Stamford proposes two ordinances to alter fire operations

By Jeff Morganteen
Stamford Advocate Staff Writer
Posted: 01/11/2009 02:45:36 AM EST

Stamford proposes two ordinances to alter fire operations - Topix

STAMFORD - After more than a year of legal contests with volunteer firehouses, the city last week circulated proposed ordinances that would redraw the borders traditionally separating the career fire department and two of the Big Five volunteer firehouses.

In a letter sent to public safety and elected officials last week, City Attorney Thomas Cassone wrote two proposed ordinances that would allow the professional city department to take over firefighting at the Belltown and Turn of River firehouses.

The potential redistricting is the latest round between the city and two volunteer fire companies in a fight over control of funds and turf in the city's troubled fire service. Last year, the firehouses opposed a city-led merger with the professional fire department and now face lawsuits and budget cuts along with a declining pool of volunteers.

One ordinance would expand the Stamford Fire & Rescue territory to overlap with the Belltown and Turn of River districts.

This arrangement would give Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters the legal right to operate in Turn of River and Belltown and control emergency scenes where it is the first responder, the letter stated.

The second proposed ordinance, drafted as an alternative to the first, would drastically push the southern border of Turn of River fire district up to the Merritt Parkway, limiting it to a small section of North Stamford, while Stamford Fire & Rescue would take over its territory south of the parkway.

The proposed changes haven't been put on any agenda but have been sent to the Board of Representatives, the Board of Finance and the Planning Board for discussion, Cassone said.

"We want them to be put on an agenda and discussed," he said of the proposed ordinances. "Maybe at some point we come to an agreement with some of the districts and do it consensually."

"Fighting in court doesn't seem to be doing anybody any real good, but if we have to, that's what we'll do," Cassone said.

In a letter objecting to the proposed ordinances, Turn of River Chief Frank Jacobellis said district changes violated the city Charter and represented a large tax increase for residents in Belltown and Turn of River, who would be paying more for professional firefighters. He also threatened legal action against the city at the federal level.

"This doesn't fix the problem," Jacobellis said. "This just puts Band-Aid over Band-Aid over Band-Aid."

Jacobellis said the root issue plaguing fire service in the Turn of River district is a lack of coordination between his volunteer firehouse and the city firefighters placed in his district this summer. Communications gaps exists between the city and the volunteers as well, he said.

"If they want to do something like this, it's essential to be a part of this process," Jacobellis said of the letter mailed last week. "This was just dropped on us. This is all new to us."

Mayor Dannel Malloy said redistricting would be a "win-win" because volunteer control over their territory would remain intact.

"The only obstacles would be political," Malloy said. "There's no one who would argue that this isn't the best way to get the greatest degree of safety at the least possible cost."

Belltown Chief John Didelot, however, said the proposed ordinances would raise taxes for residents in each district.

Both proposed city laws called for the Office of Policy and Management to estimate the cost of providing city equipment and personnel for use in the districts. The estimated costs would then be used to determine the tax rates for residents in Belltown and Turn of River.

"The residents need to be aware that this will do one thing: increase their taxes," Didelot said. "It's a last-ditch effort to eliminate Belltown and Turn of River (volunteer fire operations) because the plan that (Malloy) proposed failed."

The fire service districts were set more than 60 years ago, when the city and town of Stamford merged. The city is divided into six fire districts in which six independent fire departments handle firefighting without a central authority.

Five volunteer departments handle firefighting north of downtown Stamford, where the career department, Stamford Fire & Rescue, is in charge of fire prevention.

But since 2007, the boundaries have blurred.

That year, the city announced a consolidation plan that would have staffed three volunteer departments - Belltown, Turn of River and Glenbrook - with city firefighters.

Citing poor planning and a lack of input in the merger, Belltown and Turn of River, which had previously employed career firefighters, backed out of the plan and took the city to court.

In response, the city slashed the two firehouses' budgets, assimilated career firefighters at Turn of River into the city fire department, and moved two city firefighting engines into temporary structures to cover the Turn of River district.

Volunteer chiefs have said the city Charter protects their autonomy, funding and control of their respective districts, but the Charter also states that a redistricting of the volunteer territory could occur if such an ordinance receives a two-thirds vote in the Board of Representatives.

- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or at 964-2215.