Stamford Make Plans to Lay Off Firefighters

[Geppetto 31]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

Feud over fire merger continues in court

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

July 20, 2007

STAMFORD - Mayor Dannel Malloy said yesterday he believes volunteer firefighters and a $400,000 savings account would help Turn of River Fire Department survive layoffs if it refused a city plan to merge its department into Stamford Fire & Rescue.

Malloy testified at state Superior Court yesterday during the final day of an injunction hearing to stop the layoffs of five paid Turn of River firefighters.

The city and Turn of River have been at odds for nearly three months over the consolidation plan, which would shift 16 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into the department's two North Stamford fire stations. City officials say the plan would improve fire service and decrease spiraling overtime costs.

But volunteer chiefs say it would do the opposite and instead create tensions between downtown paid firefighters and volunteers.

Malloy said fundraising and membership drives by Turn of River should help cover additional overtime and operational expenses the department could accrue in the aftermath of layoffs.

Malloy said the department has about $400,000 in its savings account, although the Turn of River volunteer fire chief said it was about $150,000.

Emergency mutual aid from neighboring firehouses, like Springdale Fire Department and Stamford Fire & Rescue, also would provide enough fire coverage, he said.

"I believe there's more than enough coverage for the people of Stamford," Malloy said.

Volunteer departments typically raise funds throughout the year to supplement city allocations they receive for operational costs. Turn of River Fire will receive about $25,000 a month this fiscal year to run its firehouses.

"It has money in the bank, it can raise money, it can bring in volunteers," Malloy said.

In testimony earlier yesterday, volunteer Fire Chief Frank Jacobellis acknowledged that fundraising to pay staff salaries would be difficult.

"It's just too much to ask," Jacobellis said.

Overtime is needed to ensure that the department maintains a minimum of two firefighters per shift, Jacobellis said.

In addition to its 17 paid firefighters, the department has about 30 trained and certified volunteers. At Wednesday's hearing, former volunteer Fire Chief Ray Whitbread could not provide an average of how many volunteers show up to weekly calls and said there was no guarantee volunteers could fill in.

When city Attorney Ken Povodator asked whether Turn of River had a backup staffing plan in place should the department not agree to the merger and layoffs carried through, Jacobellis said there was no written plan, "just ideas on the table."

Questions centered around staffing concerns, and labor and management agreements.

Jacobellis said his department filed the injunction last month after city officials skirted around mediation to resolve their concerns. Jacobellis and Malloy testified they were still willing to reach an agreement.

The merger also would include Glenbrook and Belltown volunteer fire departments and move an additional 16 firefighters into those firehouses.

Belltown and Glenbrook fire departments signed onto the merger tentatively but pulled out last week after each department voted it down. The departments also are seeking injunctions.

Jacobellis, along with the Belltown and Glenbrook fire chiefs, have said the volunteer fire system was unfairly targeted and the merger violates the city Charter and a 1995 management agreement between the three departments and the city.

Malloy presented the merger as a way to save the city $560,000 a year after the Board of Finance and Board of Representatives cut his budget request by $12.5 million, including a $7.4 million reduction from the government side and a $5.1 million from schools.

The city Office of Public Safety, Health & Welfare budget was cut by $2.4 million this fiscal year, which started July 1. Malloy said 28 city employees have been laid off since the cuts were announced.

Malloy said that under the city Charter and state law he is responsible for ensuring the city stays within its budgets.

"July 1 comes and you've got to have a budget that will close the year in black as opposed to red," Malloy said.

Public Safety Director William Callion said the volunteer system was tapped for layoffs because of its high overtime account. Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River together spent $700,000 on overtime last fiscal year.

"If overtime is unmanaged and unchecked, that's something that could spiral out of control," Callion said.

Callion said Stamford Fire & Rescue avoided layoffs because retirements created eight job vacancies at the department.

At the end of testimony yesterday, Judge Edward Karazin encouraged the city and Turn of River to resolve their feud.

"Mayor Malloy said he's willing to negotiate and with all the firemen hanging around, you ought to try and work toward a resolution," he said.

More than a dozen volunteer and paid firefighters from four of the volunteer fire departments sat in the courtroom over the last two days.

Attorneys for the city and Turn of River Fire Department must submit briefs of findings and facts to Karazin by Tuesday morning.

Another city attorney, Tom Cassone, said either party still could seek mediation after Karazin's ruling. The 1995 management agreement allows disputes to be resolved first by mediation and, if necessary, arbitration.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[Guest]

Perhaps when the average Stamford homeowner realizes that the City plan comes with a tax hike, they will realize the value of services provided by the Stamford Volunteer Fire Companies. Last I knew, there have been no complaints about the level of service being provided.

QUOTE(firebuff08 @ Jul 18 2007, 11:09 AM)

As others have pointed out, Stamford Volunteer Fire Companies appear to be more concerned with maintaining control over their "clubhouses" than they are about providing the taxpayers with the highest level of firefighting capability at the lowest cost.

Could you qualify this statement? When is the last time you were in a Stamford Volunteer firehouse?

Bueller? Bueller?

I guess firebuff08 has no justification in characterizing a Stamford Volunteer firehouse as a "clubhouse".

But, I guess there is nothing wrong with having a place where firefighters hang out and are immediately available to staff and respond on a rig as soon as the tones are dropped.

[CTFF 65]

Last I knew, there have been no complaints about the level of service being provided.

Typically people only complain about the level of service a fire deptartment provides after a "bad" call. That is when people complain about how long it took a fire dept to get there or why did a city close a particular firehouse.

On at least two occasions leaders from the volunteer companies have stated they have concerns about the level of service they can provide. I guess that means there are no issues with the volunteer system in Stamford, right?

[Guest]

This article in the paper a few days ago has nothing to do with the issue of the Stamford fire department, but when you see how much the city spent to build this park it got me thinking, $310,000.00 to build a skate park which certainly will increase calls for Fire & EMS for injuries, but you have no money in the budget for firefighters??? Not to mention that the city has kept this a free park, thus not getting any of the money back that they spent on building it. I think the financial advisor in that city needs to be investigated.

STAMFORD - The new skate park opened without fanfare yesterday morning at Scalzi Park, drawing skaters of all ages and abilities from across the Northeast.

"Just the way it works, it's flawless," said Mike Flint, 27, who has skated at more than 100 parks nationwide. "Some parks, you have to work it. This park, it works for you."

Flint said the curves in the concrete bowl are designed for picking up speed, which makes the park challenging even for experienced skaters like himself.

"It's like a drug addiction," he said. "You've just got to keep going faster and faster."

The skate park, which is free and open to the public, looks like an empty swimming pool.

Parks Superintendent Mickey Docimo said Flint was the only one there when the park opened at 7:40 a.m., but by the afternoon, as many as 60 people had gathered around Scalzi's newest amenity. The Bridge Street park also is home to baseball fields, tennis courts, bocce courts, basketball courts, a hockey rink and a playground.

"I think it went really, really well. All the kids are behaved. Everybody's enjoying it," Docimo said yesterday afternoon. "At least a half-dozen kids said to me that they've skated all over, and this is the best park they've seen."

City officials said yesterday was a soft opening, meaning they did not announce it. A formal opening ceremony and ribbon cutting is planned for July 23.

The city expects to offer skating lessons at the park next summer.

Jeff Walsh, 34, who owns Day One skate shop in Bridgeport and helped Stamford officials design the Scalzi park, said it will be successful because the city sought input from users before building it.

"It was refreshing," he said. "A lot of towns, they just build it. (Stamford officials) were very receptive to feedback."

Several skaters said they were impressed that the city hired Seattle-based Grindline Skateparks, one of the nation's most acclaimed skate park builders.

All too often, municipalities hire local companies that don't know much about skating, Flint said.

"A lot of parks get botched up because they just get a local contractor who builds playgrounds," he said. "These guys (Grindline) just skate it as they build it and just figure it out."

Carleton Curtis, managing editor of Transworld Skateboarding magazine, said Grindline is "one of the biggest names in skate park construction."

"Concrete parks are pretty much the industry standard at this point," Curtis said. "Parks didn't even exist 20 years ago, and now they are sprouting up in big cities and small cities across the country."

Stamford spent $309,850 to build the park.

Although concrete parks cost three times as much as ramps and wooden obstacles, Scott Taylor, programs manager for the Tony Hawk Foundation, said they are more cost-effective in the long run because they require fewer repairs.

"Generally, the only maintenance involved with concrete parks is to come by and pick up the trash," he said.

The foundation has awarded $1.7 million in grants to build 336 skate parks since 2002.

Chris Rosi, 22, an in-line skater from Stamford, said he's been calling in sick to his summer job at a local supermarket all week so he could go to Scalzi on opening day.

He did not know which day it would open - city officials said it would open sometime this week - and the gates were locked the first few times he checked.

Yesterday, after zipping around the curves for a few hours, he said it was worth the wait.

Flint, an unemployed mechanic from Philadelphia, stayed in New England after visiting his sister in Boston just so he could try out the Scalzi skate park before he moves to the West Coast.

"People have been talking about it in Philly for a while," he said.

The park lived up to the hype, Flint said. He called it, "probably the best on the East Coast."

Since every Grindline park is unique, Taylor said it will draw skaters from neighboring states - even from communities that have their own parks.

"You will definitely get some skate tourism out of this," he said.

John Ruhnke, 42, a heating contractor and father of three from Norwalk, said that when he saw plans for the Scalzi park, it motivated him to get back on his board after a 28-year hiatus.

"It was a sick park," he said. "I just wanted to ride it."

