Panel recommendations for Boston Fire Department

Random drug and alcohol testing

The panel urges random testing be instituted for all BFD personnel in safety-sensitive positions, from the Fire Commissioner down to entry-level firefighters;
Members of the Department who receive a positive test result should immediately be removed from duty and referred to the Department’s Employee Assistance Program;
In its report, Review Panel members say, random drug testing “will be worthless if it is not actively supported by the Department and the union”;
(Current BFD policy permits drug and alcohol testing pre-employment, randomly during a firefighter’s first year of employment, following a critical incident, or if there is a reasonable suspicion of substance abuse while on duty);
Random drug testing needs to be negotiated

with the firefighters union to be implemented.

Creating three high-level civilian management positions

Three Deputy Fire Commissioner positions would be created to be held by civilians; These three civilian managers would focus on administration and finance, planning and organizational development, and responsibilities related to labor and management; This recommendation would require the hiring of one new civilian and would require reconfiguring two current civilian administrative positions.

Full entry

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