 |
|
|
| Michelle Tuccitto, Register Staff | April 12, 2001 |
|
|
|
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=1663085&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7573&rfi=8
| Board to explain
lack of discipline |
||||||||
|
| BRANFORD — Fire commissioners tonight will draft a formal explanation to First Selectman Anthony "Unk" DaRos of their decision to opt against disciplining fire administrators for department safety and training violations. |
| The explanation
follows a recent decision by a majority of the Board of
Fire Commissioners not to discipline fire administrators
over violations found last summer. In August, the state Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined the fire department $2,590 for 14 safety and training violations. The state later cut the fine in half, but the town had to spend the other half of the money on Fire Department employee safety programs. In a letter to the Board of Fire Commissioners dated Jan. 19, DaRos said he continued to be concerned about the state citations. "If, in fact, failures of the Chief and the Assistant Chief to properly discharge their duties concerning compliance with applicable laws and training contributed to the violations, I believe they should be held accountable for these failures," DaRos said in the letter. Commissioners plan to meet at 7:30 tonight at the Canoe Brook Senior Center to develop a formal response to DaRos, said Chairwoman Madeline Clem. At the group’s March meeting, Commissioner Timothy Raynor made a motion to discuss taking disciplinary action against Fire Chief Peter Buonome and Assistant Chief Robert Andrew because of the state citations. However, the motion was defeated 3 to 2. Raynor and Commissioner Robert Massey Jr. favored the motion, while Commissioners Michael Cronin, Kenneth Kaminsky and Michael Whalen voted against it. "I’m not comfortable that the proper safeguards are in place to avoid future citations, but the majority of the board felt that there has been a major attempt to get everything in compliance," said Massey. Buonome applauded the board members who supported him. "It may be a turning point, where the commission is supporting the entire Fire Department and its administration, and not just a few who have hidden agendas or political motives," said Buonome. Last July, the board suspended Buonome for one week without pay after determining that he did not properly train all firefighters to use an improved fire incident management and accountability system. Improper training on accountability at fire scenes was among the citations. On Thanksgiving Day, 1996, volunteer firefighter Edward Ramos died while fighting a blaze at Floors & More on School Ground Road. There was some confusion at that fire scene. Incident commanders initially believed all firefighters had made it out of the building safely. The state gave the Fire Department several extensions to correct the citations from last August. On Tuesday, spokesperson for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health said all of the problems have been corrected to its satisfaction. But fire union President Michael Manemeit, who has been working on a special committee to fix the problems, said he doesn’t believe they have been adequately addressed. "The committee has been working hard to try to correct these violations," said Manemeit. "However, we are still not in compliance, contrary to what Peter Buonome says." The citation requiring quarterly training on interior structure firefighting still needs to be properly addressed, according to Manemeit. Buonome said he is confident that the problems have been resolved, and the town has asked state health and safety officials to continue monitoring the situation. "There are always people whose training needs to be updated — this is a continuous process, not a one-time thing," said Buonome. |
| İNew Haven Register 2001 |