Denial at the Fire Department
GET MAD, Boston.
Not about the invasion of privacy suffered by the families of two Boston firefighters who died in the line of duty.
Get mad about the shocking disregard for every citizen's life-or-death interest in a drug- and alcohol-free fire department.
Last week's headlines about two firefighters who died in a West Roxbury restaurant blaze exploded into the talk of the town. According to autopsy reports, one of the firefighters was allegedly drunk and the second allegedly had traces of illegal drugs in his bloodstream.
The press was criticized for disclosing the information, because of the additional pain inflicted on relatives of the deceased firefighters. Their pain is huge and undeniable. Their loved ones were buried as heroes. Now, their memories are scarred by scandal.
But their personal tragedy and privacy rights don't override the public's right to know about the fitness of Boston firefighters. And they don't override the public's right to question those responsible for guaranteeing fitness for duty.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino doesn't need a "fresh review" of the Boston Fire Department and its substance abuse issues. In 1999, an outside study group, the O'Toole Commission, told the mayor that the department's drug and alcohol testing policy is "insufficient to prevent dangerous or deadly situations for members of the Department and citizens of the city." But Menino and his legal team never pushed hard enough to make mandatory and random drug and alcohol testing part of the contract. Such testing is opposed by the local firefighters union.
The mayor's longtime chief legal counsel, Merita A. Hopkins, is now a Suffolk Superior court judge. As jurist, she caved to the union and issued an injunction barring a local television station from reporting on the autopsy results. Her ruling was overturned the next day by an appeals court judge. It clearly violated First Amendment protections backed by the US Supreme Court.
Under Massachusetts law, autopsy reports are private medical records. However, the courts consistently rule that if private records are leaked to the press, the press can't be stopped from making them public. That's the law, whether the document in question reveals the decision-making process for the Vietnam War, or the blood-alcohol level of a Boston firefighter. Given the years of precedent establishing a right to publish or broadcast, Hopkins's order read like sympathy for a former employer. She should have recused herself from the case. Instead, she gave citizens one more reason to wonder whether personal relationships hinder the public interest.
The Globe reported that 159 firefighters - about 10 percent of the current force - were referred to treatment programs in the last three years. Twelve were fired or forced to resign or retire for subsequent abuse. That should tell the mayor and the firefighters union there's a serious problem that needs to be addressed. That should anger them more than "the reckless and illegal release of confidential information," which so far seems to be the chief concern of Edward Kelly, president of Local 718 of the firefighters union.
Acknowledging substance abuse within the ranks of the Boston Fire Department doesn't taint every firefighter. The ones without the problem have no reason to fear the drug and alcohol testing that is implemented in fire departments across the nation, including Houston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago. They should welcome it. After all, firefighters rely on each other to make the right judgment in the midst of great danger; and so does the public.
Instead of debating whether the two dead firefighters still deserve to be called heroes, the public debate should focus on the city's lack of response to documented substance abuse in the fire department.
"We must do something," Menino said in the aftermath of the disturbing news. Where has the mayor been all this time? Why did he ignore drug-testing recommendations presented in the 1999 study that was led by Kathleen M. O'Toole, the state's public safety secretary at the time?
Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser doesn't even acknowledge reality. Despite statistics from his own department about referrals to treatment programs, he bases his opinion on personal visits to firehouses. "Never once did I get any indication that anyone I talked to was using controlled substances or under the influence of alcohol," he said.
Get mad, Boston. That level of denial is outrageous and dangerous.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