While it was under construction, Ruhnke went to Scalzi every day at 5 a.m. to practice for two weeks before getting chased away by city officials.

Skating, Ruhnke said, has been great exercise, and helped him lose 27 pounds in two months.

"If my wife would let me, I would come here tomorrow and skate the whole day," he said.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Edited July 24, 2007 by nutty1

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Firefighter layoffs stay on hold

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

August 2, 2007

STAMFORD - A judge ruled Monday that an injunction blocking the city's plan to lay off five paid firefighters will remain in effect until the matter is resolved through mediation.

The volunteer Turn of River Fire Department sought the injunction in June after it was threatened with layoffs for its refusal to participate in a city proposal to merge three volunteer companies and Stamford Fire & Rescue into a single paid system.

The Turn of River company argued that the plan to shift 32 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into the Turn of River, Glenbrook and Belltown fire departments was a violation of the city Charter and a 1995 management agreement between the city and volunteer fire companies. Under the plan, the city also said it would end the agreement with each department Dec. 4.

State Superior Court Judge Edward Karazin said the city wrongfully terminated the agreement and said the 30 percent cut to the 17-member paid staff would cause "irreparable harm" to residents and to the jobless firefighters.

Karazin set a Sept. 17 deadline to resolve the dispute through mediation and, if that attempt is unsuccessful, through arbitration.

City and fire officials have not set a date for mediation.

Turn of River Fire Chief Frank Jacobellis said the ruling was a relief but said egos needed to be set aside to improve the system.

"It's not like I'm going to pound my chest like we won. There's really no win. We have to improve the system," he said. "I think now we'll have a chance to sit down with the city and mediate and not have to worry about our firefighters getting laid off."

Firefighters at Glenbrook and Belltown weren't so lucky. The city laid off five firefighters at the departments after volunteer firefighters and executive board members voted against the consolidation. The two departments had tentatively signed on to the change by the city-imposed July 1 deadline.

A court hearing to reinstate the jobs of the laid off firefighters is scheduled before a state Superior Court judge today.

Pat McHale, the attorney for Belltown and Glenbrook departments, said he's hopeful the Turn of River ruling would lead to an optimistic outcome for his clients.

"Our case is essentially the same case. The judge has already made a decision, and the agreements speak for themselves," he said.

Volunteer chiefs and the city clashed over how the firehouses would be staffed, managed and equipped. The volunteer departments receive city funding, but they operate and staff their firehouses independently.

In Karazin's decision, it is unclear whether the city's Dec. 4 termination date for previous agreements with the fire departments still stands. The agreements determine paid staffing and operational duties at the volunteer departments.

City attorney Tom Cassone said the city plans to ask Karazin for clarification on the decision, but he would not specify his concerns.

After a $2.4 million budget cut to the Office of Public Safety, Health and Welfare, more layoffs are to be expected if an agreement can't be reached, Mayor Dannel Malloy said.

So far, 28 city employees have been laid off since the budget cut.

Malloy said officials are looking for other ways to save money, including removing an engine or truck from Stamford Fire & Rescue and perhaps laying off other staff. About 247 firefighters work for the department.

"I didn't want any of this, but the budget was cut substantially, and we have to look for alternatives," Malloy said.

The consolidation plan was expected to save the city $560,000, city officials said. Reassigning paid Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters at the volunteer firehouses was expected to improve fire coverage while cutting down on high overtime costs, city officials said. Last fiscal year, all three departments spent $700,000 on overtime.

At the Belltown and Glenbrook companies, each of which now has nine paid firefighters assigned, volunteers have stepped in to fill the empty 24-hour work shifts, fire officials said. But Belltown Chief John Didelot said volunteers, who have day jobs and chose when to respond to calls, can't maintain the routine forever.

"It's not something that can be ongoing on a permanent basis. These guys are sacrificing their time," Didelot said of the 10 volunteers taking additional shifts at the firehouse.

Union President Brendan Keatley of the Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association, said he was pleased the firefighters would keep their jobs but was concerned about future layoffs.

"I still realize there's a big hole in the city's budget, and I'm kind of wondering where the city is going to come up with those savings now," he said. "We don't want to see anybody lose their jobs."

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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More volunteer chiefs testify on behalf of firefighter jobs

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

August 3, 2007

STAMFORD - Belltown and Glenbrook volunteer fire officials argued in court yesterday to save the jobs of five paid firefighters laid off last month after the departments reneged on a city plan to increase fire protection.

Just two weeks earlier in the same courtroom, before the same judge, volunteer chiefs from Turn of River Fire Department challenged similar layoff attempts. Judge Edward Karazin ruled Monday that the city must hold off on layoffs at Turn of River until the parties seek mediation.

The three volunteer departments have taken a unified stance against the city's plan to merge them with Stamford Fire & Rescue. The city threatened layoffs in the face of serious budget cuts if those three volunteer departments didn't merge.

All three departments said the consolidation violates the city Charter and 1995 management agreements between the departments and the city. The city plans to terminate the management agreements, which determine paid staffing and operational duties at the volunteer departments, on Dec. 4.

Belltown Fire Chief John Didelot said yesterday leadership at his department would be compromised under the city plan.

The city plan called for shifting 32 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into the three departments to improve fire coverage and cut overtime costs generated by the understaffed volunteer departments. Paid firefighters at Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River departments would work for Stamford Fire & Rescue and would be represented under the same union contract as firefighters downtown.

The volunteer chiefs would retain oversight of volunteers and continue to receive city funding for gasoline and other operating expenses. The paid firefighters would report to downtown Fire Chief Robert McGrath.

Didelot said having two chains of command inside one fire department could lead to standoffs from paid firefighters refusing to take direction from high-ranking volunteer firefighters.

"You can only have one boss," Didelot said.

Yesterday's testimony from Belltown and Glenbrook volunteer fire officials that the loss of firefighters has hampered staffing and endangered public safety mirrored previous arguments from their Turn of River counterparts.

Didelot and Glenbrook Fire Department President Edward Rondano said volunteer firefighters have been filling in the open shifts since July 11, but volunteers can't carry the burden long term.

Belltown lost three of its nine firefighters and Glenbrook lost two of its nine firefighters, when the departments pulled out of the deal.

Glenbrook paid firefighter David Francis, who was laid off last month, will resume his job today, Rondano said. The city hired Francis back after a veteran Glenbrook firefighter recently retired.

Yesterday, Rondano and Didelot said volunteer firefighters and executive board members from their departments encouraged them to sign a tentative agreement in order to avoid layoffs. The agreements, which had to be approved by membership, were dropped after membership voted against them.

But city attorney Ken Povodator argued there was no arm twisting when it came to signing the merger agreement.

"Did the city try to force you to sign the agreement?" he asked Didelot yesterday. "You had options. The city has basically accepted your rejection."

City officials say they have a right to lay off city employees in order to keep a balanced budget, and if the layoffs aren't from the volunteer fire department, they will come from other city departments.

The Office of Public Safety, Health and Welfare's budget was cut $2.4 million this fiscal year.

Mayor Dannel Malloy and Public Safety Director William Callion have criticized the high overtime spending by the volunteer departments. Last fiscal year, the three volunteer departments spent $700,000. The consolidation plan was expected to save the city $560,000 and increase staffing at the understaffed departments.

Pat McHale, attorney for Belltown and Glenbrook, was subpoenaed by the city to testify and was absent from yesterday's hearing. Attorney Joseph McQuade of McHale's firm, Kainen, Escalera & McHalein Hartford, instead represented the volunteer departments.

Karazin said he would rule today whether McHale and a former union negotiator for the city would be allowed to testify next week. McQuade argued McHale's testimony posed a conflict of interest and could interrupt client-attorney privileges.

The hearing is scheduled to continue Tuesday.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

The more things change - the more they stay the same.

[Guest]

I don't understand how a city the size of Stamford with the major building projects that are going on all over the city can even talk about laying off fireman never mind actually doing it. I actually heard a rumor that the mayor is considering closing Eng 4 and laying off 10 guys from the SFRD. That leaves the East side and Chappin sections of the city without an Engine company if I am not mistaken.

[Geppetto 31]

I'm sure laying off personnel in the SFRD is going to leave a long-lasting, endearing, and nurturing impression of the volunteer companies to SFRD personnel. As reported, NO ONE was to be laid-off when Belltown and Glenbrook were to sign.

(Disregarding TOR) It seems an awful amount of resources are being used up for what? So a volunteer officer has control of paid staff? What patch a guy wears? As observers, remember there are unfortunately real guys out of work. Maybe Malloy should have laid off Dispatchers or PD personnel. Perhaps then some of these realisms would strike home. Some of us are old enough to remember when FDNY, New Rochelle and yes, even Stamford had previous lay-offs. It ain't pretty.

And I'm sorry but, reinstated personnel just don't react the same way after being out of work. Regardless of where the lay-offs are, those unfortunates will never have the same view of the system, and those parties that let them down. Paid or volunteer!

It's like the old bumper sticker - Pray for peace, prepare for war!

[Guest collapse750]

It is truly a sad time for the fire service as a whole in Stamford. There are many sides to the issues with merit to a lot of them. At the end of the day the proposed merger, whether you agree with it or not, would have saved jobs. Whether you are one of the conspiracy theorists, directly involved, or someone watching from the outside this fact can't be disputed. Now unfortunately, due to the Stamford Board of Finance/Board of Representitives lack of foresight with their stroke of a pen budget cuts, either more firefighters will be laid off or an engine/ladder company possibly closed as needed. The Union just over a year ago successfully negotioted an additional firefighter on two truck companies that only had 3-person staffing in the Stamford Fire & Rescue Fire District with overwhelming support from elected officials. Now, at a time when the City of Stamford is growing at the largest rate since the building spur in the 80's there could possibly be less firefighters or fire companies protecting the citizens.

