Cumberland Fire Chief Dan Small was placed on leave for five days in March for holding an “intimidating” and “inappropriate” meeting with college students who had complained about their treatment while living and working in the department.

Some firefighters within the department, and some who have left, have said the chief routinely discourages and discounts complaints.

The students in the meeting are participants in Southern Maine Community College’s Public Safety Live-in Program, which places students in over a dozen local fire stations where they live for free and get paid to respond to emergency calls while receiving training and certifications. The Cumberland Fire Department has participated for over two decades, with many students later becoming full-time department staff over the years. However, that may now end.

Cumberland had six live-in students to begin the 2025-26 academic year. By the spring, only three remained, as half the students had either left the program or requested transfers to other departments, said Town Manager Matt Sturgis. 

On Dec. 29, a live-in student submitted a letter of complaint about the Cumberland Fire Department to the town, Sturgis said.

In response to the student’s complaint, Small held a meeting with the live-in students, according to a heavily redacted disciplinary letter sent by Sturgis to Small on March 16. On behalf of the town, an attorney later investigated the meeting and found it made several students uncomfortable and that Small’s conduct could reasonably be seen as “intimidating” and “inappropriate,” wrote the attorney.

The attorney said she did not find evidence Small intended to retaliate against the students, but the meeting “had the effect of discouraging continued or further complaints.” 

Sturgis placed Small on five days of unpaid suspension from March 17-24. 

“I hope that this letter impresses upon you how serious these allegations are and what is needed from you to continue serving as the Chief of this department,” wrote Sturgis in the letter. 

Small was also suspended for five days without pay in 2017 for falsifying payroll. 

Small was not available for an interview, said town staff.

Also this spring, Small told the department that the live-in program would be ending after this academic year, according to an email he sent to Cumberland firefighters on Feb. 13 that was shared with the Portland Press Herald.

Sturgis said that after conversations with Small, they decided to discontinue the program after this semester as it no longer had enough support within the department. Several firefighters who have managed the program and mentored the students recently left the department, said Sturgis. 

SMCC did not respond to requests for comment. 

CONCERNS ABOUT ‘RETALIATION’

The dynamics documented in the attorney’s investigation are not isolated to live-in students, according to some who have worked at the department. Multiple current and former staff members of the Cumberland Fire Department said their attempts to raise concerns have been broadly discouraged by Small and the department’s leadership team. 

The department has eight full-time firefighters who are cross-trained as emergency medical technicians, plus an administrator and Small. About 35 call-company volunteers also respond to emergencies and do work around the station and are compensated for their time. 

In the past year, between five and 10 full-time firefighters have left the department, according to employees. Town staff declined to confirm that number. Sturgis said their reasons for leaving were varied, but were mostly unrelated to the department itself.

“The department leadership is absolutely the reason I left,” said a former firefighter who requested his name be withheld out of concern for his reputation. 

In a letter sent to the Cumberland Town Council and other town staff on April 13, firefighter Natalie Ridge explained why she left the department at the end of March. She had worked at the department since 2008, when she started as a live-in student and later earned her paramedic license.

Ridge wrote that when she repeatedly raised concerns about workplace culture within the department, she felt she was not heard or valued. She tried to find solutions through additional channels with no results, she said, and serving the community effectively became increasingly difficult.

“It is difficult to contribute meaningfully in an environment where speaking candidly can result in one’s voice being minimized rather than considered,” wrote Ridge. 

Multiple current and former full-time staff members and on-call volunteers requested they not be identified because they are concerned about the professional and interpersonal repercussions of doing so. 

“Everybody fears retaliation. Cumberland … is a small town,” said one current firefighter. “It’s like, ‘If you speak out, we’re going to make your life hell, and we’re going to ensure that you are off this department.”

Issues brought to Cumberland Fire Department leadership were “swept under the rug,” said a former member. The act of speaking up resulted in a cold shoulder, gossip and bullying from the chief and other department leadership, they added.

Others who left for other departments said they still feared “retaliation” that would hinder their career advancement or create discomfort in the area’ s tight-knit firefighting community.

“But I can say that as a 20-plus-year firefighter/paramedic that I have never been treated so poorly in my career and had no other option except to take my experience elsewhere,” wrote another full-time firefighter who left the department.

In response to a question about firefighters leaving after they perceived that good-faith complaints were discouraged, a spokesperson for the town wrote that “everyone is entitled to their views, and we strive to listen to ideas and differing perspectives respectfully.” The town declined to answer additional questions about personnel turnover in the department.

“We may differ on the best manner to operate the department and that is healthy, but ultimately leadership does need to make decisions, at times, that not all employees agree with,” said the town’s statement.

Multiple firefighters who left the department said they loved serving Cumberland, but could not continue working there.

“Everything about the town and the department I loved. But I am too far into my career to deal with that garbage,” said a firefighter who left.