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Deputy Fire Chief Clarence Jefferson, 39-year Veteran, Retires Under Pressure

Out-going Fire Chief Joseph Bosselait along with Town Manager Mark Haddad, in a decision seemingly preempting the prerogatives of the incoming fire chief, have effectively reorganized the command structure of the Groton Fire department by declining to reappoint Deputy Chief Clarence Jefferson, a 39-year veteran firefighter who also served for 19 years as Deputy Chief of the Department.

As a result of not being reappointed, Deputy Chief Jefferson submitted his retirement effective July 1. Deputy Chief Jefferson's letter of resignation and a letter of appreciation for his service are printed on page two.

No specific reasons for the action have been offered by either Chief Bosselait or Town Manager Mark Haddad. However, some observers say that forced retirement of Deputy Chief Jefferson appears to suggest a pattern of removing experienced call firefighters by not reappointing them to fire-fighting positions held for years.

If this is, in fact, a trend, critics say, it appears to be motivated by the desire to remove those who voice complaints about what they consider to be questionable practices and safety concerns within the Department.

Recently Chief Bosselait and Town Manager Haddad announced that all call fire fighters would need to be reappointed annually. At press time, the list of reappointments had not been made public. But, individual members report privately that some have resigned and some were not reappointed.

It would also appear that fire and town officials plan to replace departing experienced firefighters with a just-graduated class of trainee fire fighters. This class of call trainees would provide the benefit of the lower cost structure provided by call members but with less in-depth practical experience.

Potential departure of these experienced call firefighters, if it fully occurs, leaves open the depth of experience of the remaining fire fighters.

The Herald contacted the offices of Town Manager Haddad and Fire Chief Bosselait for comment on this story but as of press time, they had not responded.

Groton Herald

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