By Joe Wojtas
Published on 9/19/2008
Should alcohol be allowed in the region's firehouses?
The answer to that question depends on which fire department you talk to.
While volunteer departments were created to put out fires, many of them over the years have also served as clubhouses where firefighters could socialize and drink a few beers. This was seen as one way to help retain volunteers who spend many hours in training, leave their families at all hours to respond to calls and occasionally have to risk their lives.
But the departments that still allow alcohol in their buildings may soon be taking a closer look at those policies and the potential liability they face after the recent arrest of a 21-year-old probationary volunteer firefighter in Mystic.
William A. Celtruda admitted to setting fire to three homes in Mystic this summer. He told police he set one of the fires after he and another firefighter, 20-year-old Kyle Hilbert, spent several nighttime hours drinking in the firehouse. Hilbert admitted to driving a firetruck to that blaze four hours after he and Celtruda stopped drinking.
A survey of more than a dozen departments in southeastern Connecticut shows that while some ban it outright, others allow members to drink a few beers after meetings, host events such as barbecues that involve alcohol or rent out their buildings to outside groups that bring in alcohol.
Liability an issue
”For safety and liability reasons I'm surprised that in 2008 some departments still allow it,” said Niantic Fire Chief Ron Pringle. “You leave yourself open to liability.”
For some departments, such as Old Mystic and Niantic, there has never been a place for alcohol in their firehouses, as it has been banned from their inception.
Old Mystic Chief Ken Richards, whose department has banned alcohol since 1837, agrees that alcohol should not be allowed in the firehouse.
”There's just some things that don't belong in emergency services. Lucky for us our founding fathers felt strongly about it, and we still do today,” he said.
In Mystic, the department has a detailed liquor policy for groups using its meeting hall for events. Department policy on substance abuse by firefighters states that alcoholic beverages are permitted when accompanied by state and local permits and allowed by company house rules.
Fire Chief Fritz Hilbert said community groups have been allowed to hold events that include alcohol and the meeting hall has also hosted wedding receptions and bridal showers.
The posted department rules specify no one under 21 is allowed to drink, proof of age is required and an event will be discontinued if people become intoxicated or unruly. It also strongly encourages anyone who is drinking not to drive and have a designated driver.
Hilbert said beer is also allowed as a “refreshment with dinner” at department fish fries and cookouts. And on company meeting nights, he said, firefighters may drink “a beer or two.”
”But no one is sitting around here drinking a six-pack. That is not allowed,” he said.
Hilbert said it is not typical for firefighters to drink in the building at night, and if it occurred it was done without his knowledge. He said it is possible the department may review its policy of allowing alcohol in the future.
New London attorney Thomas Londregan, who represents municipalities such as New London and Stonington, said cities and towns should be in the businesses of providing fire and police protection and fixing roads, not dispensing alcohol.
”Most municipal lawyers would absolutely recommend to their fire departments not to have any liquor on the premises or in the workplace and not to sponsor any events that involve liquor. There is a risk,” he said. “It's all based on potential liability. It's a common sense-type issue.”
Londregan added, “Does the public expect their firefighters to show up on an emergency call with the smell of alcohol on their breath? I don't think so.”
Drawing the line
Whether or not their departments allow alcohol in the firehouse, the fire chiefs interviewed for this story all have the same policy when it comes to a firefighter responding to a call if they've had anything to drink - just stay home.
A few admitted that might be a difficult decision for firefighters if they are at the station or close to the scene and know someone's life may be in danger. It's also difficult because volunteer firefighters, unlike paid firefighters who work a shift, are essentially always on duty. That means the firefighter who might have had a few beers during a Saturday night dinner has to quickly decide whether to respond to a fire when the alarm goes off.
Nick Kepple, the town attorney for Waterford, is not as adamant about a ban as Londregan. He said he would want a fire department to act based on what its insurance company recommends.
Kepple said an isolated incident like the one that occurred in Mystic is not a reason to quickly say there should be an outright ban on alcohol including events that help raise money. He said the volunteer firefighters provide a valuable service to the town and it's important to retain them. He said departments can also look at putting proper safeguards in place.
But New London attorney Robert Reardon, who has won lucrative awards for plaintiffs in some of the region's largest personal-injury lawsuits, said that if a firehouse organizes an event and provides alcohol to a person who then injures someone, the firehouse could be held responsible for the conduct of that person.
Reardon said that in the past it never crossed people's minds that if they served alcohol at party they could be held liable if one of their guests injured someone.
”But today we look at it differently. In today's society, if you serve alcohol and someone is injured there could be potential liability,” he said. “Anyone who serves alcohol in a social setting should be aware of that risk.”
'The teetotalers'
In Old Mystic, Richards said that if any firefighter were caught drinking on the premises that person would not be suspended but immediately thrown out of the department. He said his firefighters are also not allowed to drink while in uniform for parades or other events where they are representing the department.
”Back in 1976 when I joined the department we were known as the teetotalers - the only department where drinking was not allowed,” he said.
Even today, he said, he still sees alcohol on firetrucks during parades.
”It's really embarrassing. It makes everyone look bad,” he said.
Richards said he offers this scenario to anyone who asks about his department's beer ban.
”If you drive by the firehouse at night and see five guys drinking beer outside and then you get home and your wife has a heart attack and you have to call 911 and these same five guys show up, you're going to wonder what kind of treatment you're going to get,” he said.
J.WOJTAS@THEDAY.COM
Regional