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NA fire chief taking heat
 North Attleboro Fire Chief Peter Lamb.
Top Headlines Lamb said five letters of complaint letters written by firefighters have been sent to town hall in recent weeks. The letters were then forwarded to the fire commission, which met with Lamb in executive session at his request because the letters relate to job performance. Lamb said he did not anticipate any long-term decisions would be made Tuesday, but added that he may stay out of the office on personal time to help calm the situation. "It's been a tough week and I don't know where it's going," he said. "I may take some personal time off to allow the situation to stabilize." While he would not discuss the contents of the letters, Lamb said concerns raised in them are being taken seriously. "I'm not going to comment about the specifics right now - I'm not even sure I've seen all of the letters," he said. "The letters were pretty critical and address my management style and operational concerns. "The folks on the fire commission are taking these very seriously, as am I." A message was left for commission Chairwoman Valerie Hickey prior to Tuesday's meeting, but the call was not returned. Rumors have been floating around town about discord in the fire department, which Lamb said are the result of "heightened tensions" over several issues. Among them was a decision made in January to house the department's second ambulance at the Kelley Boulevard Fire Station, rather than at the Allen Avenue Fire Station. With that change, the two firefighters on duty at the Kelley Boulevard station respond to medical calls in the ambulance, in addition to responding to fire emergencies in the station's engine. When those two firefighters are on a call, the Kelley Boulevard Fire Station is not staffed. The change was intended to keep the ambulance in service more often in the face of reduced overtime budgets, Lamb said at the time. "That has proved to be a very controversial decision," he said. A message was left for the firefighters' union president, but the call was was not returned Tuesday night. In addition, Lamb said a proposal "put through appropriate union channels" to require physicals for firefighters has been met with resistance. Finally, he said tensions have risen as a result of the need to lay off three firefighters to balance the budget for the coming fiscal year. Those layoffs went into effect last week. "There were recent layoffs and the firefighters kept their pay raises. That has generated some discussion," Lamb said. "These are all volatile events that have rattled the department and put me under a microscope."
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cutthefat wrote on Jun 19, 2009 5:19 PM:
mortician1974 wrote on Jun 18, 2009 2:12 AM:
anavoter wrote on Jun 17, 2009 10:21 PM:
I agree with the comments that rumors are rumors and we should only deal with the FACTS. I find it interesting that these "issues" have surfaced during a period of difficult budgets and belt tighterning requiring changes in the way we have tradtionaly done business.
That being said, lets hope that the Commissioners and Selectman will be able to determine/seperate issues of safety versus union issues with regard to man power and scheduling.
Naturally the union wants more people ( union dues are the revenue stream for the business called a "union") and people do not like changes in schedules.
IN the final analysis the fire department exist to serve the taxpayers. "
Let the people in charge sort through the facts and let the people know what is really going on.
I see no reason at this point for the Chief to take time off to let things stabilize. Why???? What are the real issues???? Perhaps our town "leaders " will inform the public.??
We are waiting for more information!! Hopefuly cooler heads will prevail.
We need Leadership more than ever NOW. "
local townie wrote on Jun 17, 2009 2:45 PM:
local townie wrote on Jun 17, 2009 2:13 PM:
attlebrained wrote on Jun 17, 2009 2:02 PM:
paulrevere wrote on Jun 17, 2009 1:30 PM:
Come on negative people get off your high horse and evaluate whats happening here. Glad to see some educated people out there speaking their minds. If the Union was leading this charge against the Chief, wouldn't they be first in line for the papers. It must be really nice to be sitting at work being able to add your uneducated comments on your employers dime while YOUR town employees are trying to fix problems within their respective department. Do you really think that the firefighters are mad because they got yelled at? I am sure we have all had jobs where we got yelled at and became really mad, but we didn't do anything about it. Then one day you realized that management was the problem. You either left the job or had enough pride and dedication within yourself to fix the problem head on. Obviously other attempts have already been made to correct this issue prior to this step. I am proud of the fact our firefighters are trying to address problems to make this community safer and a better organization. I am confident the right thing, either way, will be done with the Board of Selectmen involved.
