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Fire fighter to be reinstated after suspension

Date: 2/2/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW Call fire fighter Lt. Darren Langford, who had been dismissed from the East Longmeadow Fire Department on Dec. 16, will be allowed to return to his post following a three-month suspension.

Langford, an 11-year veteran of the call department, was terminated in mid-December due to an disagreement with Fire Chief Richard Brady over a personal appearance policy that would not allow earrings to be worn on duty.

Both parties came before the Board of Selectmen Monday evening to review the matter of employee discipline, where it was determined that Langford's "earring [wasn't] the issue ... it's the lack of respect for authority," according to Board of Selectmen Chair James Driscoll.

Langford and Brady both presented their sides of the story that led to Langford's termination.

Brady said the first time the earring became an issue was when Langford wore a hoop earring; he told the call fire fighter that a stud earring would be allowed. After that incident, Brady reprimanded Langford for wearing an earring in the shape of a horseshoe.

On Dec. 12, the fire chief posted a new personal appearance policy that did now allow the wearing of any earrings. On Dec. 16, Langford came in for drill wearing a stud. Brady and Langford spoke about this in the chief's office, and the evening ended with Langford handing his pager over to the chief.

"I gave him three opportunities to remove his earring," Brady told the selectmen. "He was disrespectful and disobeyed the fire chief."

Brady noted that nearby fire departments -- those in Longmeadow, Wilbraham and Somers, Conn. -- do not approve of earrings while fire fighters are on duty. He added that earrings could get caught on the knitted hood fire fighters wear while on a call, which could lead to an injury.

"Every decision I make is made with the safety of every fire fighter and citizen in mind," Brady stated.

Langford, who was appointed to the call department on July 1, 1997, said he's worn an earring since 1985 and had one in both when he was appointed to the department and when he was named a lieutenant in 2007.

He told the selectmen that he had read the chief's new personal appearance policy on the day it was posted, but did not know when it was scheduled to go into effect.

Langford reported that on the evening of his dismissal, he wanted to talk to the chief about the policy. When they were inside the chief's office, Langford said Brady said "This is not a democracy." The argument led to Langford handing over his pager.

He said that same night, the chief changed the combination to the fire house and removed his gear from the rack, which meant he could not perform his duties as a fire fighter, which in essence meant he had been fired.

Langford did not receive an official notice of termination until Jan. 16, however. He came before the Board of Selectmen because he believed he had been wrongfully terminated.

Town Counsel James Donahue asked Langford if he had set up a time to discuss the policy with Brady; Langford said no. Donahue asked if it was common practice to disregard orders from the chief; Langford said no. Donahue then asked what was Langford's reason for wearing an earring to drill on Dec. 16. Langford replied he didn't know the policy was a directive.

"Knowing the chief had posted this [policy], you ignored a directive from the chief," Donahue stated.

Driscoll said this dispute was "an unfortunate circumstance" and that while he supported the chief, Langford has been dedicated to town service. In his career with the ELFD, Langford has never been disciplined for any other issues.

Driscoll asked if Langford regretted the circumstances, and Langford replied that he did.

"I have absolute respect for the chief," Langford said. "I regret everything that's happened."

"The chief was correct in his actions," Driscoll stated, "but if we [the Board of Selectmen, acting as fire commissioners] had played a more active role, this might not have happened."

Selectmen Jack Villamaino proposed that in light of this being Langford's first offense with the fire department, his termination be turned into a three-month suspension, to expire March 16.

While Brady believed that "no one should be as disrespectful to the fire chief as [Langford] was," he said he was "OK with the suspension."

"I'm not going to go against the Board of Selectmen's recommendation," Brady said.

In addition to the suspension, Langford also has to provide a letter of apology to the fire chief.

"The outcome was not what I expected," Langford told Reminder Publications. He added that he was also upset with the fact that Brady wanted to demote him and take his lieutenantship away.

"I've known Dick since I came on," Langford said. "I'm not a problem child with him."

He said the three-month suspension seemed too long and that his time served would be enough, but he's glad he'll be able to rejoin the department.

"I love being a fire fighter," Langford said.