Nov. 08--SALISBURY -- Citing trauma, a veteran Salisbury firefighter has been out of work since the July accident that took the life of his colleague, Lt. Timothy Oliveira.
James H. "Jay" Pollard Jr., a captain and 32-year veteran of the Salisbury Fire Department, has not returned to the fire station since coming to Oliveira's aid following the July 29 workplace accident that led to his death two days later, according to Town Manager Neil Harrington.
Yesterday, fire Chief Richard Souliotis said Pollard has not spoken to him since the accident nor contacted the department to explain his absence.
Harrington, however, has received a letter from a doctor at Boston University who examined Pollard. In the letter, the doctor said it is his opinion Pollard is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to Oliveira's death.
But the town manager said he does not recognize the letter as valid because it does not meet the requirements of the town's employee union contracts.
The contracts stipulate procedures for work-related injuries and illnesses, Harrington said. Under the process, an employee must notify his or her appointing authority, in this case Souliotis or Harrington. Following notification, Harrington said the employee may see a physician of his or her choice, but the town can insist an employee claiming work-related illness be examined by a physician of the town's choosing as well.
Harrington said as far as the town is concerned, Pollard is using his accrued sick time. Souliotis said due to Pollard's lengthy employment with the department, he likely has banked the maximum number of sick days allowed, which is 100.
An attempt to contact Pollard, who lives on Plum Island, was unsuccessful.
The town manager said Pollard was examined by the same doctor who diagnosed former Salisbury fire Chief Paul Antonellis with post-traumatic stress disorder after an August 2000 accident that took the life of a 13-year-old boy. The child died after being buried alive when a hole he dug at Salisbury Beach collapsed and emergency workers were not able to free him in time to save his life.
Antonellis went out on sick leave about a year after the boy's death, during a time when a number of personnel complaints had been filed against him. Not long after, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and applied for early retirement based on the disability.
In late May 2006, after four years of wrangling with the Essex Regional Retirement Board, Antonellis, at age 39, was officially retired on permanent, job-related disability and taken off the town payroll. He drew his first pension check in June 2006 based on the $62,000 salary he earned as Salisbury's fire chief in August 2000, when the accident occurred. The retirement board's final acceptance of Antonellis' retirement put an end to a long fight with the group as well as some former town officials.
Another Salisbury firefighter, Jeff Knowles, also retired on disability as a result of trauma following the boy's death.
Charles Kostro, executive director of the Essex Regional Retirement System, said the state's police and firefighters fall into a group of employees who are allowed to retire earlier than other government workers. To receive the maximum allowable pension, which is 80 percent of the average of one's three highest consecutive salaried years, a firefighter or police officer must have 32 years of service and be at least 55 years of age or older, Kostro said.
Pollard, 54, draws a base pay of $49,514, but earned $68,923 in 2010, according to town records.
The 53-year-old Oliveira, a 27-year veteran of the Salisbury Fire Department, died on July 31, two days after a jack slipped while he worked beneath a vehicle that was parked behind the fire station on Lafayette Street.
Oliveira, who was in charge of vehicle maintenance for the department, was pinned beneath the vehicle and found unconscious by a colleague who ran into the station to get help. Fellow firefighters worked desperately to free Oliveira. According to reports, he was breathing when he was transported to Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, and then airlifted, in critical condition, to a Boston hospital from there.
On the day of the accident, grief counselors from the state firefighters union responded to Salisbury. Firefighters from departments across the region also came to the station to provide support and fire coverage for the town, while Salisbury firefighters were sent home to contend with the loss. According to town officials, Pollard has not returned to duty since.
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