A request from the Chelsea firefighters' union almost prevented firefighter from having access to the ballistic vests they donned during a fire following a domestic assault with gunfire earlier this week.
Earlier this month, union President Antonio Salvucci wrote an email to Chelsea Fire Chief Leonard A. Albanese Jr. saying that members should not be able to wear the vests until they receive, ballistic helmets, training and an additional hazardous duty stipend.
“I request that the vests not be placed on the apparatus until we have had an opportunity to impact bargain these changes,’’ Salvucci wrote in an email to the chief, the Boston Globe reports. “In addition to the financial compensation, the local requests the proper training in use and capability of this equipment.’’
“This is something we attempted to address with the city before the Monday night incident, and unfortunately we got nowhere,’’ Salvucci told the newspaper. “It’s not a money issue. It’s [about] getting my members home safe at the end of the night. We want them to have the best.’’
"All we did was give them extra protection,’’ Albanese said in a phone interview. “It’s disgraceful that this argument is being made.”
On Monday, Chelsea firefighters donned the protective equipment as they worked beside police officers when fire engulfed a home where an occupant opened fire on police officers earlier. The gunman was later found dead in the home.
Albanese said the first step in preparing firefighters to respond to acts of violence is to equip them with the safety gear before they learned how to use Tactical Emergency Casualty Care kits that could be used on shooting victims in warm zones. Albanese said firefighters won't be required to work in the hot zones established by police.
To be quite frank, it’s a day late and a dollar short,’’ said Salvucci, who contended that firefighters were operating in the hot zone Monday night. “We should have done this on the front end. We cannot continue to be reactive. We need to be proactive. . . . We need to assure our members are safe.’’ .
“I am baffled that this union president, after we have taken so many proactive steps to protect our firefighters, he, in writing, requested that we not put these vests into service,’’ Albanese said.
