Published on 9/5/2008 in TheDay.com
Mystic- Fire Chief Fritz Hilbert said Thursday that his department has a “zero-tolerance policy” when it comes to the drinking of alcohol by underage members at the station but declined to discuss what the department policy was when it comes to having alcohol on its property.
Hilbert also said that probationary volunteer member William A. Celtruda, who is charged with setting fire to a Library Street home in July, is no longer a member of the department. He said his nephew Kyle Hilbert, who admitted to police he and Celtruda drank beer at the station in the hours before the fire, has been suspended and has tendered his resignation.
Hilbert, 20, who told police he was “a little intoxicated” after drinking with Celtruda until 1 a.m. on July 25, drove a firetruck to the blaze when firefighters responded four hours later. Hilbert and Celtruda, 21, also admitted to setting a plastic table on fire behind the station just a few hours before the Library Street fire was reported.
Chief Hilbert said the other three other firefighters in the station at the time had not been drinking and have not been disciplined. He said the department continues to investigate the incident but declined to discuss it or the department's alcohol policy at this time based on advice from the department's attorney.
One department in town that does ban all alcohol on its premises is the Pawcatuck Fire Department, where Chief Thomas Long said the ban has been in place for 15 years because of concerns about liability.
At the Stonington Borough Fire Department, Chief Jeff Hoadley said there is no ban on having beer in the station. He said it's allowed at meetings of the various companies and the annual banquet. He said that any firefighter who has been drinking alcohol, though, is prohibited from showing up to a call.
According to court documents, Celtruda confessed to Groton Town police that he set fire to the house at 23 Library St. after fellow firefighters taunted him because he had never fought a real fire. After setting the fire, he returned to the station to await the call. He was one of the first firefighters on the scene as he rode to the fire aboard the truck driven by Hilbert, who admitted to police he had a hard time waking up in the station.
It took firefighters five hours to get the blaze in the unoccupied home under control. Sections of the house collapsed as they tried to extinguish the fire.
Celtruda has also been charged with setting two more house fires on Aug. 12. Both homes were occupied at the time. He is being held on a $350,000 bond at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Institution and is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8.
J.WOJTAS@THEDAY.COM