Fire Service Plan Meeting Opens Old Wounds

Stamford's full-time and volunteer firefighters had a noticeably difficult time sharing a room with one another during a Thursday evening Board of Representatives meeting.

"Can't we work together? Unfortunately, that's just not the real world," Stamford Volunteer Fire Department and former Turn of River fire chief Ray Whitbread said during his presentation, which supported Pavia's fire plan and began at 7:25 p.m. in the Democratic Caucus room of the Stamford Government Center.

"We made a concerted decision a few years ago to take the 'high road'," Whitbread said.

Whitbread refers to an apparent long-running rivalry between Stamford's unionized firefighters the volunteer firefighters that support them. In his presentation, Whitbread recounted past response incidents between the two groups where they nearly came to blows, which elicited sighs and grumbles of disbelief from the many full-time firefighters in attendance. Whitbread suggested that not only had unions prevented full-time firefighters from supporting volunteers, but as it stood, volunteers and full-time firefighters could not co-habitate.

"What would change that," board member Gloria DePina asked.

"In this case of this plan, we have two different entities that are under two different chain of commands," Whitbread said during a long reply. "People who continue this are going to be taken to task for it...it's the small group of instigators who cause the problem."

Whitbread also provided answers to often-asked questions about the new fire plan's financing, stating that there would be an increase to the city's current fire budget of over $41 million if Pavia's fire plan is implemented.

"Under the mayor's plan, there is going to be a slight bump in that city-wide number…the mayor has guaranteed that there will be no layoffs," Whitbread said. After the meeting Whitebread told Patch that one-year, $2 million budget bump could result in a raise in downtown taxes, but prevent firefighter layoffs throughout the city.

"I think the mayor's plan is an excellent plan. It will work," Whitbread said.

After Whitbread's presentation, all other Board agendas were held and the meeting adjourned, delaying a Board of Representatives decision on the fire plan until at least 2012.

"I want to thank the committee for all of your hard work, and urge you to move it to the next step," Mayor Pavia told the committee at the meeting's conclusion.