PETERSBURG, Va. -- A contentious relationship between Petersburg firefighters and their fire chief took another turn recently after an email from the chief was sent to all firefighters.
"The email that we received has caused low morale," James Vick with the Petersburg Professional Firefighters Association said.
An email from Tina Watkins, the Petersburg Fire Chief, included the following:
I have been faced with an abundance of disrespect, hostility and the continued resistance to change because of interference to personal gain and not the betterment of the organization.
"The Petersburg Professional Firefighters Local 2773 has never had disrespect or resistance to the fire chief," Vick said.
The first bullet point of the email reads the following:
All meeting requests to the fire chief will occur on off-shift time, this way it will not interfere with daily operations of this department.
Vick said that not being able to meet with the chief on duty is a very big concern to the firefighters.
"Official city business should be done while you're on duty," Vick said.
A complaint filed with Virginia Occupational Safety and Health concerning all four fire stations' exhaust removal systems being out of service was also brought up in the email.
All visitation to the station within the structure will no longer occur because of the concern for exposure to the personnel who are not employed under the fire department.
Watkins brought up another point because of contamination concerns.
All personal items not identified as fire department distribution will remain in your personal vehicles.
This statement has caused extra concern for firefighters. Under this new rule, firefighters who work long shifts, some up to 24 hours, would not be allowed to have their cellphones in the case of family emergencies.
"Your personal items should be allowed in the fire station, that's our home away from home. Before you leave the fire station, if it can be wiped down to alleviate any types of exposure to your family, most definitely they would be allowed," Vick said.
The firefighter association said the day after the email from the fire chief was received, an email was sent back requesting clarification.
At this time, the reply has not been answered and none of the items mentioned in the initial email have been implemented.
