That pile of crap was the sixth month Fire Chief's Advisory Report commissioned by Segarra after numerous problems within the Hartford Fire Department, culminating with the first Line of Duty Death of a Hartford firefighter in decades.
The report was full of finger pointing and even some back slapping by the retired Chief's, even going so far as trying to decide who was the best Chief. The report was very short on any solutions though.
I was a little surprised that Chief Rovella would even allow his name to be included on such a flawed report. I also realize who he works for and it wasn't his free choice to be included . Rovella is one that always has a vision and is not short on solutions that make sense. The rest of the group is not. I have heard a lot of positive things though regarding retired Chief Carter, but I have never personally met the man and was not here when he was Chief.
The rest were predictable. Can anyone in their right mind say that alcohol and drug abuse are not a problem within HFD. How many high profile do we need to see played out in the media? How many Doug Caldwell's do we need to see drunk in firehouses and creating public disturbances? How many firefighters do we need to see under arrest after gunplay with handguns while partying? If drugs are being dealt out of firehouses, might we have a problem?
Maybe the former Chief's might have issues with their own addictions and choose not to take a hardline approach against the very same behavior they have been involved in and may still be involved in. To ignore the problem is to condone the behavior.
We also all know the animosity between the current Deputy Chief of Training Dan Nolan and both the current Chief as well as previous Chiefs A major portion of the report was to place blame for the Department's problems on Training and Nolan.
I have to ask who were the Chief's of the Department and where is the disciplinary reports or e-mails or documents, commonly called progressive discipline in the Labor world. The answer is simple, there is none. The Department Chiefs are responsible for monitoring the Department's performance , identifying problems and taking corrective action. If you have been asleep at the switch for years, you can't suddenly try to cover your ass and point the finger of blame.
The problems at HFD are much deeper than just the training Division. Where was the portion about Worker's Comp abuse? I must have missed that page. When you have a firefighter that has spent much of his career out injured but is well enough to carry a gun and shoot a man in the driveway of a home he is renovating, you have a problem. That wasn't caused by training.
When you have Lieutenant's fist fighting at a fire scene, your zero tolerance policy for workplace violence doesn't seem to be being taken seriously. I don't think the Training Division teaches hand to hand combat, so I don't think they can be blamed.
When a brand new ladder truck sits in the repair garage for months because no one is monitoring payment of bills, that is a problem. I am not sure of the entire structure of HFD, but I really would be surprised if fiscal management comes under the Training Division.
There was a lot of discussion calling for another Assistant Chief position to be created, but there was no discussion of the time and effort wasted creating a sham position for Terry Waller.
One of the claims was that live fire training was not happening as frequently as it should. Last I heard, Chief Huertas would not approve funds for hay and other materials for the live burn scenarios, so is that the responsibility of the Deputy Chief of Training. Last I knew thy could no longer print money at the Fire Training Academy to pay bills.
The fact that fit tests were not performed on Scott Air Bottles as required because the machine was broken was never mentioned in the report. That seems like a major problem that at least warranted a mention in the report. Nothing, training again? I doubt it
It was also interesting to note Chief Teale's mea culpa when he wanted it noted in the report that he was excluding himself from any discussion when it came to the death of Firefighter Kevin Bell, stating that Bell was a relative of his. Did he make that same proclamation when it came to the hiring of Bell or his nepotism all OK as long as the spotlight isn't shining on it?
It just seems interesting that Mayor Segarra made the choice to bring back these men to try to solve the problems within HFD. Especially when you consider that for the most part the are the same men that began or allowed the decay of the Hartford Fire Department. Reading this report will show you the lack of vision or the ability to conduct change of these so called leaders of the Hartford Fire Department.
I think much more would have been accomplished if Segarra recruited the assistance of respected Fire Service leaders from outside of Hartford. Leaders that didn't have the need to cover their own tracks and bad deeds and really wanted to get to the truth to prevent any more LODD within HFD
To see a copy of the Hartford Fire Department Task Force’s final report, visit: http://bit.ly/1Gaw2fi
12 comments:
Kevin good observations and comments. You should apply for the fire department as a consultant and you could make the department run better. You could start by ensuring that firefighters that have certain responsiblities dont take take from their day to entertain media types for extened periors on city time. You could apple discipline to any firefighter who refuses to take orders. You should make strives to address the workers compensation abuse that is suspected of occuring on a regular basis. Also you may wish to discipline those that acquire equipment without following proper protocols. Perhaps you could reccomend that the city use a motorpool such as they have in the militrary to repair all city vehicles. Hopefully the city hears you message loud and clear. The report was in my opinion lacking as you indicated. This is for all Firefighters.
