Tuckerton - See

Continued From Page 1 home to approximately 3,500 residents. “The mayor and council will not allow for residents of the Borough to feel unsafe,” said Mayor Susan Marshall. “We will take action when it is not.” Attachments to the resolution suspending the fi re company document the reasons for the measure. At the end of last year, the New Jersey Department of Health conducted PEOSH (Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health) inspections in response to complaints the department was not in compliance with fi t testing. Fit testing is a mandatory requirement that stipulates fi refi ghters must be evaluated at least once a year to ensure their use of respirators meets compliance standards. The Tuckerton Fire Company submitted Fit Test records for three years, with the last dated May 7, 2020. According to the PEOSH report, the fi re company has not produced updated fi t testing records since 2020. The report points out that the fi re company was previously cited for related violations and ultimately abated them. “The Fire Chief stated they had diffi culty getting the fi t testing scheduled due to COVID-19 hardships of the private company used to conduct the fi t testing,” wrote Thomas Wilson, Assistant Chief, Offi ce of Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health. “However, the Chief was unable to provide any documentation of those requests.” Wilson said Tuckerton Fire Chief Dale Eggers admitted he did not follow up with additional providers for fi t testing for the time period the department was out of compliance. After the initiation of the PEOSH inspection, members of the Tuckerton Fire Department were fi t tested on December 14 and December 28, 2021. This was done to abate the citation given for failure to comply with the standard. On May 18, 2022, the Tuckerton Fire Department’s Facebook page advised followers that the state notifi ed them that they faced a $24,5000 fi ne as a “Repeat Penalty” for fi refi ghters not being annually fi t tested. “We were in contact with a representative at Labor that same day, and they recommended we fi le an appeal due to the circumstances - which will be done through the Borough Administration,” wrote fi re offi cials. “We have supplied them with a timeline showing our attempt to schedule the fi t testing last year to indicate we made a good faith eff ort to obtain the required testing.” The Facebook post assured readers that no one was in danger at any time. It suggests that fi t testing is not the ultimate safety evaluation and the fact that the department’s Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus is maintained and fl ow tested acts as a protective measure. In addition to the fi t testing issue, the Department of Community Aff airs (DCA) raised other concerns memorialized in communication sent to Tuckerton Borough Administrator Jenny Gleghorn. “In answer to the question posed as to whether the residents of Tuckerton are adequately protected by their current Volunteer Fire Company operations,” wrote Donald Nelson, on behalf of the DCA. “The answer is a resounding NO.” Nelson said that of the twelve active fi refi ghters, including the Chief, each had at least one certifi cation issue. New Jersey requires fi refi ghters to achieve certifi cations in particular areas in order to hold the title. According to the DCA report, fi ve of the 12 Tuckerton Fire Department members do not have valid Firefi ghter I certifi cations. This certifi cation covers basic fi re service qualifi cations. Other defi ciencies noted within the department included the failure of nine of the 12 members to possess Incident Command Systems training certifi cates. One of the Fire Company line offi cers was not certifi ed to take on the duties required for acting Incident Commander. “Chief Eggert was advised verbally of each of these defi ciencies,” wrote Nelson. “Chief Eggert had over two calendar months to cure the defi ciencies of the fi refi ghters under his charge. For whatever the reason, he squandered the opportunity to make necessary corrections in a timely fashion and better position your fi re department for a road toward recovery.” The DCA report further states that if the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) were to test the Tuckerton Volunteer Fire Company concerning their ability to provide fi re protection, they would fail miserably. Staffi ng is another issue when it comes to response time, as are problems with establishing and maintaining adequate fl ow of water. “No matter the measure, the current and immediate past leadership of the Tuckerton jerseyshoreonline.com Volunteer Fire Company is an abysmal failure,” Nelson wrote. “They have demonstrated noncompliance to basic fi re safety regulations through Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health regulations, the Uniform Fire Code, the Uniform Construction Code, and in this matter – fi re training regulations and operational aspects regulated under the Uniform Fire Safety and Emergency Deployment Acts.” As the country experiences a decline in volunteerism as a whole, Nelson said one of problems Tuckerton’s fi re company has encountered appears to be a problem with those at the helm. A number of fi refi ghters have declined to work for Tuckerton as long as Lee Eggert, Sr. and his sons Lee Jr. and Dale run the department. Ann Marie Sweeney moved from Lambertville to Tuckerton four years ago. For the last eight months, she has implored the governing body to intervene in issues related to the fi re department. Sweeney said she learned of the problems within the fi re company from a few retired and released firefighters who have been sounding the alarm regarding mismanagement of the department for at least the last two years. She said that literally every aspect of the fi re department is defi cient and is terribly scary. “It seems these people are just going to be left there (the Eggerts),” said Sweeney at a May Borough Council meeting. “None of these people (other fi refi ghters) will come back because of the bullying they received from the Eggerts…You have good people

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