Evening star., 1935-07-10
L|bERAL|zED RULES
.URCEDBYSTUDYOF
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Special Committee Hits at
Set-Up of Trial Board
and Appeals Ban.
COLLECTIONS FUNCTION
is DECLARED UNJUST
500 Limit on Fine for ANY One
Violation Is Another Rec
ommendation.

Liberalization Of rules affecting the
Fire Department was proposed to the
Commissioners today by special
committee named some months ago to
make a comprehensive revision of the
regulations.
Highlights of the lengthy report
favor change in the Set-up of the
Fire Trial Board, liberalization of
the rule against firemen presenting
appeals direct to Congress and that a
limit of $l00 be fixed on fines which
may be assessed against firemen by
the trial board
The document, which will be taken
up for action by the Commissioners
after they have had time to study it,
was prepared by the committee of four
consisting of Edward w. Thomas, as
sistant corporation counsel; Paul E.
Jameson, general counsel, City Fire.
flghters' Association; Battalion Chief
E. r. Pierce, executive officer of the
Fire Department, and L. L. Woolard,
battalion chief and representative Of
the Officers Association, Fire De-
partment.
Three Chiefs on Board.
The Fire Trial Board now consists
of three battalion chiefs and an as
siStant corporation counsel is assigned
as prosecutor. AS the rule now reads
members Of the trial board must be
above the rank Of lieutenant After
long debate in executive session the
committee proposed that the trial
board be made up of an assistant
corporation counsel who would serve
as chairman, an officer of the Fire
Department above the rank of cap
tain and an assistant District en-
gineer commissioner. with alternates
to be designated by the Commits
sicners.
The trial board makeup was one OF
the touchy points tackled by the COM
mittee. In the past there have been
violent complaints from the Fire
fighters Association counsel that the
trial board was dominated by the high
officers of the department and that
too rigorous punishment was assessed
for minor infractions. This eventually
brought an attack on the late fire
chief, George Watson, from Repre-
sentative Virginia Jenckes of Indiana,
but after investigation the Commits
sioners took no action and Congress
declined to order an investigation.
Jameson won a partial victory, at
least, in that the present committee
recommended that the Trial Board
have but one officer of the Fire De-
partment.
Another liberalization won for fire.
men in the report was change de-
signed to prevent the Trial Board
from being used as collection agency.
In the past firemen have been cited
before the board in default of pay
ment of private obligations. The
Commissioners committee recon-
mended that this section be worded
in this wise:
so far as the creditor is concerned,
the Fire Department will take no &C
ton on complaints involving the in
debtedness of its employees other than
acknowledgement thereof. However,
any officer or member who, without
good and sufficient cause, refuses or
fails to pay debts incurred for neces-
sites Of life while in service of the
department, shall be charged with
violation of the rule which prohibits
conduct prejudicial to departmental
reputation and upon conviction shall
be subject to removal from the
service"
Members of the committee explained
this was intended to mean a fireman
should not be punished for indebted
ness unless he had persistently refused
to pay just debts without good ex-
cuse.
500 Fine Limit Asked.
The committee recommended that
Sl0O be fixed as the limit for fines
which may be assessed for any one
violation, but also suggested that the
board be given power to recommend
demotion of an officer for infractions
of rules.
The committee opposed any change
in the present system for promotion
to official ranks in the department,
which now requires that the chief
engineer be selected from among the
deputy chiefs, the battalion chiefs, the
fire marshal and the superintendent of
machinery. Some firemen had been
campaigning to require that when the
fire chief was selected he be chosen
from among department officers hav-
ing had active f1re-fighting service.
The change in the rule against per-
sonal appeals to Congress would permit
an officer or members of the depart
ment to apply to any member or COM
mittee in Congress for action affecting
the general policies of the department
SO long as he gave notice to the fire
chief or the Commissioner in charge
of the department. The present rule
is that firemen cannot indulge in such
activities without the approval of the