By Eden Laikin
NewsdayOCEANSIDE, N.Y. — The chief of the Oceanside Fire Department failed to supervise seven firefighters who crashed a block party in a fire truck and then attempted to cover it up, a report by a four-member disciplinary board of firefighters said.
The now-former chief, Thomas McDermott, placed people in jeopardy by allowing members of the Salamander Company to use lights and sirens in a nonemergency situation and drive through a barricade "in an inappropriate area," according to the board's findings.
McDermott, seven firefighters and company captain Sean Costigan, were found guilty Dec. 7 on charges of conduct that brought "discredit to the volunteer fire service," the board said. Six of the members were suspended for 60 days, three for 90 days.
One of the party guests, Doug McKee, had a hand broken in a fight with firefighters and plans to sue the department.
But a lawyer who represents the suspended members said it was the Oceanside volunteer firefighters who were assaulted. He said his four witnesses told a different story about what happened.
"A broken hand is not a defensive wound, it's an offensive wound," said attorney Christopher Devane of Mineola. "McKee sucker-punched a 35-year member of the department, pushed another member to the ground and a third member was pushed through a fence by other party guests."
Devane said McKee did not testify at the hearings.
"If he had a story to tell, he should have come down and opened himself up to cross-examination," he said.
McKee's attorney, Jordan Stern of Mineola, said he advised him not to testify. "The decision speaks for itself. The board, made up of firemen, found they did something wrong," Stern said. "McKee is not on trial."
The department did not say how McDermott attempted to cover up the incident. But McKee has said McDermott and Costigan came to his house after the incident and offered a cash settlement. Stern said the negotiations ended when the sides couldn't agree.
McKee also filed a complaint with the Nassau County district attorney's office. A spokesman said the investigation is continuing.
Also missing from the findings is any mention of alcohol. Witnesses who attended the party and testified at the hearings told Newsday that several firefighters held beer bottles as they got off the truck.
Devane said his four witnesses dispute that claim. He said the firefighters went to the party to visit a member who lives there and had just lost his father, also a former member.
The firefighters were returning from a parade in Freeport on Aug. 11, when they drove to the block party on Oceanside Parkway. McDermott followed in his fire department vehicle, the board's report said.
The board said the firefighters failed to leave the scene when "faced with a hostile situation." The members "in McDermott's presence, engaged in inappropriate and disorderly behavior, including confrontational conversation and physical contact" with guests, the board's report said.
While McDermott was on suspension for 90 days, his term as chief expired.
