Left to right: Fire Commissioner Patrick Olearcek, Albert Masciadrelli, Acting Fire Chief Andy Hart, Fire Department Head Clerk Patricia Breton (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- The Westfield Fire Commission meeting Wednesday night discusses temporary appointments and to touch upon the process of selecting a new chief.
Chairman Albert Masciadrelli and Commissioner Patrick Olearcek were present, but Commissioner Carlo Bonavita was not. Acting Fire Chief Andy Hart was also present.
Acting Chief Andy Hart read a letter the department received from a woman who had fallen and broken her hip. She wished to thank the crew who helped her for their efforts. “They made a bad experience for me into a less traumatic event,” Hart read from the letter.
Hart also announced that three members of the fire academy will be graduating in a ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday in Springfield.
The acting Chief took some time to thank the day staff of the fire department.
“We always talk about how we do a good job out in the field,” says Hart, “but I don’t think we recognize enough of the day staff and being in this position the last few months I realize now how much they do.”
Chairman Masciadrelli announced that the fire chief’s exam was triggered and that the interview process for fire chief is complete. He indicated that the appointment for a new chief will be happening in the near future.
Masciadrelli also indicated that the current temporary fire Captain and Deputy chief would soon become permanent.
The commission announced an update to the job descriptions of Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, Fire Inspector, and firefighter.
Also on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting were five active grievances against the fire department that had been tabled on the Sep. 10 meeting. The contents of the grievances were not disclosed due to an active investigation into the matter but four of the five were filed due to incident(s) that took place on August 7, 2018.
“I am not even privvy to what is going on,” says Masciadrelli regarding the investigation.
The commission voted to enter executive session to discuss the litigation as it was believed by city officials that public discussion of the matter would have a detrimental effect on the investigation.
