By Gretyl Macalaster
The Union Leader Correspondent
CANDIA, N.H. — Rudy Cartier may have remained on the volunteer fire department after seeking reinstatement in December, but he is not permitted to respond to calls, according to an e-mail released by Cartier last month.
In the agreement reached between Cartier and the Board of Selectmen in December, Cartier was reinstated as fire chief, but immediately resigned the position due to work-related time constraints.
The board allowed him to stay on as a firefighter and EMS, but with the provision that he was allowed to attend trainings only.
”... as part of my reinstatement, the Board will only allow me to attend trainings and I am forbidden from responding to emergency calls or attend Candia Fire-Rescue meetings,” Cartier wrote in an e-mail sent to numerous residents. “Yes, I am still qualified, but I am not allowed to use my fire and emergency medical services education, training, skills or experience in Candia.”
No details about the agreement had previously been released, as the agreement was private under state law because it pertained to personnel.
The town’s attorney, Barton Mayer, of the firm Upton and Hatfield in Concord, said Cartier’s e-mail allowed the board of selectmen to respond to the details released, but it does not make the full agreement public.
Mayer said Cartier voluntarily entered into the agreement with selectmen and that it was by no means a unilateral decision.
Cartier could not be reached for comment by press time yesterday.
Fred Kelley, chairman of the board of selectmen said he did not want to comment further on the issue.
Cartier took a leave of absence in October after the Rockingham County Attorney’s office released a report calling into question Cartier’s ability to lead. The report also alleged Cartier had failed to report a suspicious fire in the time required by law.
Cartier called the investigation a “witch hunt” and had stated that the board’s decision to reinstate him showed that he was not a danger to the community.
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