Volunteer Firefighters Don't Want to Lose Rank
Publicado - Published: 28/02/2008

CONNECTICUT (Martin B. Cassidy).- A proposal to promote eight new lieutenants this year to provide better leadership and supervision at the Cos Cob and Byram fire stations has drawn concerns from volunteer firefighters' chain of command, town officials said.

In recent Board of Estimate & Taxation Budget Committee hearings, volunteer firefighters objected to the proposal, concerned that the lieutenants would be inserted above volunteer company chiefs during firefighting operations on each 24-hour shift, Fire Chief Peter Siecienski said.

The proposal would not change the district chief's stature, Siecienski said.

"There was some confusion as to the status of the chain of command," Siecienski said. "The volunteer district chiefs will still outrank lieutenants during fire ground operations if they are responding to a fire."

Jerry Cutrone, president of the Greenwich Volunteer Firefighters Association and a volunteer at the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department declined to comment on the proposal. Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Chief Thomas Anderson, co-president of the Greenwich Volunteer Fire Chiefs Association also declined to comment. In 2006, the town changed the overall department's command structure by creating four new career deputy chiefs to act as shift commanders and direct lieutenants and volunteer district chiefs during firefighting efforts.

"They have already been relegated to a spot under the deputy chief/shift commander and didn't want to lose any perceived part of the command structure," Siecienski said.

First Selectman Peter Tesei said he was concerned that volunteer firefighters perceived the additional lieutenants as a prelude toward diminishing the role of volunteer chiefs and firefighters in the town. "There was a perceived notion on the part of the volunteer services that this was a move toward eliminating our combination services," Tesei said. "In no way would I want to lessen the role of volunteer district chiefs and it certainly won't happen on my watch."

Cos Cob and Byram are the only two firehouses without a career lieutenant on each 24-hour shift, and are currently staffed with two rank-and-file firefighters, sometimes creating confusion because neither firefighter has the authority to lead firefighting efforts or to make other day-to-day decisions running the firehouses, Siecienski said.

The new lieutenants would be promoted from within the department, requiring about $118,000 in additional salary for the new officers. Siecienski said if approved the positions would create better accountability and safer firefighting efforts in those two neighborhoods.

"It strengthens our health and safety initiatives for the two areas of town that don't have lieutenants seven days a week," Siecienski said. "Those two areas don't get the same level of protection and we are looking to get those positions in place."

Currently the town charter places volunteer district chiefs second only in command to the chief of the fire department.

Greenwich Time