The Strasburg Fire Department held a special meeting Thursday after an article in the Northern Virginia Daily highlighted comments from the department’s interim vice president, Milton Painter, criticizing the training of department members and the maintenance of the department’s equipment.
Following publication of that article, members struck back at Painter’s assessment in emails that were obtained by the Northern Virginia Daily and that were alluded to during Thursday’s meeting.
In one email, Assistant Fire Chief Austin Cucciardo, who is a member of the restructuring committee but was unable to attend the meeting where Painter criticized the department, stated that he was “blindsided” by Painter’s comments.
“These firefighters are that untrained??” Cucciardo wrote. “That’s news to me.