GRAND COTEAU, La. (KLFY) — The future of Grand Coteau’s fire department is uncertain after the termination of Fire Chief Riley ‘Skippy’ Grisham, which led to a walkout by firefighters in support of their former chief.

Grisham, who has served as the fire chief for five years, was informed of his termination by the town’s mayor, Patrick Richard, without being given a reason. Grisham believes his firing was retaliatory, related to his refusal to dismiss two part-time firefighters as instructed by the mayor.

“I took my job very seriously, and I just want to let everybody know that every decision that I made as fire chief was for the citizens’ safety as number one and for the betterment of the department as number two,” Grisham stated.

Glen Maglalang, the fire department’s captain, expressed concerns about the potential impact on the town’s fire rating and insurance costs due to the firefighters’ departure.

In a Facebook post, Grisham described feeling heartbroken after learning of his termination. He has been with the Grand Coteau Fire Department for eight years, five of which he served as the chief.

Grisham claims the situation arose because he did not comply with the mayor’s order to fire two part-time firefighters.

“The situation appears to be due to the mayor ordered me to fire two of our part-time firemen,” he said.

Following Grisham’s termination, both employed and volunteer firefighters decided to leave the department in solidarity with him. This mass departure has raised concerns about the department’s ability to maintain its fire rating, which affects insurance rates for local businesses and homeowners.

“But now I don’t know why all of us leaving is probably our drop the rating. That means higher insurance for businesses. Higher insurance is for the homeowners around here because that’s what the better your rating, the lower your insurance is. So it’s going to hurt the town in that respect,” Maglalang explained.

The termination of Fire Chief Riley Grisham has left the Grand Coteau Fire Department in a state of uncertainty, with potential implications for the town’s fire safety and insurance costs. Mayor Patrick Richard has yet to release a statement regarding the situation.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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