A special review panel convened by Mayor Thomas M. Menino will recommend today that the city adopt random drug and alcohol testing of firefighters, according to two people involved with the review.
The outside panel, which was scheduled to release its recommendations to the public this morning, was assembled by the mayor after autopsy reports for two firefighters killed in a West Roxbury restaurant blaze indicated that one had alcohol in his system and the other had traces of cocaine.
The Boston firefighters' union has consistently blocked randomly testing its members for substance use, saying it would be a significant concession in the union contract. Union officials said that their organization is willing to consider random testing, but that the city has not offered sufficient compensation in return for making such a concession.
But the call for drug and alcohol testing has grown significantly since the Aug. 29 fire that claimed the lives of firefighters Paul J. Cahill and Warren J. Payne. Autopsy results showed Cahill's blood alcohol content was 0.27, more than three times the legal limit to drive in Massachusetts, and Payne had traces of cocaine in his system, according to two government officials with knowledge of the results.
The mayor's special panel began work nearly two months ago. It is also expected to recommend that the city move forward on the conclusions of a department review in 2000 that uncovered a number of problems, said one of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the panel's conclusions.
The 2000 report - in addition to recommending random drug and alcohol testing - said the city has failed to substantially diversify its ranks, require firefighters to undergo annual physicals, or cut millions of what the panel determined was wasteful spending. It was unclear yesterday which of those recommendations would be included in today's report.
This is the fourth outside review of the Fire Department since Menino took office in 1993. The Globe reported last month that the city has ignored 50 of 82 recommendations from the other reviews, despite Menino's campaign promise 14 years ago to overhaul the department.
City Councilor Michael Flaherty, vice chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee, said yesterday that he hopes the city will take the recommendations seriously this time.
"The value of these commissions is lost when the city fails to follow through and implement the appropriate recommendations," he said.
The mayor's spokeswoman, Dot Joyce, said yesterday that Menino has not yet seen the recommendations to be released today. However, she said, "Random drug testing has always been a priority of his and he will continue to work with the Fire Department and Commissioner [Roderick] Fraser on improving the policies and procedures."
Currently, firefighters are tested for alcohol or illegal drugs before they are hired and within a six-month probationary period but are not tested after that unless supervisors witness visible signs that they are under the influence while on the job.
The panel reporting its findings today had three members: James M. Shannon, president of the National Fire Protection Association; Dr. Sheila Chapman, a practitioner of addiction and internal medicine at Boston Medical Center; and Craig P. Coy, former chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority.
The other outside reviews of the Fire Department were conducted by the Boston Finance Commission in 1994, a consulting firm in 1995, and the O'Toole Commission, led by Kathleen M. O'Toole, state public safety secretary in 2000.
The mayor said last month that union opposition stymied the implementation of many recommendations and prevented the full-scale overhaul of the department that he had promised.
"In all practicality, it's very difficult to achieve," Menino said in an interview. "You want to see this happen, but you [come] to understand there are other things that can be done much easier."
The Globe review found that 25 of the 50 recommendations that have gone unheeded do not require bargaining with the union.
Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.
