Bridgeport (CT) fire lieutenant accused of racism

[Guest]

04/02/07 BRIDGEPORT - A Bridgeport fire lieutenant has been placed on leave after allegations of racism surfaced.

Lieutenant John MacNicholl was placed on paid administrative leave after an alleged altercation with a superior officer who is Hispanic. The president of the Bridgeport Hispanic Firefighters Association says MacNicholl disobeyed orders and shoved Captain Ivan Fossesigurani at a fire scene last month. He claims this altercation happened because Fossesigurani is a minority.

The association president accuses MacNicholl of insubordination and of jeopardizing the safety of other firefighters by not following Fossesigurani's instructions as quickly as possible.

The fire chief's office says the matter is under investigation but would not comment further.

© 2007 News12.com

[Guest]

What's the President of the Union have to say, as well as the President of the Bridgeport Firefighters Emerald Society?

Edited April 2, 2007 by LongShanks

[IzzyEng4 427]

Here's the complete article from the CT Post, News 12 didn't included some other points. There has been many problems as of late.

Bridgeport firemen's dispute probed

AARON LEO aleo@ctpost.com

Article Last Updated: 04/02/2007 04:51:35 AM EDT

BRIDGEPORT — A Fire Department lieutenant was placed on paid leave following a dispute with a captain at a fire scene last month.

Lt. John MacNicholl has been placed on leave, Fire Chief Brian Rooney said, following an incident as firefighters battled a March 1 fire at a Laurel Avenue rooming house.

The details of the dispute are under investigation, Rooney said, refusing to elaborate.

The chief identified the captain as Ivan Fossesigurani, who remains on the job.

But the heads of two city groups of black firefighters claim MacNicholl, who is white, shoved Fossesigurani, who is Hispanic. The two group leaders, who are both black, are retired city firefighters.

MacNicholl did not return calls seeking comment.

"This is the worst incident to ever happen in the history of the Bridgeport Fire Department," said Donald Day, president of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, Northeast Region.

"This is violence in the workplace and the workplace was in a dangerous environment. This act is a total breakdown of the command structure," said Ron Mackey, president of the Firebird Society of Bridgeport, another group of black firefighters.

Compounding the controversy, MacNicholl is president of the Bridgeport Firefighters for Merit Employment, a group predominantly made up of white firefighters.

The Firebirds, the Black Firefighters and the Bridgeport Hispanic Firefighters Association contend the BFME is racist.

BFME officials have repeatedly denied those allegations. The group's stated goal is to uphold the city's civil service system regarding promotion and hiring. Firefighter Robert Whitbread, president of the Bridgeport Fire Fighters Association Local 834, declined to comment on the incident. The case did not come up for review at Wednesday's meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners, which can issue discipline.

Aaron Leo, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6222.

[ltjay157 10]

Ok, i wasn't there & don't know the whole story, but do you think the race card is being played too much nowadays? what if it was a white lieutenant that pushed a white captain? would they make a big deal out of it? how about this for a spin, what if the captain was white & was pushed by a minority lieutenant? would it be made out to be racial? granted tempers can run high on a fireground, why can't things ever be simple as it was a disagreement? i'm quite curious to see how the CT post spins this article.