BY HEMA EASLEY
WEST MILFORD — Fire Company #2, which was shut down by the township last week because of public safety concerns, has been investigated by the state Occupational Safety & Health Administration for 21 serious violations.
Apshawa Fire Company #1, which has taken over the jurisdiction of Company #2, has also been investigated for seven serious violations by OSHA, relating to blood borne pathogens, response to hazardous waste, and respiratory equipment. Specific details were not available from the OSHA Web site where the violations were listed.
It wasn’t clear if the OSHA violations were linked to the township’s decision to strip Company #2 of its firefighting responsibilities.
Brian Murray, director of communication and marketing for the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said he was not aware if the violations probed by the Public Employees Occupational Safety & Health department were linked to the closing of Company #2.
He also said the company was issued several violations by the state health department, all of which have been addressed. Details of those violations were not immediately available.
“PEOSH inspections were conducted at the West Milford Fire Department late in 2012 and also early in 2013,” said Murray. “All safety files related to these inspections are closed and all violations that were cited during these inspections were abated.”
The township cited manpower and public safety concerns in a press release last week when it decided to strip Fire Company #2 of all its firefighting responsibilities and pass the jurisdiction over the Newfoundland section of town to Fire Company #1.
Last week, the township removed all fire trucks from Company #2 and transferred them to Company #1.
In the list of violations attributed to Company #2, OSHA’s Web site lists inadequate respiratory equipment to protect firefighters from harmful fog and fumes, inadequate or ill-maintained personal protective gear, mishandling of equipment, improper use of electric equipment to prevent electric shocks, lack of an emergency action plan, and improper records occupational injuries or illnesses, among others.
Robert Castro, chief of Fire Company #2, characterized the public safety and health violations as minor.
“We had OSHA come in and everything was rectified,” said Castro who said the violations included open wires and sockets hanging out of sockets and lack of proper paperwork. “We stand by that we still want to operate (the company) as it was.”
Robert Kirk, chief of Fire Company # 1 couldn't be reached for comment.
Law suit is pending
Complaints relating to safety were also raised more than two years ago by two members of the fire company, Tom Simmons and Michael Hughes. Paul Lomberg, an attorney for the two firefighters, said that when his clients spoke up about safety concerns, they were either suspended or put on the inactive list, and were later fired.
The two went on to file a lawsuit against the company alleging that it violated the Whistleblower Protection Act and created a hostile environment for them. The 1989 law protects federal whistleblowers who report agency misdeeds.
The Township of West Milford, a former township manager, Fire Company #1, and officers of both the fire companies are defendants in the lawsuit, which is awaiting trial in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Passaic County. The plaintiffs, both of whom have been firefighters for more than 20 years, are requesting a jury trial.
In the lawsuit, Simmons and Hughes also allege that the defendants either withheld, altered or destroyed documents and minutes that would substantiate the plaintiffs' allegations. They are asking for unspecified monetary and punitive damages, attorney fees, reinstatement to their positions and a request that all supervisors in the company be credentialed.
Lomberg said his clients never wanted to see the firehouse closed, but now that it is, they wanted the firehouse donated to the town. The firehouse, in the Newfoundland section of West Milford, currently belongs to the fire company.
“Their focus is to see a qualified operating firehouse at their location.”
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