Date: Fri 16-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-fire-agreement

Full Text:

Rosenthal: Agreement With State Over Fairfield Hills Fire Protection Is Dead

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal this week informed the state the town will

not provide either primary or secondary fire protection for Fairfield Hills

because the state has failed to ratify a fire protection agreement that the

town endorsed earlier this year.

In February, the town signed a pact calling for town volunteer firefighters to

assume full responsibility for responding to fire calls at Fairfield Hills,

the vacant former state mental institution which closed in 1995.

Under the agreement, firefighters from the Newtown Hook and Ladder Volunteer

Fire Company would be the first to respond to fire calls at the 600-acre

state-owned property in the geographic center of town. Additional local fire

companies would be called to emergencies, as needed.

Although the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM) and state Department

of Public Works (DPW) endorsed the fire protection agreement, the state

Department of Correction (DOC) failed to do so, nullifying the agreement, Mr

Rosenthal said.

"The Newtown volunteer fire companies will not provide the first response or

primary fire protection for the Fairfield Hills campus," Mr Rosenthal wrote in

an April 13 letter to T.R. Anson, DPW commissioner. The letter adds the state

has breached 1991 and 1993 agreements with the town by eliminating Fairfield

Hills' fire department in June 1997 without notifying the town that it was

doing so.

"Thus, the Town of Newtown has no obligation to provide secondary response and

will do not do so until such time as a `real' first responder is provided by

the state and `jointly developed emergency response plans' are provided," Mr

Rosenthal added.

Mr Rosenthal said the town has been seeking to resolve the Fairfield Hills

fire protection issue with the state for almost two years. "We've been

prepared to be the first [fire responders] for the past two years," he said.

"I'm very disappointed. I think this is gross negligence on the part of the

DPW," Mr Rosenthal said.

Newtown Hook and Ladder Fire Chief Dave Ober said "It's just a shame that the

matter is being held up. It's an unfortunate problem."

State's View

Kevin Dempsey, an administrative assistant to the DPW commissioner, said DPW

is seeking to reach some new agreement with the town regarding Fairfield Hills

fire protection. He said he hopes such a pact can be reached soon.

It is unclear whether the DOC would be a party to such an agreement, he said.

DOC operates the high-security Garner Correctional Institution adjacent to

Fairfield Hills.

DOC spokesman Bill Wheeler said DOC opted against signing the pact due to a

provision in it which DOC interprets as requiring it to pay a $500 fee to each

local fire company when it responds to a fire call at Garner.

DOC already pays the town PILOT grant funds which can be used to acquire fire

protection equipment, he said. PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) grants are

given by the state to municipalities where large state facilities are located.

Such PILOT funds cover the costs for town fire calls to Garner, Mr Wheeler

said.

"I have no comment on how they [DOC] construe things," Mr Rosenthal said.

Mr Rosenthal said he wanted the Fairfield Hills fire protection agreement to

be strictly between the town and DPW.

DPW is shirking its fire protection responsibilities at Fairfield Hills for

town workers at Canaan House and the residents of Addiction-Prevention-Therapy

at Greenwich House, Mr Rosenthal said.

The first selectman said that in the event of a true emergency at Fairfield

Hills, he has no doubt that local firefighters "would do the right thing."

But, he added it's irresponsible for the DPW to take advantage of the good

will of local firefighters without having a Fairfield Hills fire protection

agreement in place.

Town officials were scheduled to meet with Tunxis Management Company on

Thursday to discuss Fairfield Hills fire protection issues. The company

operates Fairfield Hills for the state. Since the Fairfield Hills Fire

Department went out of business in May 1997, Tunxis workers have been on call

for fire protection there.

Town fire officials have said the state has been fortunate there have been no

major fire emergencies at Fairfield Hills during recent months when there has

been little fire protection stationed on the grounds.