Jack Lakowsky
The Day, New London, Conn.
MONTVILLE, Conn. 鈥� The Town Council was set to discuss Monday a former Chesterfield Fire Company EMS captain鈥檚 letter questioning the station鈥檚 ability to properly do its job.
Before the meeting Monday, former Capt. Stephanie Kneier, who remains a volunteer with Chesterfield, said she made her concerns public to draw more attention to the ongoing shortage of emergency service volunteers and to weaknesses in the station鈥檚 leadership.
Both in her letter to the Town Council and her Aug. 10 resignation letter, Kneier said Chesterfield鈥檚 reliance on out-of-town volunteers causes crew shortages for the Chesterfield ambulance and fire services.
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Those who are in town and are able have other commitments or are just not motivated to come out,鈥� Kneier wrote in the newer letter. 鈥淟eadership members who are qualified either do not live in town or do not have the time to volunteer.鈥�
Chesterfield Fire Chief Keith Truex could not be reached to comment Monday.
Mayor Leonard Bunnell said the town has hired 16 paid firefighters and emergency medical responders to help make up for the volunteer shortfall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a plight affecting the entire nation,鈥� Bunnell said of the volunteer shortage on Monday.
Bunnell said the town wants to bolster the number of both its paid and volunteer responders. He said he and other town officials are trying to devise a training and recruitment program aimed at young adults.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what else the town can do,鈥� Bunnell said.
Kneier wrote that when she started as captain, a title she held for two years, she 鈥渇reely admits鈥� she didn鈥檛 quite know what she was getting into, but that she 鈥渄id go out and independently take ownership of the title鈥� and her duties.
Kneier said she created inventory lists and brought all equipment up to state standards and obtained several different credentials, including a paramedic qualification.
Overlooking issues
Kneier said in her resignation letter that Chesterfield leadership is overlooking or excusing 鈥渟everal critical issues.鈥�
First, she said, is the issue of recruiting members who live too far away to effectively serve the station and the community in its charge.
鈥淭his creates a misleadingly robust roster that masks the reality of a non-functional, in-town response crew,鈥� Kneier wrote.
Kneier also alleged there was no thorough review of the service鈥檚 finances before shifting to paying night crews, and that leadership has put off such a review.
Another issue is that leadership disregards standard operating guidelines and, in meetings, Robert鈥檚 Rules of Order, which has 鈥渆roded organizational integrity. There are persistent leadership oversights, Kneier said, including a lack of Hazmat training and purchasing equipment without proper clearance.
Examples of these, Kneier wrote, calling an emergency meeting with less than three hours鈥� notice during a severe snowstorm, favoritism toward certain members and the reinstatement of repeatedly disciplined members 鈥渙ut of staffing desperation,鈥� which degrades morale.
鈥淩ather than addressing these structural flaws, leadership appears willing to tolerate them to maintain the appearance of a functioning department on paper, Kneier alleged in the second letter.
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