Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
(TNS)

An FDNY chief who oversaw the department’s firefighting boats — including one involved in a fatal East River crash last year — has been forced to turn in his retirement papers, court papers reveal.

Chief Richard Blatus was FDNY’s acting chief of operations at the time of the June 17, 2022 incident that took the life of Johnny Beernaert, a Belgian firefighter aboard the fireboat Marine 1 Bravo on a tour in the East River.

• FDNY Marine 1 Bravo Hit by Charter Boat, Belgian Firefighter Killed

A month after the crash, Blatus was moved to another position. He eventually put in papers for his retirement, which sources said took formal effect Thursday.

A lawsuit filed by a group of FDNY chiefs and Daily News sources say Blatus, 63, was browbeaten into retirement by the Fire Department.

Jim Walden, a lawyer who says he represents Blatus as well as the chiefs who sued Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, called Blatus’ demotion an example of the commissioner’s “terrible decision making,” carried out “without cause” and “illegally.”

Walden said he and his clients “look forward to deposing the commissioner, to explore the reasons she violated standard operating procedure” in Blatus’ case.

A call to Blatus for comment was not immediately returned.

Blatus is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit by high-ranking chiefs who claim they were harassed, maligned and ultimately demoted because they were too old in Kavanagh’s eyes. But his retirement highlights tactics used to get older FDNY chiefs to retire, say sources and legal papers.

The lawsuit, filed March 23, also alleges that the nighttime fireboat joyride that took Beernaert’s life was initiated by a retired FDNY captain who “activated FDNY’s Marine 1 Bravo and took civilians on a ride without authorization.” The captain had retired from the department before the crash, sources said.

A source with knowledge of the case confirmed that the retired captain cajoled an active FDNY member to pilot the boat, but never asked anyone of a higher rank for permission to take the vessel out.

Beernaert, his wife, the retired FDNY captain and the captain’s wife were on a nighttime ride on the East River aboard Marine 1 Bravo when the fireboat coll

PRESS RELEASE

Due to the recent growth of the city and the need for additional services for the Point of Pines, Oak Island and beach front communities, the Point of Pines Fire Station underwent a feasibility study to determine if continued full-time use of the station could commence with improvement of the existing building or replacement of the building was necessary to meet modern fire and EMS services, according to the city of Revere. In addition, the city emergency services are in need of a training center, and the Point of Pines community is in need of a voting center and a gathering point for other such community activities.

Based on the results of the feasibility study, the consultants determined the modern needs for fire and EMS services had rendered the existing building cost prohibitive for repairs and upgrades. Therefore, design services were procured for the replacement of the fire station to include modern fire and EMS services, a training center for the city emergency services, and provide the Point of Pines a community room for voting, meetings, and community activities.

Please refer to the additional information herein for details and progress of the station development.

Timeline

As of March 2023, this is the timeline of the Point of Pines Fire Station Project:

• May 2019 – A feasibility study was completed
• July 2019 – Bond for construction was issued
• July 2020 – OPM (Project Manager) contracted
• November 2020 – Architect selected and contracted (Winter Street Architects)
• June 2020 – Schematic Design Completed
• July 2021 – Existing firehouse was demolished
• September 2021 – Design Development
• October 2021 – 65% construction documents completed
• December 2021 – City is notified that due to the land transfer it is required to submit a MEPA filing
• February 2022 – Construction documents 100% completed
• February 2022 – MEPA EENF and EIR Filing submitted
• April 2022 – EENF Decision for Single EIR submitted
• May 2022 – Construction plans redesigned with enhanced flood resiliency considerations to exceed flood plain elevation considerations
• June 2022 – Single EIR submitted to MEPA, including a redesign of plans for increased resiliency for flood considerations
• July 11, 2022– The Revere Conservation Commission issued its approval of the project with conditions.
• July 22, 2022- The MA DEP issued a notice of appeal and assumed jurisdiction over the project.
• August 1, 2022- We received the approved MEPA certificate for the Single Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) that was submitted on June 15, 2022.
• August 11, 2022- The MA DEP has scheduled a meeting and a site visit @ the Point of Pines site on Thursday August 18^th @ 1PM to address their concerns.
• August 18, 2022- MA DEP did a site survey/walkthrough of the construction site with representatives from the mayor’s office, state delegation, local elected officials, as well as several residents from the Point of Pines. The DEP reviewed the floodplain maps and firehouse layout and listened to the concerns of all the stakeholders. The DEP will follow up with their ruling within a month.
• August 24, 2022– The MA DEP withdrew their a

Hinesburg has needed a new fire station for more than a decade, and in late 2021, the roof of the town hall began to leak, mychamplainvalley.com reported.

On Wednesday, town officials heard from a Colchester architecture firm about replacement or renovation of both facilities, the report said.

The fire hall is structurally sound. However, the architects have found that the fire station doesn’t have enough space to house their vehicles and equipment, according to the report. It also doesn’t have a decontamination space to prevent potentially harmful substances from following firefighters home.

The architects presented two ideas for a new fire station. The first option is a two-story fire hall located behind the current fire station on Route 116, which would be demolished. This option would cost just over $9.4 million, the report said.

Option two is a one-story fire hall on Mechanicsville Road, costing anywhere from $9 million to $9.3 million, the report said.

A city official said the select board and the public will have a chance to receive another presentation on the the town hall project. The two options would involve renovating, and adding to, the existing building. One option would cost $3.4 million; the other would cost $6 million, according to the report.

Eastside Fire and Rescue crews put out a house fire in Woodinville on Saturday. EF&R first tweeted about the fire at 2:33 a.m. Redmond, Bothell, and Kirkland Fire assisted with the fire that was near the 15000 Block of Northeast 165th Street. Everyone made it outside of the house. At 3:15 a.m., EF&R said that the fire was under control.
- PUB DATE: 4/1/2023 9:57:00 PM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

After yesterday's fire at an apartment complex on Kennewick Ave, fifteen people were temporarily displaced According to a press release from Kennewick Fire Chief Chad Michael, fire crews from the Kennewick Fire Department, Richland Fire & Emergency Services and Benton Co. Fire District 1, and the Kennewick Police Department and Benton PUD responded to the complex at 3:10 p.
- PUB DATE: 4/1/2023 9:16:55 PM - SOURCE: KNDO-TV NBC 23 Yakima/KNDU-TV NBC 25 Richland