By Ray Lamont
Gloucester Daily Times
GLOUCESTER, Mass. — The formal retirement of Gloucester’s assistant fire chief on Sunday and the retirement of five other senior Fire Department members over the last 2 1/2 weeks have created a six-person void in the city’s firefighting force, Fire Chief Eric Smith said Monday.
Aiello’s official departure on Sunday came just two weeks after the retirements of Deputy Chief Miles Schlichte and firefighter Joseph Misuraca, both of whom also served with the department for more than 30 years. Also, firefighters Tim Gallagher, Mike McCarthy and John McCarthy — neither McCarthy is related to the police chief, Smith said — retired effective Monday, again each after more than 30 years service, Smith said.
But Smith said he remains confident the department will be able to get through the busy summer season without having to shut down any of the city’s satellite fire stations in Magnolia, Bay View or West Gloucester.
“We’re going to be a bit short, but we’ve dealt with this kind of shortage from time to time,” Smith said Monday, a day after Assistant Chief Tom Aiello officially stepped down after serving the department for 32 years.
“We had a similar situation last year, and we were able to keep Magnolia open all the way through. We didn’t miss a single shift,” Smith added. “So I’m hoping we can do that again. I don’t have a crystal ball, and vacancies are complicated this time of year by vacations and especially if we get any injuries. But we’re hopeful.”
Alello’s retirement as assistant chief had been heralded when funding for both assistant police and fire chiefs’ jobs were not included in Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken’s budget for fiscal 2018, which began July 1. The non-union position was created in 2013 after an independent audit from Municipal Resources Inc. noted a need for assistant chiefs in both the police and fire departments. The assistant police chief’s position has been vacant since then-Assistant Chief John McCarthy took the department’s reins as interim chief after former Chief Leonard Campanello was placed on leave then ousted by the mayor last September and October, respectively.
New hires, cost savings
The chief said the department has called for Civil Service lists to determine candidates for successors to the six firefighters. But he acknowledged that any rehiring process could take months, given that candidates will have to be interviewed, undergo background checks and pass courses at the state firefighting academy.
According the city’s existing firefighters contract — with discussions pending on a new deal — the closure of any stations is predicated on the number of firefighters available for any given shift. But while previous shifts and schedules carrying four groups of 18 firefighters each required the shutdown of least one station — with Magnolia the first to close — if even two firefighters were out, a restructuring of the department into three groups of 24 firefighters each in 2014 has provided more flexibility. The department normally has a roster of 72 firefighters, but it is now at 66, given the string of retirements.
Smith said any shortages in the coming months will likely be covered by bringing other firefighters in on overtime. The department’s $6.6 million budget under the spending plan advanced by the mayor and approved last month by the City Council includes $100,000 for overtime coverage, down from the $169,081 spent a year ago. But there is an account carrying $129,800 for training-related overtime as well.
Smith said one “advantage” of the department exits by senior personnel is that any successors will be brought on board at lower pay levels, and that they and many other remaining firefighters have less leave time to be scheduled.
“In a lot of ways, that will help us,” he said.
Answering the alarm
As to the retiring administrators, Aiello was promoted by then-Mayor Carolyn Kirk to be the department’s first assistant chief after serving more than 15 years as a deputy.
Aiello responded to nearly every multiple alarm fire in Gloucester since 1995, Smith said. He had been a part of numerous initiatives in the department, including working as a senior officer, where he provided policy and procedure leadership to his peers.
He also mentored new officers and was in charge of all personnel matters during his time as a deputy and assistant chief. As a union negotiation committee member, he was instrumental in bringing forward the changes needed to allow for the reorganization of the Gloucester Fire Department that took effect in July 2014.
“Assistant Chief Aiello has spent more than 32 years dedicated to Gloucester, its residents and his brother and sister firefighters,” Smith said. “On behalf of the entire department, I want to thank him for his service over the years. We all wish him a happy retirement.”
Schlichte had also served as a deputy for several years, including as the city’s emergency services director from 2010 through 2012.
He filed a Civil Service suit against the city and Smith in 2015, seeking to recoup pay lost due to a 24-hour suspension handed down in 2014 because of an email. In it, he questioning a Smith policy decision. But the state’s Civil Service Commission found in favor of the city in a decision released earlier this year.
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