By Jeff Morganteen
Staff Writer
The Advocate Posted: 11/12/2008 02:45:29 AM EST
Forum to debate firefighting's fate - Topix
STAMFORD - Rachel Lussier wants answers about fire protection in North Stamford.
She asked the North Stamford Association to hold a forum to discuss the future of the volunteer departments, which have challenged the city since officials last year called for consolidation between volunteers and the paid fire department, Stamford Fire & Rescue.
Residents deserve to know how the controversy will resolve itself, Lussier said.
"There's been little tit-for-tats back and forth and, as a taxpayer, it's a little bit annoying," she said. "I want to have a better understanding of how my tax dollars are being used, or not."
Three volunteer chiefs - Robert Bennett of Long Ridge, Frank Jacobellis of Turn of River and John Didelot of Belltown - will speak during the forum, titled "Who Will Answer the Call? The Future of Volunteer Fire Departments in Stamford."
The association invited Mayor Dannel Malloy, Stamford Fire & Rescue Chief Robert McGrath and Public Safety Director William Callion, but they declined because of litigation with Turn of River. The city and Turn of River, in a legal struggle over control of the fire district, are slated to appear Thursday morning in state Superior Court in Stamford.
McGrath said he will attend the forum but was advised not to speak.
"Our attorney basically told us not to speak because we have been subpoenaed to appear in court, and we don't want to impact the case whatsoever," McGrath said.
The volunteers have autonomy under the city Charter but rely on city funding and paid firefighters in running their companies.
At the forum, the volunteer companies will offer their perspectives on their relationships with the city. Besides the Turn of River legal battle, Belltown went all-volunteer rather than agree to the city consolidation plan, and the city drastically slashed its budget in response.
More recently, the city hired a consultant to investigate the response to an Oct. 4 house fire in the Long Ridge district of North Stamford. The Mill Spring Lane fire displaced the family and caused more than $1 million in damages to the house.
Michael Pavia, head of the forum committee at the North Stamford Association, said the controversy between the volunteer firehouses and the city directly affects North Stamford residents.
"There's a lot of questions regarding fire service in North Stamford begging to be answered," Pavia said. "There's no clear line where it's going."
During the forum, the volunteer chiefs will be asked about the effects of recently ended management agreements with the city and how they will make up budget shortfalls, a result of funding cuts because they did not agree to the city's merger.
-The North Stamford Association will hold a forum, "Who Will Answer the Call? The Future of Volunteer Fire Departments in Stamford," at 7 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium at Northeast School, 82 Scofieldtown Road. The forum, the first of the association's "Hot Topic" series, will feature chiefs from the Belltown, Long Ridge and Turn of River volunteer fire companies.
- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 964-2215.