Firefighters logged their second day under the direct management of Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Paré on Monday as the city set the groundwork for an administrative response to a wave of sickness and on-the-job injuries in the Fire Department.
Paré became the department’s acting chief on Sunday, taking the reins from Assistant Chief Scott Mello, who had been serving as acting chief.
Along with that change, the administration of Mayor Jorge O. Elorza has hired a former fire chief, George S. Farrell, to support Paré as a “management consultant." The arrangement did not generate any new instructions for firefighters on Monday, according to the president of the firefighters’ union, Paul A. Doughty.
“I think it’s too early to tell,” Doughty said when he was asked to comment on the situation. “No one knows.”
Farrell will provide “administrative oversight,” but he will not issue instructions to firefighters, Paré said.
Paré said he will consult Farrell as needed and issue any instructions to firefighters through Mello, who is now the department’s second in command.
Doughty and Paré agree that firefighters have reported injuries and called in sick at much higher rates since Elorza ordered a retooling of the firefighters’ shift schedule in August.