labor firegeezer on 28 Oct 2007 11:12 am
Volunteer Tossed For Spending Too Much Time In The Station
WHEN PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, VOLUNTEER FIRE CAPTAIN LARRY FLORES had a turn of bad breaks early this year, he asked the fire chief if he could stay at the station for a while until he “got back on his feet.”
Fire Chief Michel Trovato relented at first and told Flores he could stay there for a short time. But after three months and no indication that Flores was trying to find other accomodations, the chief told him to move out. Another month went by, so the chief sent Flores a letter threatening police action to remove him if he didn’t leave immediately. Flores then left.
But now the Town Board of Selectmen is in a dither because under state conflict of interest law, “paid and volunteer town officials are barred from using their official positions to secure for themselves or others unwarranted privileges of substantial value.” They are upset because they just learned that someone was living in the station without paying rent.
It’s obviously a different world up there. Almost every other volunteer department are more than happy to provide for “live-ins” as long as they actively participate and respond on calls.
Read the full story in the Cape Cod Times HERE.
Scroll down that same page and check out the Reader’s Comments for some interesting background on this situation.
Provincetown Fire Dept. WEBSITE.
Most Commented Posts
