By Jeremy Boren
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
PITTSBURGH — A plan to begin randomly testing Pittsburgh firefighters for drugs is on hold, city Public Safety Director Michael Huss said today.
Negotiators representing the city and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local No. 1 hit an impasse and the matter is likely headed for third-party arbitration, a process that could take months to complete.
Fire union officials want the city to agree not to discipline firefighters accused of improper conduct until any criminal proceedings are completed in court, Huss said.
Huss said he should be able to immediately suspend or terminate a firefighter for improper conduct if circumstances warrant it.
“Whether it’s a firefighter stealing a truck from the casino, or a firefighter accused of running into someone’s home on the South Side and getting into an altercation, no matter what that incident is, we don’t want to wait for the thing to go through the whole criminal system until the city takes action,” Huss said. “Whether they’re found guilty or not guilty of those actions, their conduct was wrong.”
A fire union official could not immediately be reached for comment.
Police charged several firefighters with alcohol- and drug-related offenses in the past few months.
In December, police accused firefighter William White of stealing a security truck from Rivers Casino while drunk and fighting with police who tried to arrest him. In January, police accused firefighter Timothy Coyne of assaulting a South Side resident in his home while Coyne was drunk. Police charged him with burglary and public drunkenness.
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