Scott Strother, a firefighter who spoke during Tuesday's meeting, said the issue is not the ``zero tolerance'' resolution, but the fact that an advance story on the council agenda, aired on KLMJ radio, said the no-alcohol resolution would include all public buildings including the Fire Department.
``Without coming right out and accusing us directly, they allude to the fact that we're all just a bunch of rowdy drunks, just by making public statements like they did on the radio here, dragging our name out, when we're not the only public building that they're concerned with,'' Strother said. ``They made that evident tonight, but ours was the only name that was named in the ad.''
Several firefighters placed their pagers and mobile radio equipment on a table then ringed the back of the room in a show of solidarity. The firefighters threatened to quit immediately if the resolution was passed.
Fire Chief Jeff Ferris resigned Monday, leaving Assistant Chief Kent Wilkinson in charge.
Ferris said he resigned from the volunteer fire department after 10 years, the last three as its chief, because of the proposed resolution.
He said that in the past, alcohol has been allowed at the Fire Department on four different occasions each year, including a dance. And sometimes firefighters will drink beer after a fire call.
``There's never been a problem there,'' he said. ``It's nothing that's ever gotten out of hand. I've always made them aware, 'If you have had something to drink or anything, don't come to a fire. Don't even operate an apparatus. Don't put me in that position.' And they've always abided by it.''
City attorney Mike Cross said representatives of Hamptons insurance carrier, Employer's Mutual of Des Moines, have told council members that the presence of alcohol in public buildings would be an issue in its continued coverage of the city.
The city could be liable, he said, if an on-duty city employee was to have an accident while intoxicated.
``Eventually the city's going to have to pass a policy affecting all public buildings, to avoid the consumption or possession or use of alcohol in a public building of any type,'' Cross said. ``And it's our belief that that has to be done, sooner or later.
``The intent was to try and be proactive and prevent city liability with having alcohol in the presence of public buildings. And unfortunately it apparently turned out that the Fire Department was somehow singled out by the media.''
The council agreed to meet with the firefighters within a week or so, to smooth out the differences.
``Hopefully by tabling the issue they'll be able to sit down with the Fire Department, and each side can hear the other side's position and try and get a better understanding of where they're each coming from,'' City Manager Ron Dunt said.
``From that point, I don't know which direction it'll go, but it should help.''
Information from: Globe Gazette Related :