For those who thought the paid/volunteer issue would have gotten worse with the proposed merger the current state of events as unfolding is going to make it ten times worse. Having been a volunteer for many years before becoming a paid firefighter I can see many of the points from the volunteer point of view. But, there is no doubt that the volunteer fire service in Stamford is nowhere near what is was 5 or 10 years ago. Some people can't realize that and that the additional staff could have truly helped the system. Sooner or later the truth about the actual number of volunteers and the amount of calls they respond to will come out. I have said for a long time that the only people that are going to hurt the volunteer system are the volunteers themselves. Rosters filled with veteran members in their 70's, veteran members that are career FF that no longer are active, and members that live in other states do not help and only cloud the issue. All these members padding the rosters I'm sure contributed a lot at one point or another, but when they are no longer able to repond, counting them when coming up with the TRUE number of volunteers isn't helping the individual departments or the system. People still think the system is running fine as it has for the past 50-75 or more years and it's not. There have been many quotes in the newspaper and in sworn court testimony about the volunteers ability to respond. It's time for everyone including the managers of the combination departments, whether they are Presidents or Chiefs, to truly look at these departments and the ability of volunteers to respond. It's time for them to truly MANAGE their individual departments.

This post is in no way anti-volunteer because they are still an important part of the fire system in Stamford as they have been for years. But it is probably time to look at whether the system, in the combination fire districts, should be a volunteer system suplemented by paid fire fighters or a paid system suplemented by volunteers. The proposed merger may not have been ideal from many of the sides involved, but it would have been a starting point to deal and work with. There is no doubt that the "kinks could have been worked out."

No matter what happens or how you look at it, like I said at the beginning of this post, it is a sad time for the fire service in Stamford.

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http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

Attorney in fire dispute gets a pass

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

August 4, 2007

STAMFORD - An attorney for Belltown and Glenbrook volunteer fire departments will not have to testify in a hearing involving layoffs at the two fire departments.

Judge Edward Karazin withdrew a subpoena for attorney Pat McHale yesterday, McHale said.

The volunteer departments filed an injunction against the city last month, after five firefighters were laid off when the departments pulled out of a city plan to merge them with Stamford Fire & Rescue.

The city had called on McHale to speak about labor negotiations and his involvement in drafting management agreements between the departments and Stamford. The city plans to terminate those agreements with the two departments and the Turn of River volunteer fire department Dec. 4.

The management agreements, originally drafted in 1995, determine staffing and duties of the city and volunteer fire departments.

On Thursday, attorneys for McHale's firm, Kainen, Escalera & McHale, argued during the hearing that McHale's testimony would infringe on client-attorney privilege.

With no additional testimonies, the hearing concluded Thursday. Attorneys for the fire departments and the city must submit briefs by Tuesday for Karazin to make a decision.

The fire departments are trying to retain autonomy at their firehouses, which operate independently of the city but receive city funding.

The merger was supposed to cut down on high overtime costs at the three understaffed volunteer departments and increase fire coverage by shifting 32 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into the stations.

Last fiscal year, Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River fire departments spent $700,000 in overtime.

Volunteer departments that did not participate in the merger suffered layoffs. The city said layoffs were the only way to save the $560,000 needed in the aftermath of budget cuts.

Turn of River Fire Department, which did not enter the merger, sought an injunction to block layoffs at its department and succeeded. After a hearing two weeks ago, Karazin ruled Monday that the injunction stands until the city and Turn of River undergo mediation.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...0,7125348.story

Judge rejects plea from volunteers

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

August 23, 2007

STAMFORD - A judge has denied attempts by Belltown and Glenbrook volunteer fire departments to reinstate the jobs of five career firefighters laid off last month after the departments backed out of a city consolidation plan to cut overtime costs and beef up fire protection.

The volunteers sought an injunction to dismiss the layoffs, saying the plan to shift 32 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into their departments violated the city Charter and a 1998 management agreement between them and the city. The five volunteer departments are funded by the city, but operate independently.

State Superior Court Judge Edward Karazin ruled that the management agreements do not prohibit layoffs and the departments would not suffer from the loss of employees.

The management agreements do not set staffing requirements that obligate the city to keep the number of paid firefighters at a minimum, Karazin said.

The city plans to end the management agreements Dec. 4.

Attorney Joseph McQuade of Kainen, Escalera & McHale, a Hartford law firm, said the departments are considering an appeal but would not comment further.

Karazin said neither the city nor the volunteer departments are obligated to negotiate a new agreement.

The city proposed the consolidation, which included volunteer Turn of River Fire Department, after substantial budget cuts. The Office of Public Safety, Health and Welfare's budget was cut $2.4 million this fiscal year. City officials said the consolidation would save the city $560,000 and departments that didn't merge faced layoffs.

Belltown and Glenbrook signed on by the city's July 1 deadline, but pulled out when volunteer firefighters and executive board members from their departments voted against it.

Under the city's plan, paid firefighters at Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River would work for Stamford Fire & Rescue under the same labor contract as the downtown firefighters.

City officials said reassigning paid Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into the three volunteer firehouses would bolster the understaffed departments and cut high overtime costs. Last fiscal year, all three departments spent $700,000 on overtime.

Volunteer chiefs said the plan would take away their autonomy.

The city laid off three of Belltown's nine firefighters and Glenbrook lost two of its nine firefighters. Glenbrook paid-firefighter David Francis was rehired after a veteran firefighter retired.

Belltown Chief John Didelot said yesterday he's disappointed at the judge's decision.

"We're hoping to sit down with the mayor and come up with a reasonable solution," Didelot said.

Belltown and Glenbrook departments hope to present a plan to Mayor Dannel Malloy, he said, but refused to elaborate.

Volunteer departments have complained of dwindling membership for years. With the paid staff now decreasing, the safety of firefighters and residents is at risk, volunteer chiefs said.

Ten Belltown volunteers have been covering the three open shifts, Didelot said.

In his decision, Karazin said the departments have used volunteers to increase coverage "with substantial success." But Didelot said volunteers cannot continue to cover the open shifts.

"So far we've been able to work around it, but it's not a permanent solution," Didelot said.

Local 786 President Brendan Keatley said the union is setting aside $2,600 each week to assist the jobless firefighters and their families.

"I'd love to have my guys come back to work. I definitely think it's a loss to the volunteer companies," Keatley said. "It really doesn't have a positive impact on anybody."

Keatley said the union presented a proposal to the volunteer chiefs and the city that included oversight for training among paid and volunteer firefighters. Paid firefighters have long accused volunteers of not being up to date on training.

"We were trying to make it more like a system so we have an idea of who these people are and what their level of training is," Keatley said. "We never came to the volunteers and said we want to dissolve you. We had a plan to make them a more viable department."

A call to Glenbrook Fire Department president Edward Rondano was not returned yesterday.

Turn of River Fire Department refused to participate in the merger and succeeded in blocking the layoffs of five firefighters. Earlier this month, a judge ordered the city and Turn of River to mediation.

Unlike Glenbrook and Belltown, Turn of River has a management agreement with the city that stipulates a minimum staffing requirement for each of its two firehouses, which limits the city's ability to cut jobs.

Turn of River attorney Mark Kovack said mediation was stalled after the city filed an appeal against the decision last week. Kovack said he is reviewing the appeal and determining whether to file a motion to dismiss it. Turn of River is still willing to mediate, he said.

"Our objective is to sit down and have a frank discussion of all the issues, whatever it takes to resolve the issue," Kovack said.

Malloy said he is willing to discuss concerns with the volunteer chiefs, but the city's original proposal stands.

"I stand by a plan that substantially improves fire coverage in the district where we proposed it. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't," Malloy said. "I can't make them reach an agreement, so it's up to them."

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[Guest]

Joe, the heart of the problem is that Mayor Malloy apparently sees no value in promoting a culture that encourages the volunteers in the City of Stamford. His "plan", if implemented, will lead to the demise of the volunteer system in Stamford.

According to the administration, the driving force behind this plan is to save money by reducing the high overtime in the combination districts. This high overtime is a direct result of, as another poster has pointed out, the fact that there is a "one-for-one" replacement when a paid firefighter in the Belltown, Glenbrook, or TOR goes out and another paid firefighter covers that shift.

Mayor Malloy's budget this year includes a $0.50 per $1000 increase in property tax to pay for the increased manpower in these districts that would be affected by his plan. Why not use that increase in tax revenue to hire back those that were laid off, and hire additional personnel in those departments so that there is no longer a "one-for-one" overtime spending scheme? Looks like a win-win solution to me. The laid off firefighters get their jobs back, albeit with less earnings because their overtime earnings would be greatly reduced. The volunteers would be back to operating as they were before the layoffs.

Why hasn't anybody looked at the Grand List to see how much that $0.50 per $1000 really means in dollars per year collected? One could simpy look at the online tax database and pick a random street in any of the affected district's coverage area, use the assessed tax value given there, and do the simple math to see that what Mayor Malloy calls "pennies, really", is actually a LOT of money.

And, while we are at it, how about if Mayor Malloy were to look into ways to enhance the volunteer system, which has shown time and again in times of need to be of great service to the city of Stamford and ALL it's citizens, not just the residents of their own respective districts. Just look at the measures New Canaan recently explored to improve retention of volunteers. Why can't Stamford do that?

