PEABODY -- A firefighter and his supervisor who abandoned their post in the early hours of March 10 have been suspended, Fire Chief Steven Pasdon announced Monday.
The suspensions came as the result of a missed 911 call from a Moulton Road mother of a 6-month-old who was having trouble breathing.
The call, which was originally received at the Peabody Police Station, was routed to the Fire Department for emergency action; however, the police dispatcher could not reach anyone at that office.
News of the incident broke last week when two additional lines were installed in the fire station headquarters on Lowell Street, so that the lines will ring in both the station's break room and in the captain's bunkroom, adding a fourth layer of backup to what had previously been considered a failsafe system.
At that time, Pasdon said he was withholding judgment until he learned what had happened.
Pasdon fielded a flood of calls from the media and politicians, and scheduled an investigative hearing for that following Thursday with the personnel who were on the shift at the time. As the result of his findings during that meeting, firefighter John Brophy Jr. was given a five-day suspension, the maximum allowed by state Civil Service rules.
The supervisor that night, Capt. Henry 'Hank' Hogan, received a three-day suspension. Brophy's suspension will be during May; Hogan's will be at the end of April. Hogan is a member of the firefighters union executive board. According to Pasdon, Hogan has never had a disciplinary problem while with the department.
The two firefighters, who were notified of the suspensions in writing on Monday, have until today to appeal their cases to Mayor Michael Bonfanti and request a hearing with him.
In previous suspensions of this length, firefighters have made that request of the mayor within that timeframe, so an appeal from either or both men will not be surprising. The mayor has the authority to either reduce or extend their sentences.
The infant, Brendon Sisson, was treated by police officers and paramedics from North Shore Ambulance at his Moulton Road home before being transported to North Shore Children's Hospital, where he was treated and released for croup, or swelling of the vocal cords due to a viral infection.
