Norwich ― Volunteer firefighters and supporters hammered the City Council Public Safety Committee for an hour Thursday against two proposed ordinances they said would “drive a wedge” between the paid and volunteer departments.

One ordinance would require automatic aid from the paid city department to all structure fires in the volunteer districts and volunteer department response to city district fires.

The second ordinance would establish a centralized purchasing process for all fire vehicles and equipment.

Following public comment, the committee voted 2-1 along party lines to recommend the full council approve the measures. Committee Chairman and Democratic Council President Pro Tempore Joseph DeLucia and Democratic Alderwoman Tracey Burto voted in favor, and Republican Alderwoman Stacy Gould, an East Great Plain department volunteer, voted against both ordinances.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the ordinances at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Kelly Middle School auditorium and could vote on them Dec. 5. Both issues were recommendations in a 2021 fire services study.

The five volunteer fire chiefs, paid Chief Tracy Montoya and City Manager John Salomone had met for 10 months to reach an agreement on the so-called “auto-aid” plan and try it for six months starting Nov. 1.

But a day later, furious volunteer chiefs withdrew their support once they learned DeLucia and Burto submitted the ordinance to codify the plan.

Former Alderman Gerald Martin, a volunteer firefighter in the Laurel Hill department, told the committee Thursday he was proud how the volunteer and paid departments have come together recently, setting past disputes aside.

“It’s politics,” Martin said of the ordinances. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. Politics has no place in public safety. The chiefs of this city have the gray matter and expertise to make the best decisions, and I think it should stay that way.”

Taftville Fire Chief Timothy Jencks said the fire study failed to include a cost analysis of recommended changes. He said the six-month trial for auto-aid was designed to gather data on costs and logistics.

Jencks said the ordinance is a sly attempt to spread the paid fire tax citywide. In Norwich, paid fire district property owners pay for paid staff, and volunteer district property owners pay only for a volunteer pension fund. All taxpayers pay for fire equipment.

Joe McMann of Taftville said instead of spreading the fire tax, the city should find ways to increase the number of “free heroes” and shrink the paid fire staff. The fire study contained recommendations to pare paid service staffing.

“These volunteers fight fires for free,” McMann said. “Hell, they do everything for free. Think about this. In the winter, a 2 a.m. call, the volunteer jumps out of a warm bed, gets dressed, climbs into a frozen car that needs to be scraped, gets to the station in an effort to serve. Again, for free.”

Others said with auto-aid, that volunteer might turn over in bed and let the paid service handle the 2 a.m. winter call, eroding volunteerism. The fire study said Norwich is bucking national and local trends with its strong volunteer ranks.

Former alderwoman and frequent city critic Joanne Philbrick accused council Democrats of rushing to a vote before Democratic Alderman Derell Wilson resigns in January to be sworn in as a state representative. The council now has four Democrats and three Republicans.

“This isn’t about public safety. This is about power and control,” Philbrick said. “… It saddens me because I don’t really think you give a crap about the citizens of this city. If you did, you would be sharing information about why you want to do this.”

DeLucia responded that the auto-aid ordinance is the direct result of the chiefs’ agreement to start it Nov. 1. “They are mirror images to each other,” DeLucia said, including “refinement” every six months.

DeLucia said the chiefs’ letter withdrawing their agreement showed why the city needs an ordinance to avoid “the whim or as a knee-jerk reaction to anger over action by this council.”

Some in the audience shouted objections when DeLucia stated: “It’s not a wedge. It is not meant to drum up fear and anger and resentment and it is also not an attempt to spread the fire tax over the entire city.”

c.bessette@theday.com