As for the comments by the Chief, it sounds like he is deflecting attention away from himself and towards the union. "
herewegoagain wrote on Jun 17, 2009 1:29 PM:
herewegoagain wrote on Jun 17, 2009 1:26 PM:
hawk1 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 1:23 PM:
anavoter wrote on Jun 17, 2009 12:56 PM:
I find it interesting that these "issues" have surfaced during a period of difficult budgets and belt tighterning requiring changes in the way we have tradtionaly done business.
That being said, lets hope that the Commissioners and Selectman will be able to determine/seperate issues of safety versus union issues with regard to man power and scheduling.
Naturally the union wants more people ( union dues are the revenue stream for the business called a "union") and people do not like changes in schedules.
IN the final analysis the fire department exist to serve the taxpayers. "
jimr28 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 12:22 PM:
Call firefighters exist in many area departments. They are paid per call they go to, hence the term Call Firefighter. They are not permanent members of the department that are called back on off shifts, they may work on another depart and many are call firefighters on more than 1 department. These are members of the departments who do not work as full time firefighters and most work in or around town and are available to respond when needed. "
ronr wrote on Jun 17, 2009 12:22 PM:
There were no selectman said statements and no union said statements in the article, which makes this a print add for Chief Lamb and the BOC, which should normally cost money. But call it news and the add goes away.
This is nothing more than a wag the dog attempt, a preemptive strike by the fire commissioners and the chief against the bad bad people who questioned the great and powerful OZ.
Circle the wagons Val, they can't see in that way.
When the facts come out we can judge the issues on there merits. Until then the chronicle should charge full price for ads on the front page. For sale: Misinformation and deception.... "
hawk1 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 12:21 PM:
harkin wrote on Jun 17, 2009 12:19 PM:
rationalres wrote on Jun 17, 2009 12:02 PM:
mmarcia wrote on Jun 17, 2009 11:52 AM:
attle123: get over yourself. Why don't YOU take the English class? "
rationalres wrote on Jun 17, 2009 11:48 AM:
hardhearted wrote on Jun 17, 2009 11:18 AM:
RLincoln wrote on Jun 17, 2009 10:52 AM:
attle123 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 10:17 AM:
mmarcia wrote on Jun 17, 2009 10:16 AM:
The Prov PD voted "no confidence". That's not an ouster (the chief works for the city, not the police department), it means they don't trust him because of some of his decisions.
The fire comm met in closed session because it's a personnel matter. Do you want to meet in the open with your boss when it's review time or there's a problem? The law says that these matters HAVE to be in closed session. "
Dastew613 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 10:01 AM:
crazedkook, sorry you may have to eat your words in the end when it becomes apparent that there is serious, very serious issues going on at the Firehouse between the Chief and the staff. Just remember there are 2 sides to every story and again this is soooo not about the Union or even the budget. Breath and wait until it all comes out and you just might see the the very men you are upset with right now are really the ones working to make sure you and yours are safe. "
local townie wrote on Jun 17, 2009 8:59 AM:
hawk1 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 8:41 AM:
crazedkooks wrote on Jun 17, 2009 8:33 AM:
Chief Lamb is just being used as a scapegoat over the whole budget thing, If it was left to the unions they would spend all the money in the town budget and then say they want more and more and think that raising taxes is the fair way to go rather than figuring out a more responsible way to balance the budget as Chief Lamb has. "
Southern View wrote on Jun 17, 2009 8:24 AM:
Big Red 1 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 8:14 AM:
Ignorance_sux wrote on Jun 17, 2009 8:06 AM:
reb715 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 7:22 AM:
reason101 wrote on Jun 17, 2009 7:00 AM: