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Mendham council to investigate fire department celebration
Thursday, September 04, 2003
BY KRISTEN ALLOWAY
Star-Ledger Staff
The Mendham Borough Council will investigate the wet-down celebration the fire department held this summer, when several pieces of equipment were destroyed and a firefighter from a neighboring town was injured, the mayor said yesterday.
The council decided Tuesday night to hold hearings about the party and two volunteer firefighters who face being kicked out of the department.
The wet-down in June was supposed to be a celebration. The fire department in the upscale community of 5,000 was rolling out two new pieces of equipment, and firefighters from other towns were invited for the festivities.
"Things got out of hand," Mendham Mayor Richard Kraft said yesterday. "Wet-downs always are a little raucus. There's water being sprayed. ... The events of that evening went beyond reasonable. There should not be damage. There should not be personal injury."
Mendham police investigated the party and charged two firefighters with disorderly persons offenses, Kraft said.
Several fire department radios were destroyed and a fire jacket was burned, Kraft said. A firefighter from a neighboring department suffered a knee injury that required medical attention, Kraft said.
The 55-member fire department last month decided not to expel the two firefighters from the squad or discipline them, Kraft said. The fire department's board of trustees -- made up mostly of retired fire chiefs -- disagreed and turned to the borough council.
"Some feel nothing was being done. They felt the fire department should have acted and did not," Kraft said. "The bylaws said they dismiss them or discipline them, and they didn't do either."
The borough council will seek an independent hearing officer who will weigh both sides and make a recommendation to the borough council, Kraft said.
Fire Chief Joseph Eible could not be reached yesterday.
Todd Schwartz, one of the firefighters being investigated, acknowledged he brought a smoke bomb to the party and lighted it as a prank.
"It was not smart, and I took responsibility for it," said Schwartz, 35, who joined the department two years ago. "It's not like this is a stick of dynamite. Everyone was wearing firefighter equipment. ... Nobody said anything at the wet- down."
Schwartz, who runs a marble and granite business in the borough, said the incident has been blown out of proportion by a few department members who have targeted him because he is the lone Jewish member of the squad.
"From the day I joined the fire department, I've been given a hard time," Schwartz said. "Some members made it clear that they didn't want me around and took the opportunity to exploit something."
Schwartz's disorderly persons charge was eventually downgraded to an ordinance violation, and he was fined $130, according to the municipal court.
Kraft, a borough firefighter in the 1980s, called Schwartz's accusation of anti-Semitism "blatantly untrue."
"I would strongly differ with that," the mayor said. "I think some people think that things that happened should never have happened, and the fire department did not act properly.
"I know there are people who are kind of disgusted by the whole thing."
Thursday, September 04, 2003
BY KRISTEN ALLOWAY
Star-Ledger Staff
The Mendham Borough Council will investigate the wet-down celebration the fire department held this summer, when several pieces of equipment were destroyed and a firefighter from a neighboring town was injured, the mayor said yesterday.
The council decided Tuesday night to hold hearings about the party and two volunteer firefighters who face being kicked out of the department.
The wet-down in June was supposed to be a celebration. The fire department in the upscale community of 5,000 was rolling out two new pieces of equipment, and firefighters from other towns were invited for the festivities.
"Things got out of hand," Mendham Mayor Richard Kraft said yesterday. "Wet-downs always are a little raucus. There's water being sprayed. ... The events of that evening went beyond reasonable. There should not be damage. There should not be personal injury."
Mendham police investigated the party and charged two firefighters with disorderly persons offenses, Kraft said.
Several fire department radios were destroyed and a fire jacket was burned, Kraft said. A firefighter from a neighboring department suffered a knee injury that required medical attention, Kraft said.
The 55-member fire department last month decided not to expel the two firefighters from the squad or discipline them, Kraft said. The fire department's board of trustees -- made up mostly of retired fire chiefs -- disagreed and turned to the borough council.
"Some feel nothing was being done. They felt the fire department should have acted and did not," Kraft said. "The bylaws said they dismiss them or discipline them, and they didn't do either."
The borough council will seek an independent hearing officer who will weigh both sides and make a recommendation to the borough council, Kraft said.
Fire Chief Joseph Eible could not be reached yesterday.
Todd Schwartz, one of the firefighters being investigated, acknowledged he brought a smoke bomb to the party and lighted it as a prank.
"It was not smart, and I took responsibility for it," said Schwartz, 35, who joined the department two years ago. "It's not like this is a stick of dynamite. Everyone was wearing firefighter equipment. ... Nobody said anything at the wet- down."
Schwartz, who runs a marble and granite business in the borough, said the incident has been blown out of proportion by a few department members who have targeted him because he is the lone Jewish member of the squad.
"From the day I joined the fire department, I've been given a hard time," Schwartz said. "Some members made it clear that they didn't want me around and took the opportunity to exploit something."
Schwartz's disorderly persons charge was eventually downgraded to an ordinance violation, and he was fined $130, according to the municipal court.
Kraft, a borough firefighter in the 1980s, called Schwartz's accusation of anti-Semitism "blatantly untrue."
"I would strongly differ with that," the mayor said. "I think some people think that things that happened should never have happened, and the fire department did not act properly.
"I know there are people who are kind of disgusted by the whole thing."
RAY WAS HERE 08/28/05
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