By Ed Beeson
Herald News (Passaic County, NJ)
Copyright 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.,
All Rights Reserved

GARFIELD, N.J. — Firefighters can no longer drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes inside or around any of the city's five fire stations, the city manager said Wednesday.

City Manager Thomas J. Duch ordered the ban effective immediately. The decision was based on a serious car accident last Friday that critically injured a 23-year-old firefighter, and the subsequent media coverage it generated, Duch said.

Police said the firefighter Radoslaw Polanski was on his way to a fire call. Investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office believe the accident, in which he slammed his Honda Accord into a utility pole, was alcohol-related.

Duch said that the alcohol ban may be temporary. He said it will remain in effect until he and the heads of each firehouse can establish an updated and uniform policy on alcohol consumption within the firehouse. The smoking ban is permanent, he said.