SARATOGA SPRINGS — Claiming their chief has “repeatedly failed to act in the interest of safety,” the Saratoga Springs Professional Fire Fighters Association unanimously approved a “no-confidence” vote against suspended Fire Chief Joseph Dolan.
The vote, in which 90 percent of members participated, came after a special membership meeting of International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 343 on April 24. As part of the no-confidence vote, the members are asking Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino to remove and replace Dolan.
“Our members’ concerns are not focused on a single incident – and its determination to take this significant step (is) based on the totality of decisions and actions that we believe are compromising the safety of our community, those who serve it and our collective confidence in Chief Dolan,” union President Joseph Brimhall said in a statement Friday.
In February, Montagnino suspended Dolan after receiving a complaint against the chief that said he “is being paid in two different places at the same time.” On Saturday, Montagnino said that city attorneys are working on charges against Dolan to be completed early next week.
Union leaders, however, said they have concerns about safety. For example, the early morning shootout on Broadway on Nov. 20, the union said, left responding firefighters “vulnerable to harm and experienced significant trauma.”
“The chief’s casual actions and concern for the well-being of those under his command eroded a growing lack of confidence in his leadership,” the union statement noted.
The Times Union was unable to reach Dolan for comment on Saturday.
In addition, union officials said in 2021, Dolan reduced the fire apparatus crew-member size from four to three. This, the union said, defies U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety…
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