By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
04/07/2008 02:04:08 AM EDT
Resuming the helm of the town's Fire Marshal's Division last week after a seven-month suspension, Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal Joseph Benoit said he understands the unit is expected to be more efficient in completing building inspections and other required tasks.
"I'm just happy to be working and looking forward rather than back," Benoit said.
In September, Benoit, a 35-year-veteran of the department, was put on paid leave by then-First Selectman Jim Lash, who tried to fire Benoit for poor leadership, saying there had been too few building inspections, a failure to file required state fire reports and other shortcomings.
Benoit and Fire Chief Peter Siecienski said they've begun reorganizing and delegating responsibilities in the Fire Marshal's Office to address the areas Lash complained about, doing a greater number of inspections while also handling filing incident reports for all fire department responses, among a variety of other tasks.
The Fire Marshal's Office's five-member staff also reviews building plans for fire code compliance and investigates the cause and origin of fires in town.
Siecienski said the use of computerized fire report forms and mobile data terminals to automatically file fire incident reports from the field should help save some time for personnel.
"Part of optimizing our time could be achieved by upgrading the technology in the division so there is less of a reliance of going back and forth to the office and getting reports done on site," Siecienski said.
First Selectman Peter Tesei reinstated Benoit effective last week. In December, the town cut short the termination hearings, with the newly-elected Tesei declining comment on when they would resume.
Benoit's performance and leadership will be evaluated in June, Tesei said.
"I'm optimistic that continual progress will be made," Tesei said.
Tesei will meet periodically with Siecienski to discuss what progress is being made, but said it was too early to specify the minimum number of inspections he wants the Benoit-led office to finish.
In November during termination hearings for Benoit, Lash testified that under Benoit's leadership only 10 percent of legally-required inspections had been completed.
Lash could not be reached for comment this week.
"I don't want to prejudge an outcome but I do want to see progress on the inspections and other goals that have been discussed," Tesei said.
Tesei said Benoit will need to get up to speed on projects that continued in his absence, including the installation of a network of so-called "dry hydrants" in the backcountry to provide a better water supply to fight fires.
"I talked with Chief Siecienski about things I'd like to see get done and it is up to the chief to work through the details," Tesei said.
Benoit said he believes that hiring additional fire inspectors is necessary to boost inspection numbers, and said he has just begun to estimate how many buildings the unit is required to inspect.
So far Benoit said, he has identified more than 2,500 residences, commercial buildings, schools, day care centers, and other facilities that require annual visits.
"Everyone is aware the amount of work that needs to get done is beyond the capability of the staff that is on hand," Benoit said. "With the evaluation of what we are doing now we will be able to verify that."
Benoit said he didn't know how many inspections the division performed last year. In both the 2004-2005 and the 2005-2006 fiscal years, the division performed more than 400 inspections, according to the town's annual report.
Siecienski said he also wants to expand the number of fire safety education efforts, citing a recently-started fire extinguisher instruction class for the public as the type of initiative he wants more of.
Tesei said in the coming months he will seriously consider a proposal to promoting existing fire inspectors to the position of deputy fire marshal with a higher salary, a change which would provide an additional path to advancement within the fire department.
"There won't be the hiring of any new bodies until the next budget year but there could be increased responsibility and promotions," Tesei said.
Benoit said while he is dedicated to getting more inspections done, the number of inspections currently mandated by state fire law is not practical, sometimes requiring inspections that are not needed.
In October of this year, a new state law will go into effect giving fire marshals more discretion in determining whether an inspection is necessary. That will allow fire marshals to better manage their time, Benoit said."There are a lot of different jobs," he said. "From plan review of new buildings, to blasting complaints and investigating fires. The important thing is to go forward."