Want to feel good? Read this post:
The story describes the recognition the Bethel Volunteer Fire Department received in the wake of their heroic actions in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. The article is a fun, even joyful, account of the department’s field trip to Fenway Park to be honored on Vermont Day. It will make you feel good, especially if you live in a rural area with a volunteer fire department.
Want to feel … squirrelly? Read the account below of the meeting this past week of the Bethel Selectboard that appeared in our local newspaper, The Herald (good job on the reporting, by the way).
… but first, a bit of personal commentary:
In addition to being a 35 year veteran of the volunteer fire department, Dave is a Silverback of good standing. He particularly enjoys posts about classic rock ‘n roll. He lives in our mythical Jungle where the rules are made not by administrators, but a higher force.
As a firefighter Dave responds to emergencies. He responds. He does not consult the instruction manual and follow procedures. He responds. He can’t do it alone so he acts in concert with other first responders to take what is, in their judgement, appropriate action. He is a public servant, as are the members of the police department, all of whom have made a career choice to be paid professionals. Dave and his fellows are plumbers, builders, architects, ditch diggers … they might even draw cartoons for the New Yorker. They are volunteers motivated by commitment to community. We count on them to show up and to protect us in emergency situations with uncertain outcomes. And we count on them being there not 70%, but 100% of the time. And yet, when it comes to making decisions within their own ranks, suddenly we don’t trust them?
“It’s not 1970 any more,” says the Selectboard member.
Maybe that’s the problem. Personally, I stand with Silverback Dave.
Chief’s Supporters Burn Bethel Bd.
Dozens Rally As Aldrighetti Lