By Shawn Regan
The Eagle Tribune
HAVERHILL, Mass. — The first disciplinary hearings for firefighters accused in the EMT scandal were postponed, fueling speculation that the mayor and firefighters union are discussing a way to avoid lengthy suspensions and related costs.
Fire Chief Richard Borden has recommended a combined 17,000 hours of unpaid suspensions for the 29 firefighters accused of lying about receiving their emergency medical technician recertification. Some city officials said they fear suspensions of that magnitude would jeopardize public safety and force Haverhill to pay costly overtime to other firefighters to keep the department running.
A negotiated agreement between the mayor and union could punish the firefighters to some level, but also spare Haverhill the expense of holding 29 hearings and paying legal fees for appeals by the firefighters.
Hearings for three of the firefighters were scheduled for Friday. Fiorentini and City Solicitor William Cox said those hearings were canceled at the union’s request because its lawyer and a private attorney representing one of the firefighters had scheduling conflicts. The president of the firefighters union, Greg Roberts, has declined comment on the matter. A message left for the union’s lawyer, Timothy Belcher of Boston, was not returned.
City Councilor David Hall said he has heard lots of talk that the mayor and union may be working on a deal, but he has no credible information on it.
“My hope is they can make an agreement that includes some kind of punishment duty that would save the city money instead of costing us money, and avoid all these hearings,” said Hall, who is chairman of the council’s Public Safety Committee. “The EMTs deserve punishment, but we can’t jeopardize public safety to do it.”
When asked if he is talking to the union about a deal, Fiorentini refused to comment.
Fiorentini has said if he supports the fire chief’s recommended punishment for the 29 firefighters, the suspensions would be spread over the next year or two. He said officials are working on a plan to accommodate the suspensions without having to pay other firefighters excessive overtime to fill in for the suspended firefighters or close fire stations.
Hall said while that sounds good, it would be difficult to accomplish.
“We spent $1.3 million on overtime in that department last year and have already spent around $800,000 this year,” Hall said. “I don’t see how we could do all those thousands of hours of suspensions and not spend even more on overtime, especially given how short-staffed they are over there.”
Council President Michael Hart said he would like to see the mayor and union work out something that includes voluntary service to the city.
“I understand we have to do it, but holding all these hearings and then suspending people whose shifts will likely have to be covered with overtime is certainly a lose-lose for the city,” Hart said. “But if they can work something out that includes some sort of volunteer community service or give-backs that also includes an apology to the public and avoids the cost of hearings and suspensions, that would be ideal. But it can’t be just a slap on the wrist.”
On New Year’s Eve, the mayor notified the 29 firefighters named last year by the state as participants in the statewide EMT training scandal that they face unpaid suspensions, demotions of rank and possibly even losing their jobs.
The fire chief has recommended Fiorentini suspend 22 of the firefighters without pay for 624 hours each — the equivalent of approximately 26, 24-hour shifts, or about 30 percent of their annual pay. Borden has recommended 300 hours of unpaid suspensions for the other seven firefighters. The mayor is to decide the punishments after the hearings that were to begin Friday.
The Haverhill firefighters are among more than 200 firefighters statewide who have been suspended from working as EMTs by the state for allegedly falsifying records that they completed EMT recertification when they did not actually attend the required training courses.
All 29 Haverhill firefighter hearings are now scheduled for Jan. 24 and 25 and Feb. 3, 10 and 11, Cox said. The Eagle-Tribune has asked that the hearings be open to the public, but Fiorentini said he has yet to decide. The hearings are open only if one side or the other requests it, Cox said.
Before Haverhill firefighter Jeffrey Given was fired several months ago for his for role in the EMT training scheme, the city held a similar hearing on the allegations against him. The mayor opened that hearing at City Hall to the public. At the time, he said the public had a right to know details of the case.
Given allegedly facilitating the scheme locally by collecting money from and obtaining the signatures of colleagues who were then recertified as EMTs without undergoing the required training. According to authorities, Given collected money and signatures of firefighters and then passed them to another person, Leo Nault, who provided the recertifications. Given, Nault and three others were recently indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury for their parts in the scheme. Nault is a former paramedic at the Trinity EMS ambulance company in Haverhill who was responsible for holding the training sessions.
EMTs are required to take refresher courses every two years. The courses cover basic skills and new procedures. In Haverhill, firefighters receive an extra $1,500 per year if they are EMTs, and some receive more money for additional medical training.
Hart said Fiorentini has not told him anything about the investigation of the firefighters conducted by police Chief Alan DeNaro or the mayor’s plan for disciplining firefighters.
“I don’t have a problem with him withholding that information to this point,” Hart said. “My concern is the financial impact to the city. Certainly the mayor’s going to have to come see us about that at some point.”
The EMT scandal is one of several issues to affect the Fire Department in the last year, including several firefighters receiving unpaid suspensions for abusing sick time and one firefighter serving a four-month jail term in New Hampshire while other firefighters covered his shifts.
Republished with permission from The Eagle Tribune