Nov. 04--STAMFORD -- The decades-long debate over Stamford's fire services will go before residents for the first time in 60 years Tuesday.
The Nov. 6 ballot's second Charter revision question, if approved by a majority of Stamford voters, would revamp the city's fire department structure for the first time since the city and town of Stamford consolidated in 1949. The referendum has intensified a long-simmering controversy over how to best distribute fire services across the 38-square mile city that is home to more than 120,000 residents.
"It is eleven years after the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and we are in the middle of a natural disaster," said Director of Public Safety Ted Jankowski, a former New York City firefighter. "This is not the time for the fire service to be fragmented. Regardless of the (referendum's) outcome, the nature of the city's fire protection has to fundamentally change." Stamford's Charter, adopted after the 1949 consolidation, split the city into six separate fire districts. Five districts -- Springdale, Glenbrook, Turn of River, Long Ridge and Belltown -- are covered by volunteer departments. Stamford Fire & Rescue primarily serves the downtown region and is made up of career firefighters.
The volunteer fire stations operated under management agreements with the city until several years ago, when former Mayor Dannel Malloy attempted to consolidate the city's fire services. The volunteers sued to block his efforts, accusing him of violating the city's Charter and contracts with the departments.
The legal battle strained the volunteers' already tense relationship with city officials and members of the career firefighters' union.
"There's been such animosity created from when Malloy was in office that there's a lot of issues that need to be resolved," said Turn of River Fire Department Assistant Chief Matthew Maounis. "There are cooler heads at the top, but there's still a lot of trust that has to be brought back up to par." Stamford's 17th Charter Review Commission is the latest in a long line of city officials, lawyers and outside consultants to tackle the question of how to fix Stamford's fractured fire services. The Commission overwhelmingly voted last spring to recommend a change to the structure of Stamford's core document, which in its current form prevents city officials from merging the professional and volunteer fire departments.
"The current Charter language's language specifically limits the ability to deploy firefighting apparatuses and personnel citywide," Commission Co-Chairman Jay Sandak said last month. "We tried to give a flexible structure that would allow a plan to be designed that would address the fire service needs of the community as a whole." Volunteer firefighters oppose the Charter revision proposal, which would take away their guaranteed control of the fire districts they have served for decades. Representatives from several volunteer fire houses said they aren't opposed to having one fire chief and a centralized command in Stamford, but felt their interests were not fairly represented in the proposed Charter change.
"I think it would be workable with one fire chief with representation from career, volunteers and the public," Belltown Fire Department Chief John Didelot said. "The bottom line with this whole situation is we want people to vote 'no' so the opportunity is presented to bring all the stakeholders to the table and work this out in an amicable way rather than shoving it down everybody's throat." Stamford's career firefighters and public safety officials say it's time for a streamlined department with centralized command over all fire services, and see the proposed Charter change as an important first step. Stamford Fire & Rescue Department Chief Antonio Conte said a combined fire department would improve training and public safety in Stamford.
"We need to bring everything under one chief," Conte said. "We really need to have coordination. We can't have five different fire departments doing five different things. You have to have someone make those tough decisions and it has to be for everybody."
TAXES
Opponents of the second referendum question have sharply criticized the Charter Revision Commission for failing to analyze the cost impact of the proposed consolidation.
"As a taxpayer I don't understand how they can expect us to basically write a blank check out," Long Ridge Fire Company Chief Stuart Teitelbaum said. "There's no details on how this could work, there's no insight into what the cost might be. It's like a big skeletal mass with no meat or no substance." Sandak said the Commission's proposal only removes the Charter's existing impediments to a combined fire department and calls for the addition of one position -- an assistant fire chief of volunteer services. It does not directly provide for a reallocation of personnel or resources, he said.
"We are not charged with doing a cost analysis," Sandak said. "We were only charged with doing a structure. What would have a cost impact is the plan that will eventually fit into this." Maounis said many volunteers would likely leave the departments if the referendum passes, forcing the city to hire more firefighters at a greater cost to taxpayers.
"They are going to be pushed aside to be second-class citizens, so to speak," he said. "I think there's a very good chance that a good portion of the volunteers will leave if this passes. If the volunteers leave, the taxes will go up." Glenbrook Volunteer Fire Chief Eddie Velez said the outcome of the Charter revision proposal will not affect volunteerism in his district.
"As a department we feel that whatever the city chooses we're going to go ahead," Velez said. "It's not like we're going to get up and pack our bags and leave and not help the city of Stamford and the Glenbrook community. Either way I believe we will thrive."
PUBLIC SAFETY
The vital role career and volunteer firefighters play in keeping Stamford safe was most recently on display during Hurricane Sandy.
Volunteer firefighters from Turn of River, Long Ridge, Springdale and Belltown responded to 200 calls over a three-day period, including the fire in Old Greenwich that destroyed three mansions. Stamford Fire & Rescue responded to 320 calls between October 28 and 31, representing a 300 percent increase over their normal workload.