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http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

Panel set to list 8 firefighters for future posts

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

September 6, 2007

STAMFORD - The city's Fire Commission called a special meeting for today to hire eight new firefighters although there is no funding for the positions.

Stamford Fire & Rescue Department must save more than $500,000 through attrition before it can pay the new firefighters' salaries and benefits, city officials said.

The newly hired personnel will be on standby until the money becomes available.

Mayor Dannel Malloy said the posts could be filled by the year's end.

"The commission wants to have candidates lined up. This is a queuing up of potential hiring; no one is being brought on," Malloy said.

Stamford Fire & Rescue now has 243 firefighters.

The "potential hiring" comes on the heels of citywide budget cuts and layoffs of 16 full-time city employees. The Board of Finance cut $300,000 from Stamford Fire & Rescue's budget this fiscal year.

The department was budgeted for four new hires this year but can't spend the money because of budget cuts. It must reduce salary spending by $539,000 before it can officially hire anyone.

The Fire Commission and Police Commission are the only city commissions that have hiring authority.

The Fire Commission is facing pressure to hire the firefighters before Wednesday, when hiring procedures prevent selection from high-ranking candidates on the eligibility list. After that, selection would be taken from a tier of lower-scoring candidates, according to human resources generalist Felicia Wirzbicki, who oversees hiring of city firefighters.

In 2005, the Fire Commission was scrutinized for controversial hiring practices. The eligibility list raised questions after a commissioner's son, the mayor's nephew and downtown fire chief's son were among candidates in line for jobs.

The panel revamped hiring policies and added a hiring score to the procedures.

The list expires in September 2008, when the commission and the city must start the process of advertising the openings. Keeping firefighters on standby will reduce the time it takes the city and commission to hire new firefighters, city Director of Administration Sandra Dennies said.

"If we waited until the list goes away, we'd have to start the process from the beginning, which means advertising, having people apply, interviewing and making a final selection," she said. "I'd rather have people waiting on the sides."

Four career firefighters from Belltown and Glenbrook volunteer departments, who were laid off in July, will be given priority selection, Wirzbicki said.

The veteran firefighters were placed on a city mandatory re-employment list that gives back their jobs when an opening occurs.

Initially, five firefighters were laid off between the two departments after the departments backed out of a city plan to move downtown firefighters into their firehouses. A Glenbrook paid firefighter, David Francis, was recently rehired after a veteran firefighter retired.

The remaining four vacancies will be filled from the eligibility list, Wirzbicki said.

The move to fill these positions comes almost a year after the city's Personnel Commission approved hiring four firefighters at Stamford Fire & Rescue to help reduce overtime costs. The positions, along with four others approved at Turn of River volunteer fire department, were created in October 2006 but were never filled or funded.

The vacancies, along with the loss of four firefighters this year to retirements and a promotion, brought the department's openings to eight, Wirzbicki said.

Starting salary for city firefighters is just over $41,700 and increases to about $64,000 over five years, according to the city's Human Resources Department.

If hired, candidates would complete a 16-week course at the state fire academy in Windsor Locks sometime in the spring, Fire Chief Robert McGrath said. New hires are on probation for one year, he said.

- Staff Writer Donna Porstner contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[JustSomeGuy 0]

I do not know how Stamford fire operates, but I do know they have a fairly large dept? So with these layoffs, are the FF's given their job backs at the next hiring dates? Can these 9 FF go work in the city of Stamford? What does this mean for the next testing date for SFD? Didn't New Rochelle lay off some people many years ago?

Even after reading all those articles I do not get why they are laying off FF's especially when they said that the Volunteers are hurting.

[Geppetto 31]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

Despite offers, 8 must wait to become firefighters: Officials hope to get funds by end of year

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

September 7, 2007

STAMFORD - A former fire commissioner's son and the son of a city representative were among eight new firefighters hired yesterday for positions to be filled when funding is available.

The firefighters will join Stamford Fire & Rescue once the department is able to save $539,000 to pay for salaries and benefits. City officials hope to officially hire them by Dec. 31.

The chosen included four recently laid-off firefighters who were given priority selection and four candidates taken from the city's hiring list.

The Fire Commission called a special meeting yesterday to pick the new firefighters.

The selection comes days before Wednesday's city deadline for choosing top-scoring candidates from the hiring list. After the deadline, selection could occur from the ranks of lower-scoring candidates. The list expires in September 2008.

City officials say having the firefighters on standby before the list expires will reduce the time it takes the city and commission to develop a new hiring list.

The hiring also follows citywide budget cuts and layoffs of 16 full-time city employees, including the four firefighters formerly employed at Belltown and Glenbrook volunteer fire departments.

The four firefighters were laid off in an effort to reduce overtime costs at the two departments after both withdrew from a city plan to increase staffing and fire protection in those districts.

The veteran firefighters were placed on a city mandatory re-employment list that allows them to be rehired as openings become available. The four are former Belltown paid firefighters Fabio Basile and Paul Melchinonno, both of Stamford, Michael Orawsky of Darien and former Glenbrook paid firefighter Herman Naring of Norwalk.

The other four candidates - including Christopher Brennan, son of former Commissioner E. Gaynor Brennan Jr., and Paul Esposito, son of city Rep. Paul Esposito, D-4 - were selected from the hiring list. Commissioner Brennan stepped down in February after 20 years.

The list includes 120 candidates grouped into three ranks based on their written test scores, though commissioners have said interviews are the most important hiring factor.

None of the new hires selected from the list were ranked in the top tier.

According to the list, Esposito and new hire Dominick Errico, both of Stamford, were in the second rank, the group that had average scores. New hire James Doherty of Fairfield, and Brennan, who lives in Norwalk, were in the third rank, the group that had the lowest scores of eligible candidates.

The four fire commissioners, Chairman Richard Lyons, Donald Rozier, Leandro Rizzuto Jr. and Marilyn Dussault - the last of whom participated via speaker phone from Florida - voted in favor of hiring the selected personnel.

"I remember all of those young men . . . and I'm very impressed," Dussault said just before the vote. "I have no problem with those recommendations. I think they're excellent."

Fire Chief Robert McGrath told commissioners yesterday he recused himself from the selection process because of a conflict of interest stemming from 2005, when his son, Michael, took the firefighter exam.

Michael McGrath was named an alternate hire and later declined a job offer.

The fire chief told commissioners that though there was no current conflict of interest, he had not been present for any interviews and had turned over the duty of recommending candidates to Assistant Fire Chief John McCabe.

McCabe told the commission the recommendations were based on the list which is compiled based on the written test score, interviews and physical testing. Yesterday's meeting lasted less than 10 minutes.

This marks the third time Brennan has been offered work with Stamford Fire & Rescue. In 2005, he had two offers rescinded in a month.

In 2005, the commission was accused of nepotism and unfair hiring practices after applicants with lower scores were offered jobs rather than those with higher scores.

The commission changed its hiring policies and for the first time added a score to the procedures.

According to an analysis of the scoring done by The Advocate this year, only five other applicants scored lower than Brennan on the written test; they averaged 55 out of a possible score of 93 and 4 out of 10 in the interview.

In the same analysis, Errico was within the top five applicants in the second rank, with an average score of 73 on the written test, and a 5.8 on the interview. There were 18 applicants who ranked higher than Esposito but weren't offered jobs.

In the analysis, Esposito scored a 4.3 on the interview and a 71 on the written test. Doherty ranks 17th within the third, or lowest rank, with a 58 on the written score and a 4.7 on the interview.

Human resources generalist Felicia Wirzbicki, who oversees the hiring of city firefighters, said she plans to send job offer letters by today, but added there was no rush because there is no funding to pay the new employees.

Stamford Fire & Rescue has to reduce its salary spending by more than $500,000 to fund the positions.

The department was budgeted to hire four new firefighters this year, but officials can't spend the money because of budget cuts. The additional four positions resulted from retirements and a promotion this year.

The job offer letters will not include a date of employment but will provide a pre-employment offer and a number that shows the order in which the recipient will be hired, with veteran firefighters given priority.

Starting salary for city firefighters is about $41,700 and increases to about $64,000 in five years, Wirzbicki said.

Once hired, the firefighters will complete a 16-week course at the state fire academy in Windsor Locks.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[Guest]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

The Fire Commission is facing pressure to hire the firefighters before Wednesday, when hiring procedures prevent selection from high-ranking candidates on the eligibility list. After that, selection would be taken from a tier of lower-scoring candidates, according to human resources generalist Felicia Wirzbicki, who oversees hiring of city firefighters.

The list expires in September 2008, when the commission and the city must start the process of advertising the openings. Keeping firefighters on standby will reduce the time it takes the city and commission to hire new firefighters, city Director of Administration Sandra Dennies said.

"If we waited until the list goes away, we'd have to start the process from the beginning, which means advertising, having people apply, interviewing and making a final selection," she said. "I'd rather have people waiting on the sides."

The move to fill these positions comes almost a year after the city's Personnel Commission approved hiring four firefighters at Stamford Fire & Rescue to help reduce overtime costs. The positions, along with four others approved at Turn of River volunteer fire department, were created in October 2006 but were never filled or funded. ????

The vacancies, along with the loss of four firefighters this year to retirements and a promotion, brought the department's openings to eight, Wirzbicki said.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

Despite offers, 8 must wait to become firefighters: Officials hope to get funds by end of year

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

September 7, 2007

The selection comes days before Wednesday's city deadline for choosing top-scoring candidates from the hiring list.

