By Carolyn Reid
FALMOUTH — The sudden resignation of Travis Reis at the Falmouth City Council caucus last Tuesday night led to a special meeting Thursday evening to appoint a new chief. Mayor Luke Price called everyone together to confirm his candidate, John Lucas.
That appointment introduced questions from some council members who are most connected to the fire department and its recent struggles as leadership has taken so many turns.
At the end of the meeting, Price found himself looking for a new assistant chief when Stephen Gales handed in his resignation immediately following the vote to confirm Lucas as chief. Gales told council that others may resign as well.
Council then appointed councilman Dave Klaber, the former chief, as a volunteer assistant fire chief for the department. The mayor clarified this would not interfere with his role on council since the position is unpaid.
QUESTIONS
Councilperson Sabrina Hazen was the first to offer her thoughts as Price introduced his nominee, saying the department has been undergoing turmoil since former mayor Sebastian Ernst fired former chief Klaber for unspecified reasons. She said the turmoil has resulted in the department taking a lot of flak, and that council was caught off-guard with this quick decision.
Price responded that the chief reports to the mayor even though he is in charge of the firehouse.
He said he believed Lucas could bring structure back to the department, which he said is needed to calm the department.
Lucas, when he was asked, stated he was the assistant fire chief for two years and the lieutenant for seven in the volunteer fire department. He promised the council he would talk with the department immediately after the meeting if his appointment was approved. His hope, he said, was to allow the department to have a conversation.
Hazen told Price she wanted reassurance that Price’s friendship with Lucas would not prevent the mayor from holding the fire chief accountable.
Price responded, “Friendships are overruled by professional responsibility; hard things are part of the job. I hope my history has shown that.”
Councilperson Joyce Carson asked Gales how many were on the department at that time, and the assistant chief responded they had gone from 19 to 17 or 18 members. Councilperson Bob Pettit asked how many were certified, wanting to affirm they had the minimum 12 certified members in order to keep their status within state and federal guidelines. Gales responded they had at least 12 certified members.
‘YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE FRIENDS’
Pettit, who spent his working life as a firefighter on several levels, clarified the department could opt for an acting chief instead of making the appointment now.
Pettit expressed his concerns about division in the department, and he spoke to the situation they faced as they continued to have turmoil.
“When those tones go off, you do your job. You don’t have to be friends,” Pettit said.
He said in his case, he hadn’t liked one supervisor he worked under, but when he was on the job, he went to him as his supervisor. When he was off, he did not speak to him.
He had to do it that way, saying, “One mistake
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