New Questions Raised in Fire Service Revision

Stamford's full-time and volunteer firefighters answered a new batch of questions surrounding both Mayor Pavia's proposed and SPFA's for Stamford's charter revision committee on Tuesday night at the .

"I'm in favor of one chief, one city wide fire district. It's the same plan that they have in the city of Greenwich, it's the same plan that they use in Danbury," Acting Fire Antonio Conte told Patch.

"The biggest issue, I guess, is that there are those proposing a single chief and a single fire department to be superimposed over the city of Stamford," volunteer fire chief Ray Whitbread said.

Because some of the things outlined in either fire service plan would require changes in the city's fire charter, Conte felt that it was important that all sides were heard by the charter revision committee. As , Whitbread discussed scenarios that prioritized the supposed higher response time and greater response strength that the Pavia's service plan would bring. In general, the committee was curious about changes in firefighter infrastructure, and questioned perceived flaws in either plan's chain-of-command.

"I think there's a lot of information being put out, except in charter revision you may the final say as to what changes, if any, that will be made, and I think that they need this background information to make an informed decision," Acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte said.

On Jan. 12, Mayor Michael Pavia announced Conte's appointment as permanent fire chief for Stamford Fire and Rescue.

"I go before the appointments committee on Jan. 31. After the appointments committee, you go before the Board of Representatives for final approval," Conte said. According to the official announcement of Conte's appointment, one of Conte's immediate goals will be to heal the department in the wake of the fire tragedy at Shippan Ave.

While no fire officials could confirm it, in the event that Conte secures an appointment as Stamford's full fire chief, he would be in charge of all Stamford firehouses under the "one-chief system."

Opposition to the volunteer plan remains from within Stamford Professional Firefighter Association members, but volunteer firefighters, from past statements, appear to stand in similar opposition to SPFA's alternate fire plan.

"It might be a territorial thing, I'm not sure," Conte said about the volunteer opposition to a new rank structure. "I've worked with the volunteer chiefs in the Greenwich Fire Department, and they work with this one-chief system very well," Conte said.

Stamford's charter revision committee did not openly choose a side during the Tuesday meeting, but its members will take part in an eventual first-quarter vote on the fire service plan, according to Mayor Michael Pavia.