The Governor Signed – EG Fire District Is No More

Eleven months after Town Councilor Jeff Cianciolo introduced the idea of asking voters whether or not the separate East Greenwich Fire District should continue to exist, Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed bills abolishing the district, making way for a town fire department.

Cianciolo's actions prompted the Town Council to put a referendum on the ballot last November putting that question to East Greenwich voters. The referendum – which was non-binding because only the General Assembly has the power to dissolve a chartered municipality – was approved 4,417 to 2,236.

State legislators introduced bills to the General Assembly earlier this year. 

The signing took place at East Greenwich Town Hall Monday, with a phalanx of full-dress firefighters lining the back wall of Council Chambers, while elected state and town officials stood on either side of the governor as he signed the two identical bills.

Chafee's signature ends the 216-year-old East Greenwich Fire District, which was an all-volunteer force until starting in the 1980s. Today, there are 36 firefighters serving all of East Greenwich as well as Potowomut (for which Warwick pays). All the employees of the former fire district are now Town of East Greenwich employees.

"Everybody was on board with it. Because of the monumental thing, the historic thing, that's why [Chafee] came here," said EG state Rep. Antonio Giarusso.

According to Town Manager Bill Sequino, bringing fire and rescue services into the town is significant but, he said, the town is already doing a fair bit of the work for fire, including payroll and tax collection. The fire marshal has an office in the Department of Public Works and the town and the former fire district were already sharing a mechanic.

"I think the big project with the fire department will be negotiations," Sequino said, referring to the firefighter contract that expires June 30. Negotiations with the former fire district came to a halt earlier this spring, with mediation scheduled to begin this fall. 

Both sides – the union and town officials – want to try to resolve the contract without resorting to mediation, so negotiations are expected to begin soon.

There was only one fire commissioner present for the governor's signing, Mark Gee, who also sits on the Town Council and has been a proponent of the legislation.

"I've never been so happy to be out of a job in my entire political career," said Gee.

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