After the deadline, selection could occur from the ranks of lower-scoring candidates. ????

The list expires in September 2008.

City officials say having the firefighters on standby before the list expires will reduce the time it takes the city and commission to develop a new hiring list.

BUT THE CURRENT LIST DOES NOT EXPIRE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2008

The hiring also follows citywide budget cuts and layoffs of 16 full-time city employees, including the four firefighters formerly employed at Belltown and Glenbrook volunteer fire departments.

The four firefighters were laid off in an effort to reduce overtime costs at the two departments after both withdrew from a city plan to increase staffing and fire protection in those districts.

The veteran firefighters were placed on a city mandatory re-employment list that allows them to be rehired as openings become available. The four are former Belltown paid firefighters Fabio Basile and Paul Melchinonno, both of Stamford, Michael Orawsky of Darien and former Glenbrook paid firefighter Herman Naring of Norwalk.

The other four candidates - including Christopher Brennan, son of former Commissioner E. Gaynor Brennan Jr., and Paul Esposito, son of city Rep. Paul Esposito, D-4 - were selected from the hiring list. Commissioner Brennan stepped down in February after 20 years.

The list includes 120 candidates grouped into three ranks based on their written test scores, though commissioners have said interviews are the most important hiring factor.

None of the new hires selected from the list were ranked in the top tier. ????

According to the list, Esposito and new hire Dominick Errico, both of Stamford, were in the second rank, the group that had average scores. New hire James Doherty of Fairfield, and Brennan, who lives in Norwalk, were in the third rank, the group that had the lowest :angry: scores of eligible candidates.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

smoke and mirrors, boys, smoke and mirrors

[BIGRED1 71]

Wonder is they know that just because these guys are in the lower tier, they still get the same paycheck. Should just hire the guys who are first on the list, after of course the guys who were laid-off. Picking guys from the bottom tier, when their scores are just scary is not looking so good. Hope these new guys don't screw up cause you get what you pay for.

[CTFF 65]

www.stamfordadvocate.com

Firehouses feel the heat

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

Published September 11 2007

STAMFORD - On average, less than one Glenbrook volunteer firefighter has responded to emergency calls since the layoff of paid firefighters there, according to the paid firefighters union.

Belltown's volunteer fire department, which lost a third of its paid staff in July, does not fare much better. An average of one Belltown volunteer responds to calls, the union's figures show.

The remaining paid firefighters are left to staff the two volunteer firehouses, sometimes with only one on duty.

Volunteer chiefs have not disputed the union's estimates.

Stamford has five volunteer fire companies that, under the city Charter and agreements with the city, operate independently.

But there are not enough volunteers.

The firehouses are supplemented with paid career firefighters working for the Stamford Fire & Rescue Department, or who work for volunteer companies but are paid by the city.

Belltown Fire Chief John Didelot said volunteers can't carry the load.

"Sometimes we have to make do with what we have," he said.

Yet Didelot and other volunteer chiefs refuse to allow the city to move Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into their firehouses, saying they will lose the autonomy given to them under the Charter.

The city and the Belltown and Glenbrook departments have been feuding for five months over how to increase manpower at the two understaffed volunteer firehouses and cut overtime spending.

Belltown and Glenbrook rejected a city proposal to consolidate their firehouses, along with the Turn of River Fire Department, under one labor contract, creating layoffs and costly legal battles.

Belltown and Glenbrook took the city to court to try to reinstate the paid firefighters. Turn of River went to court under similar circumstances and won; the city is appealing.

"I want to have four firemen 24 hours a day in those companies. That's what I want," Mayor Dannel Malloy said. "What they (volunteer fire chiefs) need to do is explain to the citizens of their district why they are safer with fewer people, when they have aptly demonstrated that there are insufficient volunteers to respond.

"The fact is that Stamford Fire & Rescue has been carrying the load for a number of years. If we didn't have Stamford Fire & Rescue, these companies would really be in trouble."

Paid firefighters say public safety is dangling by a thread.

According to numbers provided by the Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association President Brendan Keatley, who represents paid firefighters in five of the city's six departments, the Belltown fire district received 61 calls from July 11 to July 31, and an average of 1.3 volunteers responded per call.

During the same time, three of the department's seven volunteers had no medical training or expired credentials.

Didelot, the Belltown chief, said the three volunteers were certified as of Sept. 6 and the lapse happened because some were away at college when their training expired and it is difficult to schedule certification classes.

During the same period, Glenbrook responded to 55 calls and an average of 0.72 certified volunteers showed up per call.

Glenbrook Fire Department President Edward Rondano did not return two calls for comment.

Glenbrook now has two paid firefighters working eight-hour shifts and one paid firefighter working a 24-hour shift. The firehouse is down to seven career firefighters after it lost two to a layoff and retirement within the last two months. Fire officials say about three certified volunteers are trying to cover the shifts left empty.

Ted Panagiotopoulos, a Glenbrook paid firefighter and fire marshal, said he's lucky if one volunteer shows up to help. Most of the time he responds to calls alone, he said.

"Who's going to explain it to my family if something happens?" Panagiotopoulos said.

He wrote to Rondano about his concern for both his safety and that of residents.

"I agree with you, a single-man engine is not in anyone's best interest but unfortunately Mayor Malloy and a recent Superior Court judge's ruling do not agree," Rondano wrote back.

Last month, a state Superior Court judge in Stamford ruled against reinstating the five Belltown and Glenbrook firefighters the city laid off to make up for a budget shortfall.

The city laid off the firefighters after Glenbrook and Belltown pulled out of a proposal to merge with Stamford Fire & Rescue.

Career firefighters say residents may not notice the shortage because when they call 911, an engine always arrives. Firefighters have mutual aid agreements that allow the six departments to call each other for help. In some cases, help is sent automatically.

But when firefighters rely on mutual aid, they must wait for help to arrive, Panagiotopoulos said.

How many trained firefighters respond on an engine is crucial when every second counts," he said. "It's difficult for one firefighter to assist a person in cardiac arrest, let alone try to rescue someone from a burning building."

A federal standard requires two equally trained and equipped firefighters at the scene for every two who enter a burning building or other hazardous situation.

"Having one firefighter respond to a call puts everyone at risk," Panagiotopoulos said. "The public needs to understand how much I can do by myself.

"By putting us in this situation, you're almost asking us to sit and watch a situation until additional help arrives. Meanwhile, we're wasting precious minutes needed to rescue someone or attack a fire."

Didelot does not dispute the union's findings. The Belltown firehouse is staffed with two career firefighters working 24-hour shifts, after losing three of its nine paid firefighters.

According to union statistics, most calls that required Belltown to assist other departments generated one to two volunteers, and there was little difference between turnout in the day or at night.

On July 14, a daytime fire in a trailer at King & Low-Heywood Thomas School brought nine volunteers to Belltown firehouse and two to the fire scene.

"I'm not trying to justify the low turnout. The facts are what the facts are, but you need to know the reasons why they happen they way they do," Didelot said.

Belltown volunteers do not respond to calls for assistance unless there is a shortage of paid firefighters, he said. Most calls are false alarms and volunteers don't always respond to those.

Didelot did not provide figures for how many volunteers respond when they are needed.

Keatley said volunteer fire protection is a myth in Stamford.

"They can package it, say what they want. The system is failing and they don't want to be the person at the helm of the ship as it's sinking," Keatley said. "They're only interested in protecting their little clubhouses and using it to fight the city."

City Public Safety Director William Callion said he has answered questions about staffing and volunteer response and would not comment further. He is scheduled to meet with the two departments at the end of the month to discuss the merger again, Callion said.

Keatley said he sent Callion a letter about his findings but did not receive a response.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[dadbo46 50]

I do not know about Connecticut Civil Service laws, but, in my 32 year career working for the government, I have never, EVER heard of a "stand-by" list.

Smoke and mirrors is an understatement !

While I do not pretend to understand how the Stamford Fire Department operates, the series of articles that I have read are confusing at best and poorly written at worst.

[Guest]

I do not know about Connecticut Civil Service laws, but, in my 32 year career working for the government, I have never, EVER heard of a "stand-by" list.

Smoke and mirrors is an understatement !

While I do not pretend to understand how the Stamford Fire Department operates, the series of articles that I have read are confusing at best and poorly written at worst.

Well the city is looking out for the 4 Laid off employees this is why a standby list is created this is nothing new. You have to know that the combination companies we worked for did not protect us and voted down a merger, make it clear it was not the city who laid us off it was our combination departments that voted it down, knowing we would be laid off the following day. And to think i had family and friends where i worked, yea now that is an UNDERSTATMENT.............

[Geppetto 31]

Stamford Advocate Editorial

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/opini...0,2148184.story

Reliable fire service must be ensured

September 12, 2007

Efforts to modernize fire service in Stamford predate the Malloy administration and reflect a modern reality: Fewer volunteers have the time or opportunity to respond to calls for help that come in through neighborhood departments. Stamford has outgrown the model.

That does not denigrate the service of volunteers who answer these calls, many of whom are conscientious and well-trained. But there just are not enough of them anymore. Stamford residents need to know that the response to a fire or medical emergency will be prompt and sufficient. But the men and women who respond to these calls also need assurance of sufficient help at the scene for the sake of their own safety.

Stamford formally studied fire service in 1995 under the mayoralty of Republican Stanley Esposito, who himself expressed concerns that dwindling number of volunteers were responding to calls in the outlying fire districts. The numbers appear to have declined since then, to the point that no one disputes the difficulties some of these volunteer companies would have fulfilling their mission by themselves. Professional, paid municipal firefighters have been assigned to the volunteer companies under agreements with the city. But the volunteer departments retain their formal autonomy, with guarantees of city funding, under the City Charter.