it is not rocket science, just get a Chief that will do the job h was hired to do, if you aren't capable of doing that then move on, for the good of the Department
It is a shame that Pedro Seggara just dose not get it. The city pays big bucks for consultants all the time. Yet, the Hartford Fire Dept has former Fire Chiefs talk and resolve WHAT about the dysfunctional HFD. Pedro resign NOW. You will never get re-elected so do Hartford taxpayers a favor and resign. As for the former HFD Chiefs who participated your pensions should be taken away from you. You are part of the problem the HFD had and has presently.
I'm certain that if Kevin was hired by the Hartford FD, the first item on his list would be to fire chief Huertas himself. For good reasons.
I wonder what would Kevin do with Terry Useless Waller.
By the way, is that blood sucker Terry Waller, aka Mr. SKB, still sitting at home, collecting paycheck after paycheck for doing nothing?
It just goes to show that Segarra just keeps making the same mistake over and over, hiring inept personnel. Just look at his campaign manager, inept as well.
Wow, even with this you go above & beyond for your boy Rovella, even when you point out while defending your boy wonder Nolan, questioning who's responsibility it is to pay bills. I agree it is the Chief's, just like it was & is Chief Rovella's, your hero, how much ammunition & taxpayers $$$$ shot out the HPD? Rovella approved invoices,he approved payment, never question if he was manning a Police Dept. Or an Army... all this was done under his oh so great leadership.
You wipe the fact away that he was part and named in this egregious report, defending him by saying who he works for, is three pensions not enough for this boy from the burbs? what is he weak, a coward who can't stand up to little Pedro... that doesn't sound like a strong, great leader you protest him to be... Hartford thinks otherwise !
You probably won't post this..... fair & balanced is FOX'S rhetoric too!
Let Terry stay home..good place for him. He should not be around the brave firefighters, he was never one of them. We used to have to push Terry into the fire building. The man is a coward.
Yes the task force report is completely unacceptable, but you must understand there is a low threshold for intelligence when it comes to these former chiefs. None of those guys is a respected fire professional, all are simply political hacks.
Time to go Charlie, your lack of intelligence has adversely affected the once great HFD for far too long. Morale department wide is lower than ever. Leave Charlie, if you care about this department at all.
Yes it looks like Segarra is going to ride the dead horse HFD right into his own political grave. Good, another moron gone soon. Were actually getting closer to where we need to be. Perhaps we can loose the crackhead at 7's who leaves the firehouse while on duty to get high or the constant menace of the HFD whore at 9's who slept her way back on the job after being fired.
Oh the HFD whore must of mentored the DPW whore, who has done the same thing. HD Batts her eyes and Chapman melts, like a little girl... not to mention Charlie O loves the DPW dept. pump, because she allows him to Dictate what we do in Elizabeth Park, therefore she is protected.
What a PIG, Onk Onk
Well well well after reading this...I don't know what to say, one thing I have to agree with is that Teale sure does like to toot his horn, I found it interesting that he had to complain about taking the position of Fire Chief and loose $21,000.00 a year, but what he didn't say was "Not bad " during those years making what $90,000.00 or so a year, and that was what he retired not even 10 years ago, and his poor wife had to get a part time job to make the difference. Try living on 35,000.00 a year, and being a City Employee, and lets not forget about the Insurance Benefits you get and your family, way better then we the rest of the employees get, we had to pay for ours, you don't ! So we are to feel bad for you Chief Teale. I don't think so! As far as the rest of the report, Casares hit it on the nose. You have to put the data in, if you want to get the data, and if Fire Personal is not doing it, then how can you get accurate records from Training, or from any other Fire House. The only one to blame is yourselves. The end result for Bell will probably never happen, may he rest in peace! The City needs to learn from this, and stop cutting the budget to departments that need it, and the Fire Department needs it, and not to work on a skeleton crew !
Anonymous 8:56 PM
Company level training is what most of the documented Training is. Half of the Training Divisions so called documented training was found out to actually be company training. The training Division is the entity that can't show that it's actually training, not the companies.
Tough D said
That report is an outright attach on one of the greatest Firefighters in the history of the Dept. Just ask Luis.
Congrats Charlie on your new Tahoe!
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