Peekskill FD accuses city officials of overstepping boundaries

<p>Members of the Peekskill Fire Department say they are fed up with city officials who are overstepping their bounds of power.</p>

News 12 Staff

Oct 10, 2018, 2:23 AM

Updated 2,023 days ago

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Members of the Peekskill Fire Department say they are fed up with city officials who are overstepping their bounds of power.
The firefighters attended a Peekskill Council meeting Tuesday night to address their concerns.
Chief Vinny Malaspina tells News 12 the city is not only trying to reorder their chain of command and control who can be present at a fire, but they also forced longtime firefighter and assistant chief Mike Sniffin to resign in order for his son to join the department.
"His score was the highest of all the candidates," says Malaspina. He had his EMT and he spent eight years as a volunteer firefighter - probably in every hot fire in the city of Peekskill. With all that experience you weren't going to take him because his father is a chief."
Firefighters also tell News 12 the city is imposing age discrimination on the department. According to Malaspina, the city does not want a deputy chief older than 66.
"An incident commander is on the outside of the building and his job is to supervise that fire or that emergency that we have," says Malaspina. "He doesn't have to go into the building."
Members of the fire department say they hope they can come to an agreement with city leaders.


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