Oct. 26--SHELTON -- The vice chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, who was at the center of the issue of fire equipment safety, has resigned his position, citing frustration with city politics.
"When I took this seat as commissioner in January, I really thought that I, along with the rest of the board, could make a difference and help the department move forward," said Tim Manion, who resigned Oct. 19.
"Little by little the politicians -- and in some cases our own people -- are sending our volunteer fire department into a tailspin that we may not be able to reverse if we don't act now," he said. "I have 28 years invested in this department, and it is a real shame to see where it is heading."
Manion recently applied for a $1 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to replace aging equipment, in particular, radios he said failed 50 percent of the time. Mayor Mark A. Lauretti took issue with the information, saying he didn't believe the figure was accurate, even though it was cited in the federal grant application.
"I stand behind that number because, at the time of the application, we had radios going down on a daily basis, engines out of service due to no communications, base station problems etc., etc., and that is not good," Manion wrote in an email.
"If he wants to resign that's his choice," Lauretti said Tuesday afternoon.
Manion, as vice chairman, has been heading the commission since no chairman had been appointed by the mayor.
"It's a shame when a member of the fire department for so long can't take it anymore," said Chris Jones, a city firefighter challenging Lauretti in the November mayoral race.
"You shouldn't have to fight for things critical to the department, like the faulty radios," he said. "He (Manion) only wants what's best for the guys. He doesn't want to have to deal with any political stuff."
Jones said the department needs "an administration that is pro-firefighters."
On Tuesday, Manion said he didn't mean for his resignation, or what he wrote in the email, to become a "political issue."
"I just felt it was best to step down," he said. "That's it."
Although he resigned as vice chairman, Manion said he would be finishing his term as commissioner from the White Hills fire company and would seek another two-year term so he could tend to unfinished projects.
Reach Anne M. Amato at 203-330-6496 or [email protected].
