RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont fire department will now require its firefighters to inform the chief of any contact they have with police and any prescription medications they are taking that could impair their abilities.
Rutland Town Select Board member John Paul Faignant tells the Rutland Herald that the town was “blindsided” a few years ago when a local firefighter was arrested in New York and the department did not learn about it until another firefighter saw it in a newspaper.
Faignant, who is also a longtime member of the department, said the changes to the bylaws are meant to keep officials “in the loop.” He said firefighters would be expected to inform the chief if they called police to report a burglary at their home or if they were prescribed strong painkillers.
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