'Dirty Little Secret For Too Long'

I am writing this letter in response to the Article about the Fire Department and the attack letter your paper received. I have been a Call Member of this Department for a long time and I consider myself "a veteran" and I thought your article was spot on. What "insulted" me was the response from the Department.

I know for a fact that a large majority of this Department is "Unhappy" and have "concerns" including myself. But instead of this being acknowledged in anyway the response you received was "YOU are WRONG" and then followed by "you have INSULTED ALL the members " and my personal favorite "factually inaccurate".

This is the response I would expect from the Department, it's tantamount to "We don't like what you said , we cannot prove you are wrong but we don't like it so we will vilify you." This is exactly how they treat anyone who speaks against them or questions action in anyway. The response of the Department is unfortunate, and I believe indicative of a larger problem.

Leaders lead by example, they earn the trust and respect of others through those actions. If those actions cause the loss of respect or trust then you are obligated to address them, not ignore them or point fingers at someone else.

Now I know not every one in this Department feels this way or has had a "bad experience" but if even ONE member is put into the position of feeling uncomfortable because of leadership, either through questionable actions or statements or subtle innuendo then there is a failure to lead, and that is a serious problem.

The townspeople of Groton need to know that no matter what happens, this Department and it's members are dedicated to providing the best possible service we can period! Nothing will interfere with that commitment.

I Thank you and your paper for bringing to light what has been a dirty little secret for too long.

Name Withheld on Request