Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
The fire chief of the New Britain Fire Department has been placed on leave following an investigation report that concluded the department’s sagging morale was in part attributable to his racial insensitivity.
Mayor Erin Stewart placed Fire Chief Thomas Ronalter on leave effective tomorrow. According to the Star Tribune, Mayor Stewart plans to start disciplinary proceedings next week. Her decision comes on the heels of a report prepared by DCB Law Group and the city’s personnel office into allegations by firefighter Daylon Hudson and the local NAACP that were made last spring.
Hudson accused Chief Ronalter of refusing to hang a portrait of former Fire Chief Mark Carr, who was black, from a display of portraits of past chiefs at headquarters. Chief Carr was the chief from 2004 to 2012, and since has passed away. Last March, Hudson was disciplined for removing the portraits of the other chiefs from the display after Chief Ronalter refused to add Chief Carr’s portrait to the line up.
The Hartford Courant quoted from the report:
- “There is a strong and compelling perception amongst the overall membership of the NBFD that the administrative leadership … is deficient and dysfunctional, mired by a lack of consistent affirmative communication, unfair treatment and favoritism.”
- “There is no known strategic plan for the NBFD. Many believe that the chief is only selectively present or available to the rank-and-file, choosing to speak with certain people he likes and purposely avoiding or even recognizing or acknowledging anyone else.”
The Hartford Courant quoted from a statement issued by Chief Ronalter as saying: “I detest racism and all of the harm it causes. While I have made mistakes, I have never treated people — firefighters or otherwise — differently based on the color of their skin.”
Chief Ronalter claims 50 percent of the firefighters he has hired since he became chief have been minorities or women, and he has no plans to resign.
Mayor Stewart named Deputy Chief Peter Margentino to serve as interim chief. More on the story.
