Greenwich: Report cites tension between volunteers, pros

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Report cites tension between volunteers, pros

By Martin B. Cassidy

Staff Writer, Greenwich Time

March 14, 2004

An old debate was rekindled in the Greenwich Fire Depart-ment last month, when an outside panel investigating problems at a December blaze reported a culture of conflict between the town's career firefighters and their volunteer counterparts.

But department veterans on both sides of the issue brushed off the suggestion there is tension.

When asked about the relationship between volunteer and career firefighters recently, Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Chief Paul Chiappetta limited his answer to his own experience.

"We have a very strong rapport with the career staff at our station," Chiappetta said. "We interact very well."

Greenwich Fire Fighters Union Local 1042 President John Novak dismissed the idea that there was ongoing rancor between the town's 96 full-time career firefighters and roughly 200 unpaid volunteer firefighters.

"I don't know where that's coming from," Novak said. "I don't see a problem."

In its report last month, the independent panel reviewing the department's response to the Dec. 5 blaze at 312 Davis Ave. cited tensions between volunteer and career firefighters, while recommending changes giving career officers more authority than volunteer officers. The report concluded that distrust between career and volunteer firefighters contributed to dangerous conditions on emergency scenes and hampered communication and decision-making at Davis Avenue, where three firefighters were seriously injured.

"Decisions were made on this incident at every level where the lack of trust between department members both career and volunteer, officers, and chief officers affected the outcome of the incident," the report read.

The report did not cite any specific problems the night of the Davis Avenue fire that were the result of the tensions.

To improve communication, the panel recommended career and volunteer officers hold regular meetings to air issues related to the operation of the department.

But the report also suggested that career officers should be deferred to on firefighting decisions, recommending that a career lieutenant be assigned to act as duty officer on each shift, having command over all career and volunteer personnel during fire scenes unless a senior officer such as the career chief or deputy chiefs are present.

West Haven Fire Chief William Johnson, who headed the panel, said that during the investigation, career and volunteer firefighters alike noted a lack of communication and cooperation.

Johnson said joint career and volunteer training programs would improve relations and teamwork.

"The department certainly has talented people on both sides of the aisle," Johnson said. "But they don't work together in some instances."

In their interviews with the panel, Johnson said, career firefighters questioned department rules that give volunteer officers, including chiefs, assistant chiefs and captains, command over paid firefighters of a lower rank based at their station or at emergency scenes. Regulations also give volunteer and career firefighters of equal rank equal standing.

"One of the problems I found is that a career officer (doesn't) have overall command of the department if the chief isn't there," Johnson said. "The way the situation is set up now I don't think that's the way to go."

Union president Novak contested the report's conclusion that tension between career and volunteer firefighters hampered efforts at the Davis Avenue blaze.

"It didn't play into it at all," Novak said. "The more important story now is whether the town will implement the changes in the report."

But Novak acknowledged career officers were dissatisfied with the current policy that puts them under the command of volunteer officers.

Novak said placing volunteer chiefs and other officers under the direction of a career officer at fire scenes would provide improved leadership and coordination.

"You have guys who are paid to be officers and are here all the time versus volunteers who are there when they want to be," Novak said. "Who do you think the better trained person is?"

Chiappetta, the volunteer chief for the Sound Beach company, said volunteer and career officers are both state-certified as Fire Officer 1, and have equal qualifications to direct firefighting operations.

"The volunteer officers are just as qualified to command an incident as career officers," Chiappetta said. "There is a tremendous time investment for training on both sides."

Chiappetta, who is head of the Greenwich Volunteer Chiefs Association, declined to comment on the recommendation to place career officers over volunteer officers in the chain of command.

Friction has long characterized relations between career and volunteer firefighters in town. During the 1990s tensions between volunteer and career firefighters came to a head, with incidents of vandalism and brawls between the two groups.

In 1975 the department had about 464 volunteer firefighters, or 89 percent of the force. By 1994, then Greenwich Fire Chief Noel Padden estimated there were only 61 volunteers. Numbers have increased in recent years after the town hired a recruitment and retention coordinator, who redoubled efforts to increase the volunteer ranks.

When current Fire Chief Daniel Warzoha, who was previously volunteer chief of the Glenville Fire Department, was sworn in to head the department in March 1999, First Selectman Tom Ragland said he was confident the new chief would bring unity to the department.

"I firmly believe that both sides are committed to the protection of the life and property of the people of Greenwich," Warzoha said of career and volunteer firefighters shortly after he became chief. "As long as they're focused on that, the essence of how it is delivered can be worked out."

Warzoha declined to comment for this article.

The panel's report also recommended forming volunteer personnel into teams supervised by volunteer officers to prevent "freelancing" during fires, a reference to unassigned firefighters taking part in firefighting operations.

Chiappetta said prior to the Davis Avenue fire, Warzoha had been working to improve the department's training programs and operating procedures.

But Chiappetta said it would be difficult to organize joint training sessions between career and volunteer firefighters because of difficulties coordinating schedules.

"It could be a viable solution, but it would burn up a lot of time repeating the same things for everyone," Chiappetta said.  

Copyright © 2004, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.  

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