If the Charter revision proposal passes, one fire chief would have jurisdiction over all fire service training, standard operating procedures and personnel and resource allocation. Jankowski said the change would make firefighting safer in Stamford.
"Having one chief under the direct supervision of the director of Public Safety is optimal," he said. "It is a systematic tool used to provide for command, control, coordination, communication, response and accountability during emergency response and operations." Career firefighters already respond to all calls for fire service within the city's borders, Conte said. Stamford Fire & Rescue has two companies stationed on Vine and Long Ridge Roads -- housed separately from the volunteer fire stations -- to supplement volunteer coverage in the Turn of River district. The volunteer departments, which have faced declining membership in recent years, agreed to this arrangement in order to ensure adequate fire coverage for the area.
The proposed Charter change would not allow career firefighters to move into the volunteer fire houses, which are privately owned. It would put a single fire chief in charge of all fire emergency response in Stamford, however.
"We respond to every fire district in the city," said Brendan Keatley, president of the Stamford firefighters union. "We respond to 100 percent of the calls for service. We feel fire services need to be provided in a uniform manner citywide. The way that we're doing it now it's not really efficient." "BAD BLOOD" The conflict between union and volunteer firefighters has never interfered with fighting fires, representatives from both sides said last week. City Rep. Joe Coppola, R-15, served as the Belltown Fire Chief for 20 years and said the volunteers and union members always cooperated at the scene of an emergency.
"When you get on the fire ground there's only one important issue and that's to eliminate the problem: to fight the fire, to put the fire out, to save people's lives," Coppola said. "We work together." That cooperation often ends when the fire is extinguished, however.
"At a fire that's one thing," said Ray Whitbread, a former Turn of River fire chief and spokesman for the volunteer firefighters. "But they have steadfastly refused to cooperate with the volunteer chiefs in terms of everything else that goes on in the fire stations. In terms of apparatuses, house chores, getting along with the volunteers." Attempts to install union firefighters in some fire houses -- such as the volunteer station in Springdale, have lead to tension and lawsuits in the past. Chief Shawn Fahan said the working environment is now "mediocre" in Springdale, where about 20 union firefighters augment the department's staff of between 20 and 25 volunteers.
The Glenbrook volunteer department, however, invited career firefighters into its department more than a dozen years ago due to declining volunteer membership. The two groups have enjoyed a strong working relationship and volunteer membership has swelled in recent years, Velez said.
"If you make it work then it will work," Velez said. "If you don't want to make it work then you'll have problems. Just like anywhere." Coppola said a system where an outside fire chief exerts control over the volunteer fire departments would never work.
"The volunteers will go away," he said. "They won't be as motivated because they'll be reporting to someone else. You think we're going to take a backseat to anyone else after all these years of fighting fires? That's not going to happen. Not in Belltown." Jankowski said he hopes the proposed Charter change, if approved, would be the first step toward a culture change among Stamford firefighters.
"Both volunteer and career firefighters are dedicated individuals who share the common goal and mission to protect life and property," he said. "They are both vital resources. Having strong, well trained and organized volunteer and career leadership with one chief under the direct supervision of the director of public safety will ensure a smooth transition." A FIRST STEP The Charter Revision Commission attempted to address and dispel the volunteers' concerns that their importance would diminish under a unified fire department, Sandak said. The Charter revision proposal calls for the creation of two paid assistant fire chiefs -- one from career services and one from the volunteer ranks.
The Charter proposal also seeks to protect volunteer firefighters from the possibility of unfair treatment from the fire chief, Sandak said.
"We gave everybody, volunteers and career alike, the right of appealing any decision by the fire chief to the Fire Commission," he said. "It's an independent body within the city which has authority over the fire department." Coppola dismissed the appeal provision because volunteer firefighters are not represented on Stamford's Fire Commission.
Jankowski said volunteer firefighters would continue to serve an important role in Stamford's combined fire department.
"Volunteer firefighters will not be replaced by paid firefighters," he said. "Volunteer firefighter responsibility will not be diminished. The current career staffing levels will not increase. There will be an Assistant Chief for Volunteer Services and recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters shall be a priority." The proposed Charter change would not force union firefighters into volunteer stations. The volunteer fire houses are privately owned, and any career assistance would continue to require an invitation from the volunteers. For the time being, Stamford's fire services would remain fragmented.
The Charter change would allow Mayor Michael Pavia or other city officials to move forward with a plan to unify Stamford's fire services, however. And it would give Stamford a single fire department under the direction of one fire chief appointed by the mayor.
"I think Tony Conte is probably one of the most collaborative people in the Stamford Fire Department in terms of recognizing the importance of everyone -- paid and volunteer," Pavia said last week. "If the question is passed I think he's the perfect choice." Pavia would not reveal how he planned to vote on Tuesday, but said he is committed to a unified fire department that values both career and volunteer firefighters.
"I think there's value certainly in a standardized set of policies and procedures under a standardized command structure," he said. "I certainly believe very strongly that the volunteer fire companies serve an incredibly valuable service to the public and it's something that I will work hard to preserve no matter what."
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Copyright 2012 - The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
