GOODLAND ? Days after the city’s 12 volunteer firefighters handed in their resignations, Goodland’s fire chief explained his recent 30-day suspension and how he plans to replenish his department.

Chief Scott Gilmer’s unpaid suspension was among the reasons cited by the volunteers when they resigned – effective March 5 – following a meeting Tuesday at which they asked him to step down.

On Friday, Gilmer said he had responded to a Jan. 21 crash on Interstate 70 with alcohol on his breath – the result, he said, of drinking two beers while watching football on TV.

A breath test administered by a state trooper at the Sherman County sheriff’s office showed Gilmer’s blood-alcohol level at .026 percent. That is well below the 0.08 threshold for drunken driving, but above the city’s tolerance.

“If you’re tested at .02, then you go into disciplinary actions,” said City Manager Wayne Hill, who has said he believes Gilmer was doing an excellent job.

An 18-year firefighter, Gilmer, 47, was hired as fire chief May 1 and is paid $44,990 a year. He is the only full-time firefighter; volunteers are paid $22 a call, he said.

Gilmer said he has not consumed any alcohol since being suspended, but defends his decision to answer the Jan. 21 call.

“If I had one or two beers and my neighbor’s house was on fire, I don’t know that I could stay away. Firefighting is in my blood,” Gilmer said. “It means more to me to protect this community than 12 firemen who resigned. They’re the ones who resigned and left this city unprotected.”

Stan Duell, one of the 12, said there were other reasons for the mass resignation. Among them, he said, was Gilmer’s prosecution on a charge of stealing cigarettes from an overturned tractor-trailer on I-70 on July 19.

A jury in December found Gilmer not guilty, and the chief declined Friday to discuss the matter.

Overall, Duell said, the volunteers felt the department had suffered “tarnished credibility” under Gilmer.

“We have nothing against Scott. We don’t feel safe,” Duell said.

Since Tuesday, Gilmer and the city have been scrambling to find replacement firefighters. Friday morning, the chief said he had 11 going through intensive training, and a 12th was interested.

If any of the current volunteers wanted to return, he said, “It would depend on the circumstances. I’m leaving options open. Each individual case will have to be taken on a one-to-one basis.”

After March 5, he will rely on help from Sherman County rural firefighters. Because the county department is based in Goodland, he said, the response time will be “basically the same,” depending on where help is needed in town.

Duell said the majority of the 182 phone calls to his auto parts store Thursday were in support of the 12.

Speaking for the group, Duell said, “They’re hurt that city management doesn’t support them, but they know how they stand. They’re moving on.”

But all will stay on through March 5 and were prepared for blizzard conditions this weekend.

“If that pager goes off, we will be there, 100 percent,” Duell said.