Lawrence Mayor’s Comments Infuriate Firefighters
Economically depressed Lawrence, Massachusetts has seen its share of fires – and controversies – over the years, but a recent public statement by Mayor William Lantigua has angered the few remaining firefighters that Lawrence still has, igniting another controversy.
A number of area news sources have confirmed that the Mayor publicly asked for volunteers to help videotape his firefighters to determine if they were purposefully responding and working at fires in a less than diligent manner. The request comes after 23 additional firefighters were laid off and three more stations closed on July 1.
At a meeting on August 11, Neighboring communities expressed their mounting frustration with having to routinely dispatch fire apparatus into Lawrence for routine alarms because Lawrence is so poorly staffed. The 80,000 citizens in Lawrence are presently being protected by 13 to 15 on-duty firefighters per shift while at one time there were 48 firefighters per shift.
Obviously the report is not sitting well with the firefighters, who are probably hoping the mayor will scrutinize the videos to examine the impact of understaffing. The latest is that the mayor denies soliciting volunteers but acknowledges that when people call to complain about the “slow response times” he encourages them to videotape the firefighters.
He can deny it all he wants, I watched the video where he clearl said he was going to have a camera follow “the firefighters to see where they are going and what they are doing.”
It was the same video where he said he is investigating the causes of the two mill fire last weekend to see who set them, and based on his findings he would contact the Feds with his information. He questioned why they are having these fire now.
Last time I checked, mill fires in Lawrence were a fairly common occurence.
At what point is there legal recourse for completely false statements made by a Political Administration.
http://www.necn.com/08/13/10/Lawrence-Mayor-and-Firefighters-face-off/landing_newengland.html?blockID=289533&feedID=4206&
Here is the link to the Mayor’s comments about having the Firefighters followed……..
Thanks Dave
It just seems so strange to me that a Mayor would make those kinds of remarks under the circumstances. 13 to 15 on duty personnel for good sized Northeast city with a population of 80,000 people…. give me a break. How can he attribute the slow response time to anything within the control of the firefighters?
There are politicians out there who are riding a wave of anti-tax sentiment, which to some extent I understand and agree with. However – there comes a point when the pre-Christmas-Eve Scrooge has to face the fact that its not the Bob Cratchit’s of the world that are the problem. The firefighters of Lawrence are not the problem – despite the fact the mayor finds it convenient to focus the public’s attention there.
The research I have been doing into firefighting and manslaughter has been eye opening – and politicians need to take heed. In the aftermath of a tragic fire where people die, those who make reckless decisions may find themselves answering some pretty difficult questions in a spin-free courtroom. Mayors have been charged with manslaughter in the aftermath of fires.
Curt,
The Mayor of Lawrence has a “colorful” past. This is the first time he has been in the news.
Blaming the Firefighters takes the focus off of him, the layoffs he just handed down, and the fact he was on vacation when they were handed out.
I defintely see us (The Fire Service) headed into an even more liability conscious environment. Chiefs sued for bad decisions, or good decisions with bad outcomes. This week there was an article about criminal charges in Canada for the Chief in charge of the Ice Rescue exercise that led to the death of a firefighter.
I can see that extending to the Politicos as many times the conditions that exist on the fireground are not under control of the Chief. Like Lawrence’s manpower situation.
Dave
I saw that article from Canada – and there’s alot more happening in the UK where chiefs and even company officers are being held criminally liable when a firefighter dies under a 2007 law called the Corporate Manslaughter Act that criminalized violations of occupational safety and health laws.
Its not too far fetched an idea that a mayor could be held liable. There is precedence for them being charged. It happened after the Iroquois Theater fire in 1903 (588 dead), and has been threatened numerous other times including the Cocoanut Grove Fire in 1942 (492 dead). In fact after the Station Night Club fire here in RI in 2003 there were people calling for politicians to be indicted.
Criminal charges against politicians is a regular occurrence in other countries following a disaster – most recently the Russian wildfires that have killed hundreds.
If you combine the Lawrence mayor’s decision to risk public safety – with a multi-fatality incident, I think the handwriting is on the wall. He can talk a good game up to a point – but should such an incident occur he’ll be in deep water.