PORT CHESTER, N.Y. ― A Port Chester fire chief is accused of telling others to damage another firefighter’s home.
According to NEWS 12, audiotape allegedly captures Port Chester Volunteer Fire Chief Edward Quinn instructing his men to vandalize the home of a professional firefighter.
“I hope we [expletive] go there tonight and you guys better break every [expletive] window in the place,” Quinn allegedly said on the tape.
The audiotape contains profanity, off-color jokes and comments reportedly made by volunteer firefighters last year while watching a rebroadcast of a town board meeting.
In the wake of Port Chester firing all of its eight full-time firefighters last month to save money, attorney Richard Corenthal said it is the actions like those of Quinn that prove the city needs to hire back it’s firefighters. The fact that Quinn shared the address and encouraged his men to damage another firefighter’s home is proof that volunteers should not be in charge of running the department, he said.
“What is shows is that the village is relying upon somebody who does not have the public safety of the residents in mind,” Corenthal said.
Village Attorney Anthony Cerreto said he confronted Quinn with the accusations, who denied them.
The Firefighters Union attorney said Quinn should be immediately fired from his position as fire chief.