Mayoral candidate Daniel Boyle has requested a district attorney investigation because he questions Mayor Elaine Pluta's impartiality.
Holyoke acting Fire Chief William P. MoranHOLYOKE – The Fire Commission will meet in emergency session Friday to discuss the latest problem involving provisional Fire Chief William P. Moran.
As first reported by The Republican and MassLive.com, Moran was put on administrative leave Wednesday. Officials refused to say why, but according to a report by cbs3 Springfield and sources who spoke to The Republican and MassLive.com, Moran was in trouble because he sent an engine company to a false or prank call and a traffic accident occurred in which a woman was hurt.
Acting Police Chief Frederick J. Seklecki said police responded to a multicar accident Wednesday about noon at Homestead Avenue and Pynchon road. A fire truck was traveling south on Homestead Avenue and as cars pulled over on the opposite side in deference to the fire truck, one vehicle failed to stop and several vehicles collided, he said.
The driver of the vehicle that failed to stop, Marilyn Garcia, 42, of 249 Huron Ave., was hurt and taken by ambulance to Holyoke Medical Center, he said. Garcia was treated at the hospital and released, a spokesman said.
Moran, a 27-year veteran who became provisional chief in September, declined to comment when reached Wednesday and had yet to return a call seeking comment Thursday.
A press release from the office of Mayor Elaine A. Pluta said Wednesday Moran was put on paid administrative leave pending “an internal investigation by the Fire Commission due to an incident at the Holyoke Fire Department.”
The commission meeting is at 1 p.m. at Fire Department headquarters on High Street.
The mayor appoints the three-member Fire Commission. The commission has complete authority under the city charter to appoint the fire chief and hire, fire and discipline Fire Department employees.
Mayoral candidate Daniel C. Boyle has requested an investigation of the issue by Hampde District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni. Boyle said his understanding was Deputy Chief Timothy J. Moran, William Moran's brother, also was involved in the incident. Timothy Moran left a voice-mail message saying he had no comment.
Moran worked on Pluta’s mayoral campaign in 2009, and because of that and because Pluta appointed the Fire Ccommission, Pluta and the commission cannot be counted on to conduct an impartial probe of Moran, Boyle said.
“An impartial investigation by your office is the only way this matter can be resolved to the satisfaction of the parties involved, especially the Holyoke Fire Department and the citizens of Holyoke,” Boyle wrote, in a letter to Mastroianni.
Mastroianni and Pluta couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Moran has built a career marked both by a commitment to maintaining his family’s firefighting tradition and disciplinary problems.
In 2009, Moran was demoted from deputy chief to captain for what officials at the time said was conduct unbecoming a firefighter. Moran denied that, and he was reinstated to deputy chief last year after an agreement between his lawyer and the city.
But shortly after being reinstated in July 2010, Moran was in hot water again. Then-provisional Fire Chief William F. Kane issued a letter suspending Moran over a scheduling and vacation dispute. Officials said later it was a misunderstanding.
The annual salary of a deputy chief is $68,775. The additional pay that comes with being provisional chief was unclear, but the budgeted amount for the chief’s salary is $95,873.
Moran became provisional fire chief because he was the most senior deputy chief, after the sudden retirement of Kane.
Kane had held the job since the Jan. 4, 2010 retirement of former Chief David A. LaFond, who had been chief for 15 years.
Deputy Chief Chief Robert Shaw is the acting chief until the Moran issue is resolved, City Solicitor Lisa A. Ball said.
Firefighters union president Timothy J. Leary said workers’ concerns were for the health and safety of the public and its own members.
“The union is conducting it’s own investigation (into the Moran) issue and will be cooperating fully with the city in what we hope will be a thorough investigation followed by appropriate action to address the matters that have been raised. In the intervening time we would like the citizens of Holyoke to know that the men and women of the Holyoke Fire Department will continue to protect them at the highest possible standards regardless of any distractions in the department administration,” Leary said.