North Providence loses ruling over who qualifies as firefighter

From The Providence Journal, March 12

NORTH PROVIDENCE, RI – Everett McCain never handled a hose at the scene of a fire, never braved smoke and flames inside a burning house, never went to the fire academy.

During more than five years with the Fire Department, McCain never did the things that most firefighters are required to do.

But he was a “firefighter” under state statute, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Lanphear ruled Thursday.

McCain worked as a “lineman” until June 2006 when he hit his head on the bucket of his vehicle, the department’s utility-style bucket truck. According to court documents, he suffered a concussion.

McCain didn’t return to work and collected full pay for three years as an injured-on-duty firefighter. Then in July 2009, the town halted the payments after deciding that, under state law, McCain’s role in the department did not fall within the definition of firefighter and, therefore, he wasn’t qualified to get the injured-on-duty pay benefit.

McCain filed suit against the town, asking the court to declare him a firefighter and to restore his payments.

In his decision, Lanphear pointed to a section of state law that defines a firefighter as a “member of the fire department or rescue personnel” as well as “any person employed as a member of the fire department.”

Daniel Beardsley, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, said that the judge’s decision could “have broad implications for cities and towns.”

McCain, 63, was hired in July 2001. His primary focus was the upkeep of the municipal fire alarm system and its network of communication cables. Sometimes, in the aftermath of a fire, he went to the site to attend to the cables.

Since hitting his head nearly four years ago, McCain has vertigo that has made it impossible for him to climb a 100-foot ladder, according to his lawyer, Edward C. Roy, who represents the North Providence’s firefighters union. Climbing to that height is a job requirement for the lineman’s job, Roy said.

McCain’s injured-on-duty weekly paycheck of $862 was the same as when he was working, except that, because of his injured-on-duty status, it was tax free, Roy said.

Under state statute, firefighters, fire marshals and police officers are accorded the injured-on-duty benefit.

While McCain collected his paychecks, he also got his regular $600 clothing allowance and $550 for clothing maintenance.

In 2008, while still collecting injured-on-duty pay, McCain applied for a disability pension through the state Municipal Employees’ Retirement System. The board rejected the request, saying his job duties did not fall within the definition of those of a firefighter.

McCain continued receiving injured-on-duty pay until town officials in 2009 turned to a 2007 amendment to the state law dealing with that benefit.

The amendment said that to qualify, a person “needed to prove to their employer that he or she had reasonable grounds to believe that there was an emergency that required an immediate need for their assistance for the protection or rescue of human life” and McCain’s bucket-truck concussion didn’t qualify, in the view of town officials.

The town argued that, in approving the amendment to state law, the General Assembly “must have meant” only first responders qualify as firefighters, Lanphear said in his ruling.

But the judge said that it is a “fundamental principle of statutory construction” that when a statute’s meaning is clear “no interpretation is required.”

“Although Mr. McCain may not be a ‘firefighter’ in the traditional sense, he clearly falls under the definition [in state law] because he is a person employed as a member of the fire department.” But he did not order McCain’s pay restored. He said that can be handled through the grievance process with the town.

Said Mayor Charles A. Lombardi of Thursday’s court ruling: “I’m a little disappointed because Everett McCain is not a firefighter. This is why people think that McCain’s position needs to come out of the firefighter contract because [civilian employees] are not firefighters.”

Lombardi said he will appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

KEY POINTS Firefighter defined

Under state law “firefighter” means and includes any chief or other member of the fire department or rescue personnel of any city, town or fire district, and any person employed as a member of the fire department … in any city or town.