayton governing body. The town also agreed to continue covering operational costs such as the fire hall, vehicles, insurance, training and firefighter benefits separately from the donated funds.

The memorandum further clarifies the foundation remains a separate nonprofit organization and is not part of the town government. Future donations will belong to whichever entity — the town or the foundation — receives the funds directly.

Bernard said the pause only lasted a couple hours and Dayton Fire members responded to a call around 1:30 Friday morning.

During the pause, the Tongue River Volunteer Fire Department covered emergency operations for Dayton, TR Fire Department Chief Jeff Barron said.

Following the mutual signature between Dayton Fire and Dayton Mayor Cliff Reed, Bernard confirmed that regular operations would continue.

This story was published on May 30, 2026.