“Listen to what the firefighters have to say tonight. They’re crying out,” Fire Union President Jimmy Kottage implored Mayor-elect Toni Harp’s transition committee on public safety Monday evening.
Kottage (pictured), president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 825, made that pitch following testimony by firefighters calling for changes in administration, testing criteria, and increased diversity in hiring and promotion in the fire department.
The 12-person committee from Harp’s transition team, on public safety and crime, met in the basement hearing room at 200 Orange St. for two and a half hours to hear advice from the community on crime, policing, fire and paramedic practices, prison re-entry, and youth services, in anticipation of the new mayor taking office Jan. 1. The committee plans to make recommendations to Harp by next week.
Much of what the committee heard concerned dissatisfaction in the fire department.
“Right now we’re just listening and gathering information,” said Committee Chair Bill Carbone. He said that he found the firefighters’ statements “compelling,” and that they would be “taken into consideration.”
Fire Lt. Gary Tinney and firefighters Darrell Brooks, Kenneth Oliver Jr. and Steven Ortiz all spoke up in favor of a department shake-up.
CORA LEWIS PHOTO
Firefighter candidate Daunne Blake (pictured) also told her story — of studying rigorously, training physically to exceed the required athletic criteria (she said she lost fifty pounds), and still finding herself locked out of hiring, due, she said, to the heavy weight of an oral exam over the written portion of the test.
Brooks criticized the department’s lack of an emergency medical services (EMS) supervisor, a critical position given that 80 percent of firefighters’ calls include medical help.
When the previous supervisor retired, two firefighters in the department were qualified to fill the position, Oliver claimed: a black candidate (himself) and a Hispanic candidate. A third, Caucasian candidate, had an expired certification, but was working at the time to get the necessary credentials to test for the spot. Despite the two existing potential hires, the process ended abruptly, with the seat unfilled, he said.
When Oliver acted as interim EMS supervisor for six months, he described himself as a whistleblower for pointing out that more than 100 department members had expired CPR cards. The cards, when valid, indicate the required level of training in life-saving techniques has been fulfilled.
Lt. Tinney spoke about the need to introduce a training program in New Haven among high school students to prepare them for careers in police, fire department, and security. He told the committee that classes are already underway at Hillhouse High School; he estimated it would cost $240,000 to expand the education initiative to the city’s public school system.
Such a program would mean there could be “no excuses” when it comes time to recruit and hire new department members from within New Haven.
Dispatcher Sherri Thompson also weighed in on the organization of police and fire dispatch centers. Since 2005, fire and police have worked in a “civilianized” center, she said, which means dispatchers are responsible for responding to both police and fire 911 calls, despite some dispatchers lacking adequate training.
Social worker Onya Harris, football coach Reggie Lytle, and heads of local youth organizations also gave advice to the city’s new mayor-elect at the public hearing.
Between 25 and 30 community members, including Mayor-elect Harp (pictured), attended the session, filtering in and out. Harp arrived a little over halfway through the proceedings.
Barbara Tinney of New Haven Family Alliance spoke on the importance of restricting access to guns in New Haven, citing the statistic that 60 percent of firearms are purchased legally in-state.
In addition to Chairman Carbone, the committee included: Jason Bartlett, Lucy Roach, Dawud Amin, Doug Bethea, Dina O’Neill, Eli Greer, Miguel Pittman, Edward Taylor, Robin Higgins, Annex Alderman Al Paolillo and Beaver Hills Alderman Brian Wingate.
More like just crying. The change should include the union leadership. The same guys spouting the same lies. Kottage Brooks and Tinney have done more to damage morale than anyone else has. All they do is knock our Department with a bunch of made up BS. Go to work and do your job. If Kottage and Tinney are so concerned about New Haven they should live here and not in the burbs. Kenny please give it a break ems is run better now than it ever has been with Captain Marcerelli in charge of it along with running the training school. It was a mess before Matt took it over. Jimmy try to focus on atleast keeping what we have and not giving it all away like you criticized the police union for.