Mayor Dannel Malloy has proposed consolidating four of so-called Big Five volunteer departments with the Stamford Fire & Rescue Department, the paid agency that covers the rest of the city, to boost safety. The fifth company, at Long Ridge, has a separate agreement with Stamford.

Surprisingly, the mayor claims the move would end up saving money - nearly $500,000 - because so much is spent on overtime for separate staff that is paid by the volunteer companies. The Springdale company agreed, and now is staffed by 16 firefighters. Agreements have yet to be reached with the remaining three - the Turn of River, Glenbrook and Belltown volunteer districts.

To up the ante, some of the professional firefighters assigned to the volunteer companies have been laid off to satisfy a $545,000 cut to this year's fire budget. The mayor claims his choices were limited under the circumstances. Some members of the dissenting volunteer companies at Turn of River, Glenbrook and Belltown have likened the move to financial blackmail. Each of the three companies has taken the city to court, and the cases are making their way through the legal system.

Leadership is the real issue here. The volunteer chiefs don't deny the need for paid firefighters - indeed, they are going to court in part to get them back. It's about who will supervise them and orchestrate response to local emergencies and at the scene. Under the proposed consolidation, the volunteer chiefs want to retain authority within their neighborhoods granted them through the charter. City officials say professional firefighters must report to professional fire staff. Some have talked in general terms about sharing responsibility, but it's not clear how or whether that would work. Emergency response needs to be well thought out, and the chain of command clearly defined.

Meanwhile, paid and volunteer staffs are pointing fingers and charging each other with operating as if they were private clubs. Both sides have been guilty of that to some degree. Although no initial increase in paid fire staff is anticipated under the consolidation, the city would have to keep an eye on its size, and closely manage associated labor costs going forward in particular, if it is successful. The results could be very costly for the city.

Command is not inconsequential to the homeowner who has a kitchen fire or calls for assistance when a spouse is injured in a fall. But it is much more important that the caller knows that trained help will respond, and in sufficient numbers to handle the emergency. If a volunteer company can't guarantee that, then the city has to assure it.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[Geppetto 31]

Stamford can't quite shake image of past

Don Russell

September 19, 2007

When I was a youngster but old enough to understand what was being discussed, I used to sit in the first landing of the stairway at my grandparents' house and listen to the discussions concerning the Stamford political scene - that was many years ago - and that level of interest continues.

One of the expressions that came from that room is fixed in my mind, and it returns whenever I hear about what I perceive to be any shortcomings in the governance of Stamford. The expression is: "This is still a one-horse town." It was stated more often than not by family members who, to this day, I refer to as "the political roundtable."

I was keenly interested in conversations concerning how a tax collector of years gone by fled the town with taxpayer money. He used the town's cash for his own personal pleasure. But I cannot recall the conclusion of that situation.

Naturally, at the time it was the talk of the town. Surely, when the tax collector of any town can run away with taxpayer money it deserved the observation about a "one-horse town" - meaning that, despite the growth of Stamford, some politicians were acting as though it still had a post with the latest news tacked on it and a horse trough, instead of a new town hall, and a paucity of parking spaces for what were called motorcars.

What brings "one-horse town" to mind are some of the deliberations in the city government, which in some ways acts that way.

The progress that Stamford has made as a desirable place to both live and work is the envy of many cities in Connecticut. Corporate entities have chosen Stamford as the place for their world headquarters. New, high-end residential buildings are in the planning stages and under construction.

At the same time, the long-neglected South End is being redeveloped. Housing for low, medium and high income is planned, along with retail space.

The core downtown is as active as many cities much larger than Stamford. At the same time, the building of new homes is continuing in the desirable sections of the city, namely the areas north of the Merritt Parkway and close to the shoreline. These are hardly indications of a one-horse town.

Unfortunately, there are some current examples that, in my opinion, fall into that category. The continuing saga of the volunteer firefighters situation is an example. The fact that the ever-growing status that Stamford is enjoying still depends on volunteer firefighters, and that their headquarters haven't been folded in to the central fire district, is difficult to understand. Certainly, the volunteerism is deeply appreciated, and some volunteers have performed heroic acts. And as first-responders in emergency situations, their record is excellent. But it is time that a more comprehensive fire protection plan is mandated.

Some people remember when Stamford did fit the term "one-horse town," and there were more police officers on the street than the recent cut to approximately eight officers at any given time on any shift. Then there is the difficult-to-understand cutback in the detective bureau. How do you match a busy, growing city with the fact that suicides, some shootings and other crimes that need the investigative expertise of the detective bureau need to be put on hold because it is unmanned?

Instead of getting out of the one-horse-town category, it is apparent that in some areas of government, there is reason to think not. No one should doubt that Stamford is growing in a well-planned manner. There are exceptions. While it is apparent that the city falls in the category of a burgeoning entity - and that is a compliment to the leadership in city hall - there is an apparent mind-set that certain elements of government are not matching the city's growth. That notion might put a demand on the proponents of charter revision.

Don Russell is a columnist for The Advocate. His e-mail address is HvyWrtr@aol.com.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

FYI - Don Russell is the "Big Gun" of the Advocate Editorial Staff.

[Geppetto 31]

Staffing shortage cited in fire union complaint

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

September 26, 2007

STAMFORD - The fire union has filed a complaint against the city and the volunteer Glenbrook Fire Department after a paid firefighter had to battle an attic fire alone for several minutes until backup arrived.

A federal safety standard called "two in, two out" requires two equally trained and equipped firefighters at a scene for every two who enter a burning building or other hazardous situation.

But the union said the department did not do that Sept. 9, when paid Glenbrook firefighter James Fountain arrived at 171 Courtland Ave. and stretched a hose into the house to the attic while a second paid firefighter, not identified in the report, manned equipment outside.

The complaint was filed Sept. 14 with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, in Wethersfield.

According to the union, at least four minutes passed before enough properly equipped firefighters arrived. An incident report obtained by The Advocate shows Stamford Fire & Rescue, Belltown Fire Department and Springdale Fire Co. also responded. Smoke damaged the attic roof and second-floor wall of the three-story house. A Glenbrook fire marshal was investigating.

Glenbrook Fire Department President Edward Rondano said he doesn't excuse Fountain's actions but said a recent layoff of paid firefighters and limited response from volunteers has forced firefighters to make difficult judgment calls in emergencies. Both Glenbrook paid firefighters are veterans and will not face disciplinary action, Rondano said.

Since May, the union, the city and volunteers have battled over how to increase staffing and cut overtime spending at the Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River volunteer firehouses.

"They're aware of the standard. But, again, having people laid off and short-handed, you're telling a firefighter to do his job or wait a few more minutes for a backup crew to be there," Rondano said. "That's what should have been done, but that's what's not been done. What he did was risk himself and he could have gotten hurt. But he did what most people would have done."

The Glenbrook firehouse is down to seven career firefighters after a layoff and a retirement in the past two months. Firefighters were laid off at Glenbrook and Belltown after both firehouses rejected a city proposal to consolidate with Stamford Fire & Rescue under one labor contract. Turn of River Fire Department also rejected the offer but prevented layoffs after it won a lawsuit against the city.

Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association President Brendan Keatley said Rondano was making excuses instead of providing public safety.

"This is not a career issue or a volunteer issue. It's a staffing issue," Keatley said. "It's (Rondano's) job as president of the company to ensure an adequate number of people respond to calls. If they had certified volunteers there and could guarantee a level of four people on every call, this wouldn't be an issue. Ignorance is no excuse of the law."

Because Stamford pays the salaries and benefits of paid firefighters, the city was included in the complaint.

City Risk Manager Ann Marie Mones said she had not received the complaint.

OSHA program manager Thomas Hozebin confirmed his department was investigating the complaint but declined to comment. Hozebin said the investigation could take a week to six months.

Rondano said an OSHA investigator met with Fire Chief Frank Passero this week to review the department's "two in, two out" policy.

The complaint was the second the union has filed in less than two weeks. Last week, the union filed a grievance with the state Labor Board accusing Turn of River Fire Department of hiring volunteer and less-senior paid firefighters over tenured paid firefighters for extra-duty assignments at St. Leo Church fair in August.

Rondano said he wasn't surprised by the union's action.

"The whole thing is sort of a union play. They're stressing the point if we had the four (paid) people in place, this wouldn't happen," he said.

But Glenbrook is a volunteer firehouse supplemented by paid firefighters. Rondano and other volunteer fire officials have said they don't have enough volunteer firefighters to handle the calls but have not provided information about how many volunteers respond.

Belltown Fire Department President Stephen Gladstone said union tactics are hindering volunteer response. Gladstone said Keatley instructed career firefighters who moonlight as Belltown volunteer firefighters to not respond to calls or participate in volunteer activities such as open houses and bingo. Gladstone said the union has sent letters to paid firefighters' employers saying those who volunteer could lose their jobs for doing so.

Belltown has lost more than 10 volunteer firefighters, including five to six paid firefighters who volunteer there during off-duty hours, Gladstone said.

"Now our numbers will look worse. We're covering for manpower we used to have," he said.

The department has enlisted the help of its more inactive volunteers, Gladstone said.

Keatley said the union's contract and federal law prohibit Stamford paid firefighters from volunteering at firehouses. Keatley said he has spoken with union members about it but did not send threatening letters.

