6th Bridgeport fire inspector being probed

AARON LEO aleo@ctpost.com
ConnPost Article Last Updated: 03/25/2008 10:50:45 PM EDT

6th Bridgeport fire inspector put on leave - Topix

BRIDGEPORT — A former fire inspector from the city Fire Marshal Division has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Capt. Nicholas Novia, who was recently promoted from fire inspector, was placed on leave last week, said Fire Chief Brian Rooney.

Rooney refused to say why, citing the investigation.

Novia declined to comment Tuesday night.

Firefighter Robert Whitbread, president of the Bridgeport Fire Fighters Association Local 834, was unavailable for comment late Tuesday.

Five other fire inspectors have been fired this year for using their Fire Department minivans for personal use, failing to inspect buildings and falsifying records to make it appear that they worked. The fired inspectors are Ronald Morales, Stephen Vitka, Manuel Alicea, Frank Gerardi and Lorenzo Pittman. The department used Global Position System units hidden in the minivans to track the inspectors' movements.