What began as a simple regular meeting of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue management three weeks ago has, within a short period, blossomed into a probable legal battle.
As reported in a recent Reporter article, the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Department has suffered from some dissention and mistrust ever since it was formed five years ago from the fire departments of five local municipalities – North Bergen, West New York, Union City, Weehawken and Guttenberg. The consolidation was meant to save money, but some fire officials had to deal with less pay and more competition for promotions.
At a recent meeting to discuss management issues, some members of the department raised questions as to whether the safety of the region has been compromised by the consolidation. (The department is also currently in tough contract negotiations.)
At the meeting of the management board of the NHRFR, Captain Steve Winters, a veteran of the fire department, stated that, “The current procedures are putting the citizens in jeopardy. There is very little planning in day-to-day operations. There is virtually no coverage on the waterfront. If a fire starts in on of those units on the waterfront, you won’t just lose apartments; you’ll lose entire complexes. You can bank on that!”
This caused a chorus of mumbles and discussion in the audience (made up mostly of firemen) and aroused the ire of Union City mayor and NHRFR Management Committee member Brian Stack. Stack vociferously demanded to see accounts of what Winters was accusing the department of, namely, leaving large gaps in coverage in certain parts of different communities as a result of management mistakes and ineptitude.
At the time, the members of the NHRFR hierarchy, including Director Jeff Welz and co-director Mike DiOrio, could only exchange bemused glances. It appeared that they had no idea what Winters was talking about.
Little did anyone know at the time that when Winters stood up at that meeting, he would be opening a Pandora’s Box that could lead to departmental charges against him which could result in his demotion to firefighter from the rank of captain.
Departmental charges
According to documents obtained by the Reporter, Winters, as a result of his comments at the meeting, has been officially charged by the department with the following: “Failure to act in the best interests of the department; conduct unbecoming a member of the department, conduct prejudicial to good order; conduct or action detrimental or injurious to the goals or operation of the department; conduct unbecoming a public employee; neglect of duty and other sufficient cause.”
If found guilty of the filed charges, Winters could face either a 30-day suspension without pay or a demotion to the rank of firefighter.
However, according to NHRFR Chief Brion McEldowney, a lot has to happen before the case is finally decided.
“Well, these are departmental charges,” said McEldowney in a recent telephone interview. “[Winters] has five days [from the filing date of the charges] to respond and to request a hearing. If he does request a hearing, it goes to the lawyers and an arbitrator becomes involved. It’s all very preliminary at this point.”
Added McEldowney, “This has happened before. We have a lot of firemen in the NHRFR, and the more men you have, the more problems you have. It’s hard to say when [a resolution] will come to pass.”
When reached by phone last week, Steve Winters vigorously defended himself and took an accusatory tone.
Said Winters, “Of course I am going to hire an attorney and I am considering a lawsuit. I am not going to put up with this kind of behavior. The actions they took are a slap in the face to me and to the people of North Hudson. They have stated that they weren’t advised of the problems I addressed, and that’s just not the case. They should be extremely embarrassed by their conduct.”
Added Winters, “As professional firefighters, we are entitled to competent, professional management. In my opinion, we don’t have that right now.”
Various sides
With so many groups taking sides in what has become a pitched battle over money and perks within the department, there are sure to be just as many opinions as there are factions.
NHRFR Director Jeff Welz said of Winters’ comments, “There were some things said at the meeting that we believe to be blatantly false. This is serious because we have a fire officer that is making false statements. At the very least, he went around the chain of command. None of us had ever heard of these complaints or concerns before. Why wouldn’t he bring them to our attention at an earlier date?”
But Mayor Stack is against the charges. He characterized them as “ridiculous, just ridiculous.”
Said the mayor, “This is totally unfair. [Winters] was basically answering my questions. The last time I checked, this was still America. I am happy that people like him exist. This is totally, totally unfair. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Captain and President of the NHRFR Fire Officers Association Brian McGorty characterized the charges against Winters as “the electric chair for jaywalking.”
Added McGorty, “The management is busy filing charges, but they still haven’t addressed any of the issues [that Winters brought up].”