Shawn Regan, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Massachusetts)

HAVERHILL -- The Bradford fire station will close June 14, the same day seven lieutenants and captains are to be demoted to save money, according to a Fire Department reorganization proposed by the chief and backed by the mayor.

The plan calls for demoting three captains to lieutenants and four lieutenants to the rank of private.

Mayor James Fiorentini said the reorganization will save $350,000, mostly by reducing salary and overtime costs, which have surged in recent years.

The four firefighters assigned to the Bradford station will be redeployed at the city's three other firehouses. The Bradford firetruck, Engine 4, will be taken out of service, according to the proposal.

The closing of the Bradford station also will lower the number of firefighters required to be on the job at all times from 19 to 16, fire Chief Richard Borden said.

Borden's reorganization was necessitated by spending cuts ordered by Fiorentini. The mayor had earlier said the cost-cutting plan would include eliminating at least one of five deputy chief positions, but Borden's plan does not call for that.

"Because the remaining positions perform mission-critical function on the emergency scene and during normal operations, the elimination of the people in the deputy chief positions would require these positions to be filled with overtime," Borden wrote in a letter to the mayor explaining the reorganization.

The letter concludes with a warning that the Fire Department is already inadequately staffed.

"Further reductions in command and supervisory personnel (beyond the reorganization proposal) would result in a severe compromise of firefighter safety on the ground and a subsequent negative impact to the citizens," Borden wrote.

Fiorentini said he has the power to make the demotions and other changes on his own, but that the firefighters union and deputies have 30 days to provide an alternative for achieving the savings in Borden's plan.

He said he is willing to meet with firefighters to discuss other ideas he has to save money, which could keep some parts of the chief's plan from happening.

Fiorentini and firefighters have butted heads over many issues recently, including attempts by the mayor to get them to agree to pay more for their health care and take unpaid days off to help the city with its budget problems. The firefighters also have been without a new contract for more than two years.

"This is because of our budget crisis," Fiorentini said of the need for cuts in the department. "It's not something we want to do."

The mayor has projected a budget shortfall that could top $5 million for the fiscal year that starts July 1. He has said other city departments will face similar cuts and changes, including layoffs and mandatory days off without pay in the coming weeks and months.

The names of the officers affected were unavailable yesterday.

Fire Capt. Paul Weinburgh, president of the firefighters union, said those being demoted also are upset about how they were told. He said Borden visited the city's various fire stations Friday to inform the men before the union had received official notice of the demotions.

"(Borden) went around telling them they are being demoted while they were still working, instead of waiting until the end of their shifts," said Weinburgh, who is one of the captains being demoted.

"It was very unprofessional to get the men upset and stressed when they could be called to an emergency like a fire or a car accident at any moment," Weinburgh said. "It just wasn't the way to do it. People are very angry."

Borden said he did not intend to anger the firefighters by telling them in person.

"I'm very sorry they feel I was harassing them and took it that way," the chief said. "It was a genuine effort to let them know what was coming and see what I could do to help what is going to be very hard for some of them to take. I was trying to show some compassion."

Borden said he offered those being demoted and reassigned to pick which fire stations they wanted to be redeployed to.

"I took them aside and asked them, 'What can I do to make this the best I can for you?'" the chief said. "These guys have studied long hours and worked very hard to become officers. I understand how they feel about (the demotions). It was a real bad day for me."

Fiorentini first announced he intended to close the Bradford fire station in April. The firefighters union, Bradford residents and city councilors opposed the closing, however, and the mayor was able to keep it open for a few more months after Borden found $84,000 in unspent money that had been targeted for special firefighting training.

Concerns about closing the station include longer Fire Department response times to the Bradford section of the city. Residents and business owners in that part of the city are particularly worried about the Ward Hill Business Park, where several companies that use flammable chemicals are located.

Borden has said it will take firefighters up to three minutes longer to reach the industrial park if the Bradford station is closed. Response times to most other areas in the Bradford section would not change, he said.

Trucks from the Central station on Water Street can reach Bradford quickly by going over the Basiliere Bridge, and trucks from the High Street station can do the same over the Comeau Bridge, the chief said.

Copyright 2009
May 19, 2009