Drug test failures: No alarm over failed firefighters

Of four Manchester firefighters who have failed random drug tests since random testing started in 2004, three remain on the force, a department official said last week.

According to Deputy Fire Chief David Albin, the three still on the job were suspended without pay for 30 days, underwent counseling and tested clean for drugs before they returned to work.

The revelation comes after autopsy results this month revealed one of two Boston firefighters who died fighting a fire in August was legally intoxicated and the second tested positive for cocaine in his body, according to media reports.

Mandatory testing rare

While many New Hampshire departments conduct drug tests before hiring firefighters, few have imposed mandatory random drug testing. Albin said he is aware of no other department in the state requiring such testing.

Manchester had to negotiate with the firefighters' union local to begin its program.

Red Robidas, Manchester's security manager and the man responsible for overseeing the testing program, said at least one firefighter tested positive for cocaine and another for marijuana. Their identities are protected by privacy laws.

"If they test positive for a second time, they're terminated," said Fire Chief Joe Kane.

The fourth person who tested positive has since left the department.

Kane said he doesn't believe any of the four firefighters jeopardized the public's safety.

Low failure rate

The four positive tests represent roughly 1 percent of total drug tests taken by firefighters since testing began.

"Knowing society isn't perfect, I guess I wasn't surprised," Kane said of the failed tests. "But, again, we're always kind of disappointed, and so are the people who are caught disappointed in themselves that they're being found in the situation that they're in."

Union Local 856 President Bill Clayton said Manchester firefighters agreed to start the testing to be proactive and to rehabilitate offenders.

"A 1 percent failure rate, I don't think, is God-awful," Clayton said.

Nevertheless, he stressed, firefighters need to be sharp on the job.

"If you have to carry someone out a window, you have to have your faculties. It's extremely dangerous," Clayton said. "You don't want to lose any edge. You really want to be on your game every day."

Municipal workers carrying commercial driver's licenses also are subject to random drug testing under federal law. Manchester has 227 employees working for highway, parks and recreation, water works and the airport who face random checks, Robidas said.

Some have tested positive twice and been terminated, said Robidas, who didn't have specific figures immediately available.

At one point, 7 percent of the non-firefighter pool had tested postive at least once at some point, he said.

Municipal policies

Firefighters are not required by federal or state law to undergo testing.

"That's local authority," said Dennis Rosolen, chief for Bureau of Training and Certification for the state Division of Fire Standards and Training and Emergency Medical Services.

Chiefs in two other cities said random testing is not needed.

"I'd like to think if somebody showed up impaired, we'd pick right up on it," said Concord's acting chief, Tim McGinley. "It's certainly always in our mind, but I like to think we do a pretty good job from a preventative measure and constantly being aware of it."

McGinley was disheartened after hearing about the autopsy results of the two Boston firefighters.

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"The profession itself just takes a black eye from that. It's inexcusable and very, very painful as professional firemen to hear stuff like that," he said.

McGinley said he thinks firefighters who test positive should be given a second chance after they get the necessary treatment.

"I think as a society we go far beyond second chances," he said. "I think a second chance is a reasonable expectation. I don't know about a third."

In Dover, Fire Chief Perry Plummer said his department has drug testing when there is a probable cause to believe someone is taking drugs. There hasn't been such a test in the last five years, he said.

Plummer believes pre-employment drug testing and polygraph testing help undercover drug and alcohol issues.

"We feel education is the key," he said.

Random drug testing, he said, "might not get to the root of the problem and is reactionary."

Dover also has a rule that any firefighter called in for an emergency is prohibited from working if he has consumed any alcohol in the previous five hours.

"That eliminates the 'Am I impaired/am I not impaired?" he said.

Testing in Manchester

For Manchester fire employees, 50 percent of the total eligible pool is tested each year, translating to 115 random tests out of a group of 230 workers. People could be chosen more than once in a given year, so not quite 50 percent of fire employees might be tested.

Manchester firefighters are tested for cocaine, marijuana, PCP, opiate and amphetamines.

Ten percent of the eligible pool of fire workers also are tested for alcohol. Any concentration of .02 or higher is considered a positive result. Albin said no one has been suspended for alcohol.

Testing is only done during working hours.

Elliot Occupational Health Services in Manchester, which administers the program, notifies Robidas which firefighter names have been randomly chosen by computer for testing. Robidas said he informs a designated administrator in the worker's department and the selected employee "gets minutes" to get tested.

Anyone testing positive is given the chance to explain the results and a split sample may be tested. Anyone still failing the test at that point must meet with a substance-abuse counselor, who will recommend a follow-up program. The offender then could be subjected to unannounced testing for up to five years.

"I think things are going pretty well with our testing program," Kane said.