STAMFORD, Conn. -- More than a dozen years of strife between career and volunteer firefighters will come to a head in November with a yes or no question: Should Stamford combine its volunteer and professional fire services into one department overseen by a single fire chief?
The city's paid firefighters say "yes," while volunteers say "no." But Stamford voters will have the final word after years of studies, legal wrangling and public debate on the issue.
Stamford's 17th Charter Review Commission is the latest group 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 charter revision process has perhaps the most potential to substantially influence the debate because it offers the opportunity to change the structure of Stamford's core document, which in its current form prevents city officials from merging the professional and volunteer fire departments.
"The fire service issues are primarily organizational," Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski wrote in an email. "They have been allowed to proliferate because of the limitations and constraints set forth by the current city charter."
The commission voted in May to recommend changing Stamford's Charter to create a single fire department with jurisdiction over all training, operating procedures, personnel and resources.
A professional fire chief would oversee all fire services with help from two assistant chiefs from the paid and volunteer ranks.
The proposal is set to go before Stamford voters in a ballot referendum in November, and firefighters on both sides of the debate indicate they plan to campaign for their respective positions.
Members of Stamford's professional fire union have printed T-shirts and "vote yes for a safer Stamford" fliers, which they distributed at St. Leo's fair on Roxbury Road last week.
"The proposition, as proposed, and if it's adopted by the voters, would unify and streamline the department into one," Stamford Fire Fighters Local 786 President Brendan Keatley said. "As we see it, for our safety and the safety of our residents and businesses in Stamford, it's a guaranteed response to 911 emergencies."
Ray Whitbread, a former Turn of River fire chief and spokesman for the volunteer firefighters, accused the professional firefighters of "politicizing" the St. Leo's fair. He said the volunteer fire companies are still planning how they will raise awareness and drum up opposition to the ballot referendum.
"As nice as it may sound from the way it's been worded in the actual ballot, there's a lot more underlying the whole thing that reflects on how the volunteers are able to actually function with the membership of Local 786 in our midst," Whitbread said. "We found out it just doesn't work and we don't believe that it will be able to work in the future."
THE HISTORY
The root of Stamford's fire department dilemma dates back to the city's consolidation in 1949, when the city and town of Stamford merged and the charter split the city into six separate fire districts. Five districts -- Springdale, Glenbrook, Turn of River, Long Ridge and Belltown -- were covered by volunteer departments in what used to be the Town of Stamford. Stamford's professional Fire & Rescue department primarily serves the downtown region.
The conflict between Stamford's career and volunteer fire departments dates back to at least 1995, when former Mayor Stanley Esposito commissioned a $68,500 study aimed at determining how to best deploy firefighting resources across the city's six fire departments. The 450-page report concluded Stamford could not afford to completely replace its volunteer fire fighting force with paid personnel, but that reducing the number of fire trucks could save the city almost $6.2 million over 20 years. The study sparked a discussion on whether the city's professional and volunteer fire departments should merge into one operation.
Former Mayor Dannel P. Malloy made several attempts during his 14 years in office to consolidate Stamford's fire services to streamline command and spending oversight.
The volunteers opposed his efforts, saying he was acting unilaterally and violating the city's charter and contracts with the departments.
The debate has spilled into the courtroom several times. All five volunteer fire companies have filed lawsuits against the city at some point since the mid-1990s. Judges have sometimes ruled on the side of the city, and other times in favor of the volunteers.
In 2010, Mayor Michael Pavia unveiled a five-year, $43.8 million deal to consolidate four of the city's five volunteer into a single organization called the Stamford Volunteer Fire Department. The proposal was hotly debated over the next two years.
Pavia's plan never got past the city's elected boards. In March, the Board of Finance voted to cut funding for the first phase of the consolidation out this fiscal year's budget. In explaining the cut, board members said they wanted to wait and see how the charter revision process unfolded.
GOING FORWARD
Pavia said the upcoming ballot referendum "has both sides circling."
"I think it has the volunteers looking at what it means to them in terms of their future, in terms of their stature, in terms of their overall continuity," he said last week. "I see the paid (firefighter) looking at charter revision as an opportunity to more freely expand into the volunteer districts. Now somewhere in the middle of that, hopefully, if (the charter change) is approved, will be the answer."
If Stamford voters strike down the charter change, Pavia said he will consider it a mandate to move forward with his proposal.
"I have a plan that's still before the boards that, despite all of the flak and negative comments that you've heard, is a good working plan given the structure of the fire services in Stamford," Pavia said. "I think if charter revision is not approved then I'm hoping that the Board of Representatives will take on the task of implementing the plan that is a workable plan to provide better and more comprehensive fire service in the volunteer districts."
Jankowski, who came to the Stamford early this year after a career with the New York City Fire Department, said he supports the charter change.
"Public safety should not be held hostage because of the inflexibility set forth by the existing city Charter," Jankowski said via email. "The charter change, if voted in by residents, will provide for a unified fire service consisting of both volunteer and career personnel working together under one chief for the common good, public safety."
But tensions remain high between the two groups after decades of administrative and legal battles.
"The relationship between the fire services is strained, filled with skepticism and distrust," Jankowski said. "They are dedicated individuals, though they don't always agree, they share the common goal of protecting life and property."
Keatley and Whitman said their to concern is public safety, followed by fiscal responsibility.
"We've never had a documented case of operating in an emergency where there's been conflict," Keatley said of cases where career and volunteer firefighters respond to the same fire. "The problem has always been within the system -- I'm the chief, you're the chief, this guy's the chief. This (charter change), if adopted, would change that."
Whitbread said conflicts between career and volunteer firefighters arise over training, equipment maintenance and day-to-day interactions between the two groups.
"They object strongly to taking any kind of direction from the volunteer officers," Whitbread said. "They do cooperate at emergency situations, but the other 23 hours of the day. ... We've found that they are very reluctant to be cooperative with us and we don't see that changing, even under a charter mandate."
Jankowski said he believes the two sides will learn to work together.
"As time progresses and the fears of the unknown subside there will eventually be a greater mutual respect among firefighters," he said. "A unified fire department with strong leadership under the direct supervision of one chief will provide for a common vision with well-defined standards."
Copyright 2012 - The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