"It's a violation of our international union constitutional bylaws to serve as a volunteer firefighter in any capacity, anywhere," he said. "It's just one excuse after another for these people. Blame the union for not managing your department."

Rondano said Glenbrook fire officials met with Public Safety Director William Callion and Stamford Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Robert McGrath this week to talk about reaching an agreement to improve fire protection before the end of the year.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[Geppetto 31]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/opini...0,4849039.story

Volunteer met requirement for two at fire scene

October 2, 2007

To the editor:

I write in defense of James Fountain, a career firefighter, who was cited in a union complaint for violating the "two in, two out" safety standard for fighting fires (Advocate news story, Sept. 26).

I arrived at the scene of the Sept. 9 fire on Courtland Avenue as the career men from Engine 32 in Glenbrook were disembarking from their vehicle. I put on my gear, radioed dispatch of my arrival, was acknowledged and then reported to the leader-engine driver and pump operator, Rob Panapada, before heading to the house to aid Fountain.

He entered the building first, but was aware of my arrival, and I was seconds behind him into the house. With Fountain at the nozzle and me behind him working the hose, we moved through the building together, ultimately to the attic area, to find the source of the fire.

While inside, I heard Engine 32 report to dispatch that he had only one man inside. I obviously knew this to be false, but there was little I could do to correct it, as we were occupied fighting the fire. In retrospect, I regret not having the opportunity to do so, as it would have absolved firefighter Fountain from any appearance of violating the standards of operation of his fire house, and there would be no basis for a union complaint.

What I don't understand is why a false incident report was filed. There is a procedure for accountability at all fire scenes; it does not matter if the men are under your direct command or not. In the case of the Glenbrook fire, reporting one man in the building when there was known to be two potentially endangered both lives.

It would be unfortunate if this is another instance of the union trying to discredit the volunteer professionals. It's time for these divisive tactics to stop and for us to work together.

Shawn P. Fahan

Stamford

The writer is chief of the Springdale Fire Co., a volunteer fire company.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

I'm sure this is going to clear many things up - Accountability, Command issues, Radio performance, etc. - To quote Navin R. Johnson: "Good things are gonna start happening to me now."

[Guest partyrock]

Unless i misread something the primary issue of the union's complaint was the violation of the two in two out rule. Two ff's on the line interior doesn't address this issue. They were still 2 ff's short of two in two out. The pump operator doesn't count as he is performing another critical job. It doesn't matter if its paid or volley, but you need to make sure you're sending enough guys to the scene.

[pjreilly 6]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/opini...0,4849039.story

Volunteer met requirement for two at fire scene

October 2, 2007

To the editor:

I write in defense of James Fountain, a career firefighter, who was cited in a union complaint for violating the "two in, two out" safety standard for fighting fires (Advocate news story, Sept. 26).

I arrived at the scene of the Sept. 9 fire on Courtland Avenue as the career men from Engine 32 in Glenbrook were disembarking from their vehicle. I put on my gear, radioed dispatch of my arrival, was acknowledged and then reported to the leader-engine driver and pump operator, Rob Panapada, before heading to the house to aid Fountain.

He entered the building first, but was aware of my arrival, and I was seconds behind him into the house. With Fountain at the nozzle and me behind him working the hose, we moved through the building together, ultimately to the attic area, to find the source of the fire.

While inside, I heard Engine 32 report to dispatch that he had only one man inside. I obviously knew this to be false, but there was little I could do to correct it, as we were occupied fighting the fire. In retrospect, I regret not having the opportunity to do so, as it would have absolved firefighter Fountain from any appearance of violating the standards of operation of his fire house, and there would be no basis for a union complaint.

What I don't understand is why a false incident report was filed. There is a procedure for accountability at all fire scenes; it does not matter if the men are under your direct command or not. In the case of the Glenbrook fire, reporting one man in the building when there was known to be two potentially endangered both lives.

It would be unfortunate if this is another instance of the union trying to discredit the volunteer professionals. It's time for these divisive tactics to stop and for us to work together.

Shawn P. Fahan

Stamford

The writer is chief of the Springdale Fire Co., a volunteer fire company.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

I'm sure this is going to clear many things up - Accountability, Command issues, Radio performance, etc. - To quote Navin R. Johnson: "Good things are gonna start happening to me now."

[/quotE

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT A VOLUNTEER PROFESSIONAL IS. YOU EITHER VOLUNTEER OR YOU GET PAID. ITS MORE OF AN OXY MORON

[Guest partyrock]

Why is "volunteer professional" even an issue?? Volunteer ff's don't want to be look at as being just a bunch of volunteers. When they perform a job a job at a competent and professional level the want to be identified as such. Haven't you noticed usually the two are identified as volunteer or career. How about these semantics are left alone and the real issue of adequate staffing is left to be addressed.

[Guest]

The following link to a pdf file made by the IAFF does as good a job of demystifying the OSHA rule on "two-in, two-out" as any other I have read:

IAFF on 2 in 2 out

It's pretty much spelled out in black and white.

It is the reasoning behind why the combination departments have an automatic mutual aid plan already set up in their run cards.

As Mr. Rondano said in his statement, it is hard for us to wait outside for more personnel to arrive, but it must be done. Unless, of course, and the OSHA rule covers this, there is the chance to save a life immediately in peril.

The first due unit having to wait will not be seen in just volunteer companies, it will be in any department in which the first due unit is not carrying 5 or 6 personnel.

Lets say there is a fire in Shippan, and Engine 4 pulls up and its fully involved. According to the OSHA standard, they will not be able to enter the structure until they have more manpower on scene. If the units in headquarters and or 2 company are already out on another box, the other units going to Shippan from further away are going to be on a delayed response.

[Geppetto 31]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

Paid firefighters to staff Glenbrook volunteer station

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

October 10, 2007

STAMFORD - Glenbrook Fire Department has agreed to allow paid firefighters to staff its struggling volunteer station after a six-month feud with the city over staffing and spending at volunteer firehouses.

Under a city plan, eight Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters will relocate to the Glenbrook firehouse, doubling the number of paid firefighters serving the understaffed district.

Facing budget cuts, the city presented a plan to Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River volunteer departments in May to merge their departments with Stamford Fire & Rescue.

Officials said the reorganization would improve fire protection and save taxpayers more than a half-million dollars in salaries and hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime.

The Glenbrook Fire Department announced its decision yesterday after volunteer members voted unanimously Monday to approve the merger. Officials said the agreement is pending final approval from the fire union and city's Board of Representatives.

Stamford's five volunteer fire departments operate independently and autonomously under the city Charter but are funded by the city. They rely on paid firefighters to run their stations because of poor response by volunteers to emergency calls and a decline in membership.

Springdale and Long Ridge volunteer fire departments were not included in the merger because they have different agreements with the city.

Belltown Fire Department has not agreed to the merger but has said it is working with the city. Negotiations with Turn of River have stalled because of ongoing litigation.

Glenbrook Fire President Edward Rondano said though he questioned the savings predicted in the city's plan, the agreement will increase staffing and training for volunteers.

"It's a better agreement than to keep fighting," Rondano said. "If both sides have a mindset to make this work, it can work and it can make the volunteer system better."

Under the agreement, the fire department will have four paid firefighters on duty around the clock - up from one paid firefighter working a 24-hour shift plus two paid firefighters during the day. The city laid off a firefighter in July after the fire department initially rejected its proposal.

Rondano said the city has not determined whether it will rehire Herman Naring, a five-year veteran.

Volunteer firefighters will train with Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters and ride with them to calls, Rondano said. District coverage is expected to improve particularly on the East Side, where response times are weak.

"We're getting better training, much more thorough. The type of training we'll receive, you can't compare it to the volunteer system," Rondano said.

Volunteer Chief Frank Passero will retain oversight of the volunteers, and paid staff will report to Stamford Fire & Rescue Chief Robert McGrath.

Department Fire Marshal Ted Panagiotopoulos will manage the Glenbrook district but will work out of the Stamford Government Center and report to Chief Fire Marshal Barry Callahan. The Glenbrook department will still receive city funding.

The volunteer department has 180 days to cancel the agreement, but that is unlikely, Rondano said.

City Public Safety Director William Callion did not return two calls for comment yesterday.

Now, the Glenbrook firehouse must make room for its additional paid staff by renovating parts of the firehouse to accommodate bunk beds, equipment and offices - which will cost money, instead of savings as the city has touted, Rondano said.

"They're going to have to spend money, there's not a lot of available space," he said.

A move-in date has not been set.

Stamford Fire Fighters Association President Brendan Keatley said the agreement does not mirror the plan discussed in May, and neither the city nor Rondano consulted him about the changes in the agreement.

Keatley said contractual issues such as vacation days, staffing of engines and how firefighters will be ranked need to be ironed out with the city. He also wants to know whether the laid-off firefighters will get their jobs back. Keatley said for the merger to work, all three volunteer departments need to sign on, a "piecemeal" approach doesn't support the union's career staff.

"I have to serve all the members of the union in a fair and consistent manner. We're only addressing one-third of the problem," he said. "They've addressed the volunteer concerns and gotten volunteers to agree, now they have to sit down and address our concerns and have to get us to agree."

He said at least seven major changes were made to the agreement first discussed in May.

The initial city plan was to move 21 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into the three volunteer districts, increasing manpower to three or four paid firefighters per shift, up from one or two.

The plan would relinquish control of the paid firefighters to a single paid chief. Savings would come from $545,876 in salaries and benefits from the elimination of eight Stamford Fire & Rescue jobs left vacant because of budget cuts.

