Fire Drill Sparks Controversy In Elma

ELMA - A fire drill has ignited a huge controversy in a small town. The owner of the house said the firefighters didn't have permission to torch his place.

The owner should know, because he's the police chief.

"We're just totally sick at the whole thing," said Elma police chief Greg Adams. "Seriously, the other night we couldn't sleep when we found out about it. It's just devastating."

It was a vacant house he'd planned on remodeling for his ailing parents. "This was a 2-story house," he said.

Not anymore because the volunteer fire department practiced by burning it to the ground over the weekend while the chief and his wife were away.

"How did this happen?" said Greg Adam's wife J.T. "I was just absolutely amazed, I couldn't believe it was down."

Some of the neighbors tell a different story. They say the police chief knew full well this was going to happen. In fact, they say everybody knew.

"He probably didn't know it was going to be burned right when it did, but he knew it was going to be burned," said neighbor Lawrence Patton.

In fact, Patton says the chief allowed him to salvage wood and paneling from the house before it was burned.

"Do you think the firemen would come down here and burn it for the hell of it?" Patton wondered.

Chief Adams responded: "Initially we had made plans to have a controlled burn and have it brought down to the ground."

But the Adams say that was several months ago. When his mother got cancer they changed their mind and told the fire chief to hold off.

"And for them to absolutely not do anything until we got back and had a chance to sit down and talk with them," Greg Adams said. He hasn't gotten any answers from the fire department or city hall.

Word of this has spread like wildfire through this close-knit community. The chief just wishes word had spread to him before they lit the match.

"To think that somebody would notify all of the neighbors and everybody else and not bother to call the police chief who's probably the easiest person in the world to get a hold of," Greg Adams said.

He says now the tough part is telling his parents that the house he was fixing for them, their dream, has been turned to ashes.

The mayor, who is also a volunteer firefighter, and the fire chief reportedly claim they had permission to burn the house. They’ll investigate further.