The Associated Press

Photo courtesy of Boston Fire Department Warren Payne (left) and Paul Cahill.

BOSTON — Boston firefighters should be subject to random drug and alcohol testing as part of a wider effort to improve departmental health and fitness, a panel appointed by Mayor Thomas Menino said in its recommendations released Friday.

Menino put together the three-member panel after two firefighters died at a restaurant blaze in West Roxbury in August. Autopsies reportedly showed Paul Cahill had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit, while Warren Payne had traces of cocaine in his system.

"Their deaths demonstrate that we need to change policies," Menino said.

Neither firefighter was named in the 21-page report.

The panel made seven recommendations overall, including improving departmental management, more civilian oversight and better leadership training.

Panel chairman James Shannon, president of the National Fire Protection Association, said the recommendations should be adopted as a whole.

"If all that comes out in this report ... is random drug testing, we will feel we have failed," Shannon said.

Improving the health and fitness of firefighters should include psychological testing and fitness equipment in each station, the report said.

A random testing program must be approved by the firefighter's union, which has in the past opposed such a policy. But union President Ed Kelly said he is open to all of the panel's recommendations.

"A healthier work force is beneficial for us and the city and we think the wellness and fitness proposals and the drug testing is part of it," he said.

AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye Boston firefighters stand outside a restaurant Aug. 30, 2007, where two firefighters died and at least eight others were injured in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston.

The city's firefighters have been without a contract for about a year and a half, he said.

Firefighters are currently tested for alcohol or drugs before they are hired and within a six-month probationary period. They can be tested after that only if a supervisor sees visible signs of substance abuse while on the job.

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The other members on the panel were Dr. Sheila Chapman, an expert on addiction at Boston Medical Center, and Craig Coy, former chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority.