Hudson - Litchfield News October 22, 2010 - 9
Fire Chief -continued from front page
and he, the Chief, ignored, or “pooh-poohed,” this information from his professional team. Maddox stated that you can see that “they have moved,” referring to the cab assembly.
As a result, they Board of Selectmen placed Engine 4 out of service until the issues have been resolved. The Fire Chief stated that he “had been researching that.”
Records, e-mails, log entries, and numerous anonymous discussions suggest that the Chief has known of the issues regarding Engine 4 since its going into service in 2006 and has either failed to follow up, communicate, or inform his superiors, the Hudson Board of Selectmen, with the seriousness of the safety issues of Engine 4. Sources within the Fire Department have confided in the Area News Group and have stated that Selectman Jasper has also known of the safety issues, yet continually sides with the Fire Chief.
According to all Hudson firefighters, both on the record and off the record, the issue with Engine 4 has to do with safety and only safety. The perceived issues of miscommunication and mismanagement have become frustrating, and these two issues have clouded the real issue. “It has to do with our personal safety, the safety of the public, and providing the town of Hudson with the Fire Engine that they purchased, not ‘a lemon,’” comments a firefighter. “We are not attacking the Chief. We just want the truck to work properly for all concerned.” When contacting the Fire Chief with regards to the status of Engine 4, he stated, “I have no further information or comment at this time. A review of the Board of Selectmen meeting from Tuesday will provide you with the status of the engine. It is currently out of service until a resolution on the cab is reached. The engine being out of service does not impact the Hudson Fire Department response capability to fires, as there are three other fire engines in service at this time. I am currently continuing to work with the Chief Engineer from KME and through the dealer Bulldog Fire Apparatus to resolve those issues. KME continues to offer its support and assistance in reaching a resolution.” Presently, “the engine is at Central Fire Station, and the engine
was kept at Central Fire Station when it came back [from DDA two weeks ago], and didn’t go on any runs. Truck is out of service until further notice. You can watch the BOS meeting to get all of the details,” said Chief Murray.
When asked about the cost of recent repairs to Engine 4, the Chief stated, “I don’t have the invoices yet on the cost over the past two to three weeks. It got a state inspection, and the greasing of the driveshaft and adjustment to the cab isolators was all that was done. It still needs to go back to DDA when they get an exhaust.” Hudson firefighters are unanimous in their feelings that their desires are only for the engine to work properly, safely, and correctly. Off-the-record statements have been made that the firefighters are making up these reports as a “retribution” for the
24-hour shifts being canceled by the Board of Selectmen. Other comments state that the firefighters wish to get rid of Engine 4 and replace the engine with another. The Chief feels that his firefighters believe that he does not care about his men’s safety with regards to this engine. All of these beliefs are false, hurtful, and only break down the relationships between firefighters, administration, and the Board of Selectmen, and eventually take a toll on the town of Hudson. Those closest to the problem, while offered the opportunity to discuss their concerns, feel as though their concerns are neither valued nor appreciated. “We are allowed to express opinions, but they aren’t always received positively,” comment the firefighters, who have stated privately that they “fear retaliation” from the Chief, should they go public with their opinions as well. “You don’t know him like we do.”
Coutu made the motion to have the Chief appear at the next regular meeting, non-public, to discuss the morale and to invite any employee of the Fire Department to give testimony about fire personnel morale.
Massey “declared that as an invalid motion,” to which Coutu stated, “So, you are going to silence me and the fire department?” With gavel in hand, Massey stated, “I am not going to silence
you; we are going to take care of performance issues if that is what you are after.” By a vote of 3/2, the Fire Chief will appear before the Hudson Board of Selectmen to address the concerns of the firefighters, as expressed to the Board during their investigative processes. In speaking with Erich Weeks, Union President for the Hudson
Firefighters, he stated, “I am very hesitant to become involved with the press with the recent issues and concerns that the firefighters have in regards to morale within the department. Many individual members of the Professional Firefighters of Hudson have come forward at the request of Selectman Coutu to voice their concerns to him. I will also state that the majority of the concerns raised are not related to lack of contract. We do have genuine concerns of safety with the 2006 KME fire truck. It does satisfy us at this time that the Selectmen have voted to take this truck out of service until all the current problems are resolved by KME and the truck gets a third-party engineer to evaluate the safety concerns with a non- biased opinion. There are further concerns that do relate directly to Chief Murray and the direction of this fire department in the past and present. The Selectmen have promised to handle the concerns that they have obtained at the next Selectmen’s meeting behind closed doors. We need to allow the process with the Selectmen and the Chief to play out for any type of resolution. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on my cell phone—603-398-6162.”
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