Middletown RI Fire Chief Resigns amid Criticism over Firefighter Staffing

MIDDLETOWN, RI—Fire Chief Peter Faerber was watching the Guns 'N' Hoses charity hockey game and relaxing with friends in the St. George's School ice arena Friday night after a tough week.

He had tendered his resignation Thursday after 23 years with the Middletown Fire Department amid a week of controversy and was asked if that played a role in his decision to resign.

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"It didn't help," he said. "I don't feel I've been able to do the job as I would like to."

"I don't feel I have been as effective as I'd like to be," he added.

The resignation takes effect on Feb. 14.

The chief kept his eye on the game, which pitted area police officers against area firefighters and was being played to benefit Carrigan Nelson, a Portsmouth teen and gifted singer now battling cancer.

Faerber's week began with a raucous Town Council meeting last Monday, during which residents demanded more staffing for the Fire Department. The town has the smallest firefighting staff on Aquidneck Island and relies heavily on mutual aid from Newport, Portsmouth and the Navy.

"I'd like to have more staffing, absolutely," Faeber said on Friday. "But it's a financial decision that the town has to make. I have to work with the resources I have, the staffing I have, and the budget I have."

In midweek came a written statement from the Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters that said Faerber was "ineffective."

The claim was triggered by the back-and-forth between the town administration and the local firefighters union over the response to a New Year's Eve fire on Woolsey Road. A Newport fire truck was the first fire apparatus to arrive.

"The Fire Chief remained silent while the Town Manager and the Town Council threw the entire Fire Department under the bus," said the statement from the state association that is representing Middletown Firefighters Local 1933 in current arbitration with the town over an expired firefighters labor contract.

"I've always worked with the council and the administration to the best of my ability," Faerber said Friday. "I stayed as long as it made sense to me and my family."

"It did weigh on me, but the decision is my own," Faerber said about the criticism he received.

"It's more personal than anything," he said about his resignation. "I've been contemplating taking this step for a while."

Faerber was named chief of the department in November 2017, taking over for Fire Chief Ronald Doire, who had retired in July that year after a 35-year career, the last 10 leading the Middletown department.

Middletown Human Resources Manager M. Cecilia Dursi said at the time there were 40 applications for the chief's job after it was advertised nationwide. Town officials said at the time Faerber was selected from a list of several worthy candidates because of his experience, ties to the community and his familiarity with the department for a seamless transition.

Faerber began serving with the Middletown Fire Department in 1996 before he graduated from the University of Rhode Island. He went back to school at Providence College and earned his degree in fire science in 2002.

While he was at URI, he had volunteered with the Kingston Fire Department, an experience that cemented his career choice.

"Newport and Middletown were the only two places I applied and I always wanted to work for my hometown department," he said when he was named chief. "It just seemed like a natural fit."

"Everything I've done has been for the safety of the town," Faerber said as he wrapped a short conversation with a reporter Friday night. "I tried to do it for the safety of the residents and the safety of the firefighters."

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