WESTFIELD – The Fire Commission met in special session for 10 minutes Thursday afternoon to vote on its appointment of a fire captain who will serve as the department’s training officer.
The special meeting was called to appoint a training captain after the two candidates, firefighters Christopher Kane and Keith Supinski, were interviewed Monday.
The special meeting required a 48-hour posting to comply with the state’s open meeting laws, so Thursday was the earliest time it could be conducted.
The commissioners chose not to make an appointment Monday night and wanted to discuss the appointment process with the city’s Human Resources and Law departments before make a decision.
Initially there was some debate over the process of making a motion for one or the other candidates. Commissioner Carlo Bonavita eventually made a motion to appoint Keith Supinski, a paramedic and 14-year veteran of the department, as the training captain.
Chairman Albert Masciadrelli asked for a second to that motion but Commissioner Patrick F. Olearcek remained silent. Masciadrelli then seconded the motion.
Both Bonavita and Olearcek said the decision to select either Supinski or Christopher Kane, a six-year veteran of the department, was difficult because both were excellent candidates.
Bonavita said that he nominated Supinski because he has “been with the department longer” and that combined with his paramedic experience made him a stronger option for the training post.
“That’s not to say that Chris will not be appointed captain in the future,” Bonavita said. “We have two excellent candidates.”
“We have two great candidates, but my reasoning is a little different,” Olearcek said. “I can see how it could go either way.”
The vote to appoint Supinski was 2-1 with Masciadrelli and Bonavita casting “yes” votes and Olearcek casting the lone “no” vote.
Olearcek said the commission will conduct another special meeting or act at their regular June meeting to make appointments of two new firefighters. The commission interviewed four candidates to fill two vacancies on the department.
The four candidates are: Tyler Ritchie, a military veteran and the son of a firefighter; David Albert, a military veteran and the brother of a firefighter; William Kopatz and Eric Liptak. Veterans are issued points, increasing their entry level examination score, for their military service.
Fire Chief Mary Regan was not present at the special meeting Thursday night because of a prior commitment in Boston, but had said earlier in the week that all four of the firefighter candidates have interviewed well.
Regan said the candidates for two firefighter positions “interviewed well” and that the commission will meet with Human Resource Director Karin Decker later this week to rank candidates.
Fire candidates are screened before attending the State Fire Academy in Stow, Massachusetts. That screening includes a physical ability test (PAT) and a medical screening.
