Firefighter seeks leave of absence, vacant position remains unfilled

SWAMPSCOTT – A firefighter is requesting a leave of absence, which if approved could leave the fire department extremely shorthanded, according to Chief Richard Carmody.Carmody said if the town approves Firefighter Jennifer Bleiker’s leave of absence, the manpower shortage would be even greater than what it is currently.”I knew it was a gamble when the selectmen voted not to fill a vacant position,” he said. “I knew we would run into manpower shortages if someone got injured or went out on leave.”If Bleiker’s leave is approved, Carmody said he would be forced to run three groups of eight firefighters and one group of only seven firefighters, which he said is inadequate.Earlier this year Lt. David Marsh left the department and last month the Board of Selectmen voted four to one to leave his position unfilled, even though the position was already included in the budget.Since Marsh left, Carmody said he has been running four groups of eight firefighters.Carmody said his preference is to run four groups of nine firefighters each, which allows the department to respond with two engines and a ladder. He said the four groups of eight only allow the department to respond with two pieces of equipment.”My biggest fear is only being able to respond with one engine and having engine failure,” he said. “If that happens there is nothing we can do but wait for another to show up.”The move to leave the funded position unfilled did not sit well with the Swampscott Fire Fighters Union.At the time of the vote, Union President William Hyde Jr. said the union bargained away the training officer’s position in the last round of negotiations in order to save a firefighter’s position.A statement issued by the union reads, “In just five short years, your Fire Department has gone from placing nine firefighters at a scene with two engines and one ladder to placing as few as seven firefighters with one engine and one ladder. We have to ask – where is this going to end?”Carmody said he understands the financial constraints the town is under and he said a large portion of the blame for cuts in public safety personnel rests with the state and the inequitable funding formula of Chapter 70.”The problem is the town is not getting a fair share of state funding for the schools,” he said. “The town isn’t being fairly funded by the state and it trickles down and affects every department.”