Conflict Between Fire Officials Doused Behind Closed Doors

By Andrew Gorosko

It appears that some of the intensity of an ongoing conflict between the Board of Fire Commissioners (BFC) and the Botsford fire chief has subsided, based on the tone of public comments that were made following a lengthy closed session held this week between the BFC and the fire chief to discuss their differences.

The seven-member board and Botsford Fire Rescue Company Chief Wayne Ciaccia met in a 55-minute executive session at the Hawleyville Firehouse on March 26, which followed an hourlong open BFC meeting attended by about 35 people.

The tone of the open BFC session this week was subdued and markedly different than the tense, emotional tone at an open board meeting on March 13, at which several BFC members pointedly complained about Chief Ciaccia’s behavior, which some alleged seeks to circumvent the BFC’s jurisdiction. Chief Ciaccia did not attend the March 13 session.

On March 13, some fire commissioners charged that Chief Ciaccia has acted to undermine the board’s authority by complaining to the first selectman and to the Board of Finance that the BFC unfairly favors funding for the Newtown Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook volunteer fire companies, to the detriment of the smaller fire companies serving Botsford, Hawleyville, and Dodgingtown.

Unlike the March 13 session at which BFC members’ complaints about Chief Ciaccia’s behavior were made in open session, on March 26 the discussion moved behind closed doors.

Following the closed session, BFC Chairman Kevin Cragin acknowledged that Chief Ciaccia was the topic at the closed meeting, but declined to discuss any specifics.

On March 27, Mr Cragin said, “We’re not discussing what took place in executive session…I’m not going to comment on it…I’m glad that the chief was able to come to last night’s meeting.”

Just after the March 26 closed session ended, Chief Ciaccia said he would not discuss that meeting.

On March 27, Chief Ciaccia said, “We’re going to move forward…Hopefully, this is resolved and we can move on…All I can say is we’re moving forward.” Chief Ciaccia stressed that he plans to remain as Botsford’s fire chief.

Open Session

At the open portion of the BFC session on March 26, BFC members received a letter from Chief Ciaccia in which he urged that the BFC be fair in its actions as they affect the five local volunteer fire companies. Some of the BFC members appear arbitrary in their actions, he wrote.

In that letter, Chief Ciaccia urged that the BFC endorse funding that would allow Botsford to have a paid fire truck driver stationed in the Botsford firehouse during the daytime on weekdays. The Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook fire companies already have such arrangements. In the letter, the chief urged that the BFC hold a meeting to consider his funding request.

“Be responsive and fair to all [fire] departments in town. We are all in this together,” Chief Ciaccia added in the letter.

Longtime Botsford Firefighter Marty Schertzer told BFC members that he was disappointed to have read newspaper accounts of various disparaging comments about Chief Ciaccia made by BFC members at the March 13 session.

Such comments tend to damage all fire companies in town, Mr Schertzer said. “It’s totally unfair…It’s bad for all of us,” he said, in urging board members to retract their comments.

BFC member Michael Burton, who is Sandy Hook’s BFC member, said, “We do feel we are acting as fairly as we can,” when considering that the larger fire districts require more funding that the smaller fire districts.

Funding for the five fire districts cannot be split evenly because the districts have differing levels of activity, he said. Bigger districts require more funding, he said.

Mr Burton provided BFC members with information comparing the activity levels of the five fire companies. (See related story.)

Jay Nezvesky, who is Botsford’s BFC member, said Botsford has no problem cooperating with the BFC, adding that it is seeking guidelines for cooperation, such as a manual and a set of standard operating procedures which would prevent miscommunication from occurring.

First Selectman Comments

Asked for comment on the conflict between some BFC members and Chief Ciaccia, First Selectman Pat Llodra provided a statement on the matter on March 28.

The first selectman wrote, “I don’t know any of the conversation that took place in the executive session discussion with Chief Ciaccia.

“The members of the [BFC], the fire chiefs, and department members are men and women of good will and provide an important and valued service to our community. I am confident that they will not let this internal conflict distract them from their greater mission of public safety, ” she wrote.

“I have no evidence of [funding] bias and can confidently state that any discussions I have had with any members of the [BFC] about budgets and resource allocation always focus on the needs of five departments, individually and collectively,” she added.

“The [BFC], along with the other municipal agencies, has put forth a strong and consistent effort to hold the line on spending. That effort to control spending resulted in denial and deferral of requests, especially capital items, as put forth from individual departments,” she wrote, noting, “I, and the Board of Selectmen, am responsible for some of those denials and deferrals, such as the decision to eliminate the purchase of two new command vehicles for Hawleyville and for Dodgingtown. That action does not mean we are biased against or have preferences for one department over another. It does mean that we are very careful about adding to the bottom line and that we are acutely aware of the need to actively manage expenditures,” she wrote.

Mrs Llodra attended the March 26 BFC session to discuss Hawleyville’s and Dodgingtown’s requests for new fire command vehicles. Such vehicles would be used by the fire companies’ command staff at incidents.

Although town officials have decided against purchasing new command vehicles for the two fire companies, Mrs Llodra described a mechanism through which the two fire companies might get some used vehicles for that purpose.

Under that proposal, when the town fire marshal’s existing SUV is replaced with a new vehicle, the used SUV would then be adapted for use as a fire command vehicle by Hawleyville. Also, Dodgingtown’s existing SUV fire command vehicle would be mechanically upgraded by the town.

Mrs Llodra said she has some confidence that the proposal could materialize, but cannot promise that town officials would approve allowing Hawleyville to use the used fire marshal’s vehicle for a fire command vehicle and also approve upgrading Dodgingtown’s existing fire command vehicle. Mrs Llodra asked that the BFC provide formal comments on the proposal.

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