Chief Cites Fire Co. Inequities—

Botsford Fire Chief Draws Fire From Commissioners 

By Andrew Gorosko

The Board of Fire Commissioners (BFC) convened a special meeting this week to air its complaints about the actions of Botsford Fire Rescue Company Chief Wayne Ciaccia, who some commission members charge has acted to undermine the authority of the seven-member panel.

Chief Ciaccia did not attend the tense, emotional March 13 session held at the Newtown Hook & Ladder Firehouse, but said on March 14 that he would attend the panel’s scheduled March 26 meeting to respond to the board’s various complaints about him.

The BFC has seven members, two civilian members and one member from each of the five local volunteer fire companies. The board oversees public safety budgeting for the five fire companies, including the purchase and maintenance of the town-owned fire vehicles used by those companies.

Chairman Kevin Cragin, who is a civilian BFC member, said, “There’s been an ongoing problem with Chief Wayne Ciaccia of Botsford Fire Rescue.” The situation needs to be addressed by both the board and by the Botsford fire company, Mr Cragin said.

Chief Ciaccia has not abided by the BFC’s rules concerning its public oversight of the five fire companies, Mr Cragin said. Chief Ciaccia has met with the first selectman and has accused the BFC of wrongdoing, Mr Cragin added.

Also, Chief Ciaccia submitted a public letter of complaint about the BFC to the Board of Finance, Mr Cragin said. Chief Ciaccia has ignored the functioning of the BFC’s purchasing agent Michael Burton, according to Mr Cragin. Chief Ciaccia has made various accusations about the BFC that has led to an “atmosphere of distrust,” the chairman added.

In a February 26 letter to the Board of Finance, Chief Ciaccia listed several complaints about the BFC’s operations, charging that the Newtown Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook fire companies get preferred treatment from the BFC in terms of their facilities, vehicles, and paid staffing, while the fire companies from Botsford, Hawleyville, and Dodgingtown do not get their fair share of public funding.

In that letter, Chief Ciaccia wrote, in part, “It is apparent that two of the five departments in town have been on the receiving end, while the other three have been disregarded for years. I have been struggling with the Board of Fire Commissioners for one simple thing — equal treatment for all five departments, nothing more. Achieving this goal is similar to consistently banging my head against a brick wall,” he wrote.

Mr Burton, who is Sandy Hook’s BFC representative, said, “I resent the lack of support shown,” including attacks made against him and the Sandy Hook fire company by Chief Ciaccia.

Mr Burton noted that Chief Ciaccia met with the first selectman without the BFC’s knowledge in order to complain about the BFC.

Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead said that Chief Ciaccia’s letter to the Board of Finance is not factual, adding that the BFC has done a good job with the budgeting process for the town’s five fire companies.

Mr Burton added that the BFC has not disregarded the fire companies from Botsford, Hawleyville, and Dodgingtown.

“The fact that this chief [Ciaccia] feels that some departments are favored and some are not, is totally untrue,” Mr Burton said.

Chief Ciaccia’s letter to the finance board is misleading and should be retracted by him, Mr Burton said.

Jay Nezvesky, who is Botsford’s BFC member, asked why Chief Ciaccia did not get a notice of the March 13 BFC session.

Mr Cragin responded that Chief Ciaccia had received an agenda for the session, but did not attend.

Mr Nezvesky said that had he known in advance that BFC members would be reading detailed statements complaining about Chief Ciaccia, he would have had the Chief Ciaccia attend the BFC session.

Mr Cragin said he expects that the issues surrounding the fire chief would be discussed at upcoming BFC sessions. “We’ll have plenty of meetings to address this,” he said.

David Jossick, who is Hawleyville’s BFC member, said the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company believes that “it’s coming up short” regarding its repeated requests for a fire command vehicle, which have not been endorsed by the BFC.

Rob Manna, who is Hook & Ladder’s BFC member, said the BFC acts fairly in overseeing the five fire companies, adding that the larger, busier fire companies require more resources than the other companies.

