Poland Volunteer Fire Company Loses Lawsuit; Judge Sides With Fire District
The ruling settles, for now, who runs fire protection in Poland: the volunteer company stays sidelined and the Poland Joint Fire District stays in charge.
A Herkimer County Supreme Court justice on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, threw out the Poland Volunteer Fire Company's lawsuit against the Poland Joint Fire District, so the company stays shut down, WKTV reported.
In a 12-page decision, Justice Mark Rose found the fire commissioners acted fairly and within the law when they suspended the company. He pointed to months of documented problems, including an episode where police had to take a lock off to reach records, and said those failures put public safety at risk. He also ruled the district didn't need to give public notice before voting on the suspension.
The fight goes back to last August, when the district ended its service agreement with the company, and has been in court for more than a year.
Still open: the district's counterclaim over equipment the company holds. A court conference on it is set for Dec. 17. Whether the company will appeal wasn't reported.
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