If it were a plane, one might say the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance Corps (DVAC) had been hijacked for the past few years. But since it is a ground-based form of transportation, let’s just say it was taken over by former Captain Bruce Smith, his wife Sharon (former chairwoman of the board of directors), and other members of their clique. Tuesday night, with a move that was at once technical but also went to the heart of the matter, the corps freed itself from these people’s grip. The town now should reward DVAC by providing some badly needed temporary financial support and then working with it to ensure its long-term survival.

Although knowledgeable about and dedicated to emergency services, Smith is a control freak and martinet who drove away members and would-be members and poisoned relations with emergency crews from other jurisdictions. He and his group acted like the corps was their private plaything, with their ultimate loyalty being to one another rather than to the organization or town.

That was made amply clear earlier this year when the town, reacting to lack of coverage, missed calls and poor response times (average 20 minutes), got involved. It cut off funding for the corps and told state police dispatchers to call emergency crews from Rotterdam or Schenectady instead. These actions were taken not only to ensure public safety, but to force the issue and get the corps to dump Smith and his wife.

It didn’t happen, because the Smiths were so firmly in control. What did happen was that, thumbing their noses at the town, Smith and a dozen of his followers refused to sign the active roster the town had asked for to determine if there were enough committed volunteers to start using DVAC again. Although enough other existing and new volunteers did eventually sign for the town to relent, the clique members never did.

This turned out to be their undoing, because lawyers working for DVAC and the town scoured the by-laws and found that their signature on the roster was required. And so, at an emergency meeting of the board of directors Tuesday, 13 members were given the boot, including Smith. They were told they could reapply for membership, but it isn’t guaranteed. The only ones allowed back in should be those who show a real willingness to put the interests of DVAC and the town first, and to follow all the rules.

Meanwhile, around 25 people have come forward and expressed interest in joining, including five already-trained EMTs who are good to go immediately. Supervisor Rene Merrihew says the town board is ready at a special meeting this coming Wednesday to give them enough money to operate for 90 days — during which time, she says, the town “would need to see some pretty serious results.” That means the corps needs to start changing its operations and culture, and fast.