More fire news from FireCritic.com
Somehow I missed this story by Walter O’Brien at NJ..com when it was first published on February 26. Now that it’s back in the news I get another swipe at it.
It’s about Jason Zanagara who had been the president of the Manville Fire Department until being voted out in February. Zangara says his efforts to ban beer in the firehouse put him in disfavor with some of the membership. Zanagara told O’Brien he had support from the younger active guys and was opposed by older members. Here’s an excerpt from the original article:
Jason Zangara, 27, an active volunteer firefighter with Manville Fire Company No. 1, told NJ.com that he had just begun serving his second term as elected company president in January when his decision to ban the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the firehouse was met with objection by the membership.
Zangara said there was a long-term practice of selling beer at the firehouse out of a soda vending machine, but the firehouse had no liquor license. When members objected to his ban, he said, he opened up the machine and took the beer out. But members responded by bringing in a beer dispenser and giving out free beer instead, he said.
There is a lot more detail about the back and forth over the beer, so I encourage you to read the entire article.
But it didn’t stop with Zanagara losing his post as president. Zanagara says he was also threatened with being thrown out of the fire department. But according to the latest article by O’Brien, Zanagara so far has survived that threat:
“No, they did not take any action,” Jason Zanagara said in an email to NJ.com on Wednesday. “I am still a firefighter!”
On Feb. 26, Zangara received a letter from Robert Kaminski, the current president of Manville Fire Co. No. 1, informing him that a “discussion and vote may be taken on (Tuesday) for your immediate removal.” The letter told Zangara: “Your attendance is not … NOT required.”
“I’ve been advised not to discuss it anymore, it’s gotten so out of control,” Kaminski said. “I have no comment, but we are seeking legal counsel.”
“I feel angry and disgusted about what’s apparently going on,” Zangara said by telephone early Tuesday. “Kaminski is representing the beer drinkers but I’m representing the active guys.”
