LEONIA, N.J. — On the surface, the Leonia Council’s ordinance to require its volunteer firefighters pass health and background screenings and live within 10 miles of their station seems reasonable. But the move has further incited firefighters in what is an already turbulent relationship with officials.
NorthJersey.com reported that the changes to the ordinance were in wake of allegations that a 3-year-old boy was molested in the firehouse by a visiting teenager in June.
Following that incident, the fire department was closed; then reopened two days later. But firefighters are only allowed in a station to respond to emergencies or perform maintenance on vehicles — the department is suing the municipality to have that rule overturned.
In the summer, the council had proposed making all firefighters reapply for their positions. The revised ordinance will allow current firefighters to stay on – providing they pass the background check and physical every two years, according to the report.
Council President Peter Knott said firefighter physicals “make a great deal of sense” and that the local hospital is providing the physicals will be free, according to the report.
However, fire company President Brendan Reilly said the changes were made without any input from volunteer firefighters, and he blasted the new rule giving the council veto power over the selection of ranking officers, according to the report.
That rule allows firefighters to continue to elect the chief, who recommends top officers, which the council can veto. An earlier plan would have stripped the department of its power to pick a chief and given that to the mayor, the report said.
Firefighters said the borough is interfering in their operations and that no firefighter has been accused of wrongdoing in the June incident, according to the report.
With the ordinance now in place, the borough will begin to rewrite the rules and regulations governing how the department uses the firehouse, according to the report.
“It can’t continue the way it was,” committee member Greg Makroulakis said. “We’ll see what we feel works, and what doesn’t.”
The power struggle between the borough and fire department began on June 13, when the young son of a Leonia firefighter allegedly was molested by a developmentally disabled teenager who had wanted to become a firefighter, according to the report.
The suspect, 18-year-old Darius Levine, was charged with second-degree sexual assault and has been hospitalized while awaiting trial.