By Jeff Morganteen
Staff Writer
Advocate Posted: 12/02/2008 02:41:35 AM EST
STAMFORD - Representatives of Springdale Fire Co. and the city told a judge Monday they had reached an agreement on the placement of surveillance cameras in the Hope Street firehouse.
In state Superior Court in Stamford, the city and firefighters union agreed that 15 cameras will stay in the firehouse, but two cameras cannot be installed - one in the paid firefighters' living quarters and another in the hallway outside the living quarters.
The agreement ended a dispute that began in January, when the paid firefighters' union filed a grievance about a plan to install the cameras. Sixteen union firefighters operate out of the Springdale firehouse, which is run by volunteers.
The union also complained to the state labor board. In October, the board ordered the city to remove 15 cameras because their installation was not negotiated with the union.
Springdale Fire Chief Shawn Fahan said the cameras were meant to protect paid and volunteer firefighters after incidents of vandalism and theft.
"Everything is going to stay as is," Fahan said of the agreement.
Brendan Keatley, president of the Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association, said he did not dispute the right of the Springdale department to operate surveillance cameras in its firehouse, but he objected to the placement.
"Everybody came out with an agreement that was fair and equitable," Keatley said.
In court, a lawyer representing Springdale Fire Co. said the fire department agreed not to install cameras in the paid firefighters' living quarters and the hallway outside the living quarters. Fahan had said installation of a hallway camera was not planned, but its potential placement was a concern that was discussed before the hearing.
Under state labor law, installation of surveillance cameras must be negotiated because it would be a change in working conditions. State law prohibits use of cameras in bathrooms, locker rooms and lounges.
Incidents of vandalism at the firehouse included a dismantled radio and a tampered fuel line on a fire apparatus, Fahan said. A chair and mattress were stolen, but Fahan has said the department handled the thefts internally because he suspects they were committed by in-house personnel.
There have been no incidents since the cameras were installed, Fahan said.
- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 964-2215.