Hooray for the red, white and blue! Not so fast. Fire chief thinks Iraq vet has gone too far.
Watch WHDH-TV interview with FF Richard Busa
That’s Daily News Tribune reporter Dan Atkinson’s photo of Newton, MA firefighter Richard Busa’s helmet. It doesn’t look like the helmet of his fellow firefighters and that isn’t sitting well with Chief Joseph LaCroix. Chief LaCroix thinks it’s too much and is willing to compromise, saying, “You draw something reasonable, safe and not distracting”.
FF Richard Busa from NewtonFireDepart.com
Here are excerpts from Atkinson’s article:
“If the majority [of firefighters] said yes, it’s offensive or a safety issue, I’d take it off,” Busa said. “Not once has that happened.”
But Fire Chief Joseph LaCroix said the design on the helmet is irrelevant, and the department is only looking to maintain uniform standards.
“None of us take offense about the American flag, but there are limits to what you can do about helmets,” LaCroix said. “What’s to say someone wants to paint an Italian flag on his helmet, or wants to paint cartoon characters?”
And decoration is common in the department. Ladder firefighters paint the top of their helmets red, and many firefighters plaster their helmets with stickers commemorating fallen brothers.
Busa said the flag is meant to symbolize his pride in his country.
But a month ago — on Veterans Day — Busa was told to paint over or change his helmet.
Deputy chiefs Bill Carvelli and Paul Chagnon told him to lose or modify the design, and took the matter to LaCroix a few weeks later. The chief and his deputies all agreed the helmet was “over the line,” LaCroix said
“The only answer I’ve gotten so far is that it’s ‘too much,’” Busa said. “Nobody clarifies ‘What do you mean, too much?’”
LaCroix said stickers and small amounts of paint are acceptable, but as a “quasi-military organization,” the fire department needs to have uniform standards. A veteran of the Vietnam conflict, LaCroix said he recognized Busa’s patriotism, but the helmet could interfere with safety during an incident. Chiefs look for red tops to distinguish ladder men from black-helmeted engine men, and different colors could be confusing, he said.
