09/26/2006

Council says firetrucks must go to lockouts

By Steve Collins , The Bristol Press

BRISTOL - City councilors have refused to change a long-standing policy that requires sending a firetruck out to help when people get locked out of their cars. When Councilor Mike Rimcoski proposed shifting the policy so that police officers would respond to car lockouts, leaving the fire department to handle those locked out of homes, not a single one of his colleagues back edhim. They said, however, they would like the city to explore the idea more fully. They said they might revise the policy later. Rimcoski, however, was impatient. "This has been dragging out since April," he said. "I've waited six months." Rimcoski said that most nearby towns have the police assist with vehicle lockouts and let the fire departments handle it when residents can't get into their own homes. Councilor Art Ward said he understands Rimcoski's frustration at how long it's taking for Mayor William Stortz to call a meeting to look into the policy details. Stortz said, though, that he's been gathering data. The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities provided information that shows there is "a wide variety" in how towns handle the issue. Fire Chief Jon Pose has backed Rimcoski's effort to change the policy. "I certainly don't think it's efficient to send a $400,000 firetruck out with three firefighters on it to unlock a car," Pose has said "But having said that, who's going to do it?" Stortz said that if Rimcoski dropped the call for a showdown vote, he'd schedule a meeting on the issue soon. Rimcoski demanded the vote anyway. Though nobody took his side, Ward said he was voting against the change only on the assumption that Stortz would quickly set up a meeting on the subject. "I'll call a meeting and we'll see who comes," Stortz responded. Councilor Kevin McCauley, a city firefighter, abstained on the vote. Councilor Ellen Zoppo, who is married to a police officer, voted to keep the existing policy in place, which doesn't require the police to handle any nonemergency lockouts. Zoppo joked that she was voting against Rimcoski "for domestic peace at my house." ©The Bristol Press 2006