Boston FFs outraged as 9/11 flags are painted over

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Bosotonirefighters outraged as 9/11 flags are painted over

By Marie Szaniszlo

Boston Herald

Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - Updated: 01:08 AM EST

Grove Hall firefighters are fuming after their commissioner demanded their Sept. 11 American flag memorial be painted over just two days after the terrorist attacks' fourth anniversary.

     The workers hired by the Boston Fire Department arrived yesterday morning with instructions to paint over two flags Engine 24/Ladder 23 firefighters had emblazoned on the doors in the wake of the attacks – but when a Herald photographer showed up, the painters abruptly stopped.

     As word spread through the department, firefighters, department brass, the contractor and the local painters union chief met behind closed doors for nearly two hours.

     ``If (Fire Commissioner Paul A. Christian's) intent was to paint over the memorial, it's an insult to the brave firefighters who were killed in the line of duty that day and to the firefighters who paid tribute to them,'' said Firefighters Local 718 President Ed Kelly. ``And it comes shockingly close to the anniversary of the attacks.''

     Christian, with whom firefighters have had a lukewarm relationship at best, did not attend the meeting at Engine 24, which department brass abruptly closed to the public during and after the meeting, barring a reporter from speaking with firefighters. By the meeting's end, fire officials announced a compromise: The painting will resume, most likely today, and a pole will be erected outside the station so the approximately 40 firefighters can fly a flag with the names of the 343 New York City firefighters who died in the World Trade Center attacks.

     Later, Mayor Thomas M. Menino moved to retain the memorials.

     ``The mayor, to honor those who fell on 9/11 and those who continue to fight for freedom around the world, issued a directive to the fire department. The door that hasn't been painted will stay, and the one that was painted will be restored,'' said the mayor's spokesman, Seth Gitell. He quoted the mayor as saying, `` `The flag should stay. It should still be there.' ''

     Fire department spokesman Lt. David M. Pfeil said earlier, ``You don't forget (the victims); all of us had friends.'' But he said, ``As a tradition, doors of firehouses have simply been painted red.''

     Pfeil said the paint job is merely part of the aging firehouse's $1 million renovation, which will include a new kitchen, new floors, and new electricity and plumbing systems.

     Firefighters in New York City were outraged that their Boston brethren were being denied a memorial.

     ``We have beautiful paintings on our floors, on our doors, on our apparatus,'' said FDNY Deputy Chief Nick Visconti.

     ``I can't understand doing that, making them get rid of a memorial,'' Visconti said. ``People are still hurting. They really are.''

Michele McPhee contributed to this report.

Edited September 14, 2005 by x635