Callion has said the merger would save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime because paid firefighters would rotate among the three volunteer firehouses and five Stamford Fire & Rescue firehouses depending on where they were needed most.

Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River together spent $700,000 on overtime last fiscal year.

Glenbrook and Belltown initially signed on to the city's merger in June to avoid layoffs Mayor Dannel Malloy threatened to make to save money. The two departments later pulled out when volunteer firefighters and executive board members from their departments voted against it. The city then laid off five paid firefighters between Belltown and Glenbrook.

A Glenbrook firefighter was later rehired after a firefighter there retired.

In August, Glenbrook and Belltown sued the city over the layoffs and lost. Turn of River took the city to court over a similar issue and won; the city appealed and is awaiting judgment.

Since last month, Glenbrook and the city have been hammering out details of staffing, equipment and firefighter responsibilities.

Rondano told volunteers Monday he was stepping down after six years as president and 36 years as a volunteer firefighter. Rondano said he had planned to resign before next year's election, but wanted to ensure the department received a fair deal with the city.

"I didn't want to leave in the middle of it when the fight was still going on," he said.

Dennis Murphy, head of the city's Human Resources Department, said the city will continue to negotiate with the union to reach an agreement.

Callion has said the public safety department may face a deficit next fiscal year if Belltown and Turn of River do not merge with Stamford Fire & Rescue, and more layoffs will follow.

The city will terminate management agreements with each department as of Dec. 4, which will release paid firefighters from their working arrangements at their respective volunteer departments and assign them to Stamford Fire & Rescue.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

[Geppetto 31]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local...local-headlines

Legislators disagree on effectiveness of fire system

By Natasha Lee

Staff Writer

November 5, 2007

STAMFORD - A shortage of volunteers, lax training, poor organization and layoffs of paid firefighters have not convinced some city representatives that Stamford's complex fire system needs work.

Some representatives said the city should back off its plan to move paid firefighters into volunteer fire stations. Others said they want more proof that the volunteer system has to be improved, and still others said more firefighters are needed but they're not sure the city's plan is best.

In Stamford, five volunteer firehouses operate independently of the city but do not have enough volunteers to operate without city-paid firefighters.

Since May, the city and volunteer chiefs of the Glenbrook, Belltown and Turn of River fire companies have been fighting for control of the firehouses. Management agreements between the volunteers and the city expire Dec. 4.

Mayor Dannel Malloy and Director of Public Safety William Callion have said the patchwork system of paid and volunteer firefighters - worsened by gaps in volunteer response to calls - jeopardizes lives.

Volunteer chiefs have not given the city information to refute statistics provided by the paid firefighters union that volunteers do not show up for calls or keep up with training.

City Rep. Robert "Gabe" DeLuca, R-14, whose district covers Turn of River and parts of Belltown, said he remains confident in the volunteer system.

"I don't like to make noise. A lot of times I just like to sit back," DeLuca said. "Just because I don't come out and voice my opinion to the paper doesn't mean I don't support them. I support them in the background."

Residents have not complained to him, DeLuca said, and volunteer chiefs have assured him they are doing a good job.

"Until I see there's been a drastic safety issue involving a house burned to the ground or people were killed - I haven't heard any stories like that, and therefore, I feel the system is working," he said.

City Rep. Carl Franzetti, R-14, who represents Belltown and parts of Turn of River, said he didn't have enough information to comment on the city's plan. He also would not comment on public safety concerns but said volunteers are valuable.

"Over the years, this has been going on back and forth," Franzetti said. "The volunteers do a great job and let me leave it at that."

On Nov. 15, seven months after the city announced its plan to move paid firefighters into volunteer firehouses, the Board of Representatives' Public Safety Committee will review it. But it's not being asked to vote on the plan.

Like DeLuca, city Rep. Arthur Layton, R-17, whose district covers Springdale and a portion of Glenbrook, said that sometimes it takes a tragedy for people to pay attention. He cited police training in the use of heart defibrillators as an example.

Nearly eight years after a police sergeant died of a heart attack while working at headquarters, the city last year bought defibrillators for the department and provided CPR training and recertification for officers, which had ended in 1988.

Layton said efforts should be made to recruit more volunteer firefighters but said no safety problem exists. If more paid firefighters are moved into the volunteer firehouses, property taxes would go up, Layton said.

City Rep. Rich Lyons, II, D-1, chairman of the board's Public Safety Committee, said that, as with the defibrillators, it would take a tragedy to fix the fire system.

"That's going to be the trigger point. A needless tragedy comes and everyone says, 'We told you. We told you, and we didn't react.' That's where we're headed, and that's what we don't want to see," Lyons said.

Two months ago, the paid firefighters union filed a complaint against the city and Glenbrook Fire Department after a Glenbrook firefighter injured his eye in a blaze. The firefighter battled an attic fire on Courtland Avenue alone for several minutes until volunteers and paid firefighters arrived.

Lyons questioned whether fire coverage was adequate citywide and hoped the meeting this month would provide answers. Representatives have not put the plan on the agenda because of the litigation between the city and volunteer fire departments, he said.

"I don't think now is the time for us to micromanage a 50-year battle between volunteer and paid firefighters," Lyons said.

Belltown and Glenbrook took the city to court to reinstate five firefighters who were laid off in July, which cut the paid staff by a third. One Glenbrook firefighter was rehired to fill a retirement. Turn of River went to court to prevent layoffs and won; the city is appealing despite a judge's order to seek mediation.

"If I lived in some of those districts, I wouldn't be satisfied with what I was getting with fire protection and fire coverage," said Lyons, who lives in the Cove. "I'm in the part of the city I would estimate responds in three and four minutes from the call to an engine on the scene. Other parts of the city, I'm not sure you get that."

Under the city's plan, 21 paid Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters would be moved into Belltown, Glenbrook and Turn of River volunteer firehouses, increasing manpower to three or four paid firefighters per shift, up from one or two.

Callion said the plan would cut overtime costs at the three volunteer firehouses, which spent $700,000 on overtime last fiscal year. The plan also would cut eight vacant Stamford Fire & Rescue jobs, saving the city $545,876 in salaries. The plan would provide better coverage because the paid firefighters would be distributed more effectively, Callion has said.

The city came up with the plan after $850,000 was cut from the Department of Public Safety, Health & Welfare during budget season.

Volunteer chiefs said the city is trying to destroy their system. They agreed, however, that a decline in volunteer membership and lapses in training put the public at risk.

After first rejecting the plan, Glenbrook last month signed on. Former Glenbrook Fire President Edward Rondano said the department could not continue to operate with a diminished paid staff and low volunteer membership.

Volunteer chiefs submitted alternative plans to the city that they say would save money and increase staffing, but the city rejected all three.

Fire union President Brendan Keatley said budget cuts and politics have interfered with public safety.

"We don't dispatch other first responders this way. We don't say there's a domestic violence call in North Stamford, we'll just send one cop," Keatley said. "The city likes to play fast and lose with public safety."

Keatley has said standards for paid and volunteer responses should be the same. But the National Fire Protection Association sets faster response times for paid firefighters than for volunteers.

Some city representatives said standards should vary. Under the union contract and in accordance with association standards, Stamford Fire & Rescue responds to medical and fire calls with a minimum of four people on an engine. Volunteer firehouses don't.

City Rep. Joseph Coppola, R-15, a 47-year veteran of the Belltown volunteer department, said it is not necessary for four people to respond to a medical call, but said volunteers turn out in force for a structure fire.

"When you have a medical call, that takes two men. It doesn't take five or six or seven volunteers," said Coppola, a member of the Public Safety Committee. "When there is a structure fire, you get seven or eight or 10 people."

City Rep. Philip Berns, D-16, who represents Belltown and was a volunteer firefighter in Ithaca, N.Y., agreed that volunteers should be able to gauge their response based on the type of call.

"I think it's OK to cherry-pick a response if there's a cardboard box on fire in the Dumpster. It's perfectly appropriate to have one volunteer show up for it," Berns said.

The paid firefighters union has reported that, from July 11 to July 31, the Belltown fire district received 61 calls and an average of 1.3 volunteers responded per call. During that time, three of Belltown's seven volunteers had no medical training or expired credentials, the union reported.

For the same period, Glenbrook responded to 55 calls and an average of 0.72 volunteers showed up per call, the union reported.

Glenbrook and Belltown fire officials did not dispute the statistics, though last month Belltown placed a newspaper advertisement stating that an average of 6.5 volunteers responded per call from Aug. 12 to Oct. 5. It did not provide the number of calls for that period. It said an average of 10 volunteers responded to three fires in that time.

Coppola said the number of volunteers isn't enough but said volunteers are necessary.

"Am I going to make the volunteers look like heroes? No. The fact is this administration has had disdain for the volunteers from the day it took office. It's not a secret," Coppola said. "So now, because they think that we're weak, they're going to jump on us and stomp."

City Rep. Michael Molgano, R-15, who has pleaded to save the volunteers, said the city's plan doesn't make sense. Molgano represents Belltown and parts of Glenbrook.

"All I'm hearing is one-sided. It doesn't work. Even articles in the paper say it's going to save hundreds of thousands of dollars. How?" Molgano said.

Board of Representatives President David Martin, D-19, said he was "not deeply concerned at the moment about public safety. But I see potential for risk and I see potential for a long-run increase in cost or a diminishment of safety."

The city should not change the fire system until a study is complete, Martin said. In September, the city solicited bids for a consulting firm to analyze fire service.

"I don't necessarily know what all the facts are because the situation is complex," he said. "Lots of people are making lots of points."

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.