Mark Ouelette, who is the Botsford fire company’s president, said that all of that company’s members support Chief Ciaccia’s letter to the Board of Finance.

Mr Manna said that Chief Ciaccia should not seek to intimidate the BFC.

Mr Manna urged that Botsford fire company members “get the chief under control” in asking that Botsford representatives return to the BFC with a solution to the problems posed by Chief Ciaccia’s actions.

BFC civilian member Lisa Goosman said of the Botsford fire company, “Something has to change down there. You’re becoming the laughingstock again. I don’t want Botsford to be the laughingstock, but they’re becoming the laughingstock.”

“He’s thumbed his nose at the [BFC] numerous times,” Ms Goosman said of Chief Ciaccia’s actions.

Chief Ciaccia’s letter to the Board of Finance would lead a person to incorrectly believe that the BFC is “incompetent or crooked,” Mr Burton said. Chief Ciaccia’s complaints should be made to the BFC, not the Board of Finance, Mr Burton said.

Chief Ciaccia has made purchases for the Botsford fire company without using the BFC’s purchase order process, Mr Burton said. Also, the fire chief “has gone behind the board’s back” to the town finance department regarding the awarding of a bid, Mr Burton said. Chief Ciaccia has created his own procedures, Mr Burton said.

Mr Jossick said that Chief Ciaccia should attend the next BFC session, adding that he does not like how the March 13 session was handled. “The handling of this has been destructive,” Mr Jossick said.

Mr Cragin said of Chief Ciaccia’s actions, “He is acting separately, outside the Board of Fire Commissioners. He’s done it consistently for years now…He’s trying to do business outside the public venue…This has been going on for years.”

Mr Burton asked whether the Botsford fire company is experiencing financial problems.

The fire company currently “is in the red,” said Mr Nezvesky, who added that financial matters will improve when the weather gets warmer and the company resumes its fundraising through its swimming pool water operation.

Mr Cragin urged that Chief Ciaccia attend the next BFC meeting, adding that it would be good for all five local fire chiefs to attend the BFC’s sessions.

Ernie Descheneaux, who is Dodgingtown’s BFC member, did not attend the March 13 BFC session.

Ciaccia Responds

On March 14, Chief Ciaccia responded to some of the issues raised at the meeting. He said he would have attended the session if he had been invited to do so.

The fire chief said he will attend the panel’s March 26 meeting.

“Ninety-nine percent of it is not true,” the chief said of the BFC’s objections to his letter to the Board of Finance. That letter does not distort the facts, he said.

Chief Ciaccia stressed that his comments reflect the thinking of Botsford fire company’s members.

If Botsford fire company members were content with the BFC’s actions, there would have been no need for him to approach the first selectman with his issues about the BFC, he said.

Chief Ciaccia said that he wrote the letter to the Board of Finance to inform it of inequalities that exist among the five fire companies.

Although Botsford fire company members have complained to BFC members about various problems, BFC members do not truly listen to such complaints, he said.

“We want to be treated equally,” he said. The chief said he has repeatedly sought to obtain funding through the BFC for a firefighter who would be stationed at the Botsford firehouse in the daytime on weekdays to immediately drive a fire truck to fire calls. Botsford has not received such funding, but the Sandy Hook and Hook & Ladder fire companies have received funding for such arrangements, he said.

Botsford firefighters are well-trained volunteers who do not get paid for their work, he stressed.

“I’m a volunteer and I dedicate my time to this place,” he said.

Chief Ciaccia said that Dodgingtown and Hawleyville volunteer firefighters should be supporting his positions because those fire companies face the same funding inequalities which Botsford faces.

“Fairness, that’s what the whole thing is about. Everything should be on the same playing field,” Chief Ciaccia said.

“There’s a lot of happy people down here,” he said of Botsford residents’ appreciation of the job done by Botsford firefighters.