WESTBROOK — A handful of Fire/Police members have resigned following the City Council’s inaction on designating a separate building for call members.

Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte confirmed Tuesday morning that three people, including the Fire/Police captain and lieutenant, officially resigned over the weekend. The Fire/Police division of the department includes call members acting in supporting roles. 

Capt. Wayne Chick and Lt. Thomas Walsh resigned “for personal reasons,” Turcotte said, as did Fire/Police member Dave Selby. Turcotte said two more resignations are expected, but he has yet to receive official letters.

Prior to the resignations, there were nine Fire/Police members and 13 call members, all of whom are paid an hourly wage when responding to calls.

The City Council met July 20 for a workshop discussion regarding Fire Department matters, including designating a building for call members, accepting a grant and appropriating funds for a new fire truck.

The building being discussed, located at 41 Cumberland St., was the city’s primary fire station from 1947 until the Public Safety building opened in 2004. The building is owned by Sappi, which allows the city to use it for municipal purposes. If the city ever ceases municipal use, the building reverts to the company.

The building has been used most recently by the Sewer Department, which is now moving to the new Public Services Facility. Mayor Mike Sanphy brought forward the idea of relocating the Fire Department’s call members to 41 Cumberland St.

“If we don’t use it we lose it,” said Sanphy, a former call member.

Councilors John O’Hara and Victor Chau said the building should be returned to Sappi while Councilor Lynda Adams inquired if the city could use it for storage. Councilor Ann Peoples said she wants to see the city use it in some way.

“I think it’d be a shame to lose the ability to use that building,” she said.

Councilors ultimately took no action on the item. The city can now propose an alternative use for council approval or give the building back to Sappi.

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said having the call and career members of the Fire Department in one building has created tension between the two groups.

“There’s a great deal of dissatisfaction among members of the call company and the Fire/Police with the current arrangement,” he said.

Walsh on Tuesday said he resigned because of the council’s response to giving 41 Cumberland St. to the call company. He said the Fire/Police and call members are “not respected much at all” by the full-time firefighters.

“It’s like we’re the enemy and I don’t know why,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I have other things to do besides play politics.”

Walsh said the Fire/Police and call members thought it was “an awesome idea” to have their own building and that they assumed the City Council would agree.

“We’d love to have our own fire station,” he said. “It’d be a great community space and great for Westbrook.”

Members of the council acknowledged the tension between the two groups, but said they didn’t see the value in separating them. 

“I don’t believe splitting people up is going to resolve any conflicts that exist now,” Adams said. “If anything, I think it might make it a little bit worse.”

O’Hara agreed and said the groups need to act more professionally and work through their differences.

“The truth is, there will never be true hand-in-glove between the two groups,” he said. “It’s not going to happen.”

In addition to further dividing the two groups, councilors also said separation could result in mixed messages. They said it’s better to have the chief oversee everyone in one building so they all receive the same messages and updates.

Turcotte at the meeting said the Fire Department is “a warm, friendly, inclusive environment.” On Tuesday he acknowledged that many fire departments across the country see conflicts between full-time firefighters and call members. He declined to give his personal opinion on whether call members should have their own building. 

“My stance is that I’m going to do what’s directed by the city administration, the City Council and the mayor,” Turcotte said.

In the meantime, the department will operate as normal, he said. Turcotte said he will “work within the current structure” to appoint people to interim positions in the Fire/Police division.

SAFER grant

Councilors last week also discussed accepting a $962,000  grant to hire eight firefighters, which was approved at first reading on Monday.

The Fire Department was selected for the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency). It will fund the eight positions for three years.

If the City Council gives final approval to the grant next month, the city will be obligated to cover 25 percent of the cost of the eight positions for the first two years and 65 percent of the cost for the third year.

Bryant assured councilors that the city isn’t obligated to maintain the eight positions after the grant period is over. 

“If this staffing level in the three-year time doesn’t prove itself to be justified and supportable, at the end of the three-year term we have absolute discretion not to continue the eight positions,” he said.

Bryant said if the city decides on layoffs at the end of the three years, it will be done in “inverse seniority.” The hope, though, is that senior firefighters will retire at the end of three years and at least some of the new hires can stay on.

According to Turcotte, the eight new hires will allow his department to reduce both overtime costs and the need to rely on other communities for backup. He said the hires would increase revenue because Westbrook could send out more ambulances instead of giving calls to other communities.

Engine 4

The Fire Department on July 20 also informed the City Council about the need to replace Engine 4, a 75-foot ladder truck.

The department recently spent $20,000 to repair rust and corrosion on the truck, which the city has owned since 2006. The truck was built in 2004 and responds to over 1,700 calls per year.

Turcotte said the department will ask the council to appropriate an additional $28,000 in the fall to fix more rust, as well as cracks, in the frame. This is expected to extend the life of the truck an additional three to five years. If no action is taken, the truck will last two to three more years.

Replacing the truck in a few years will cost the city $750,000-$900,000. The City Council took no action Thursday night and only received the update.

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

The former fire station at 41 Cumberland St. was proposed by Mayor Mike Sanphy to be used again as a station for call members, and when councilors disagreed a handful of call members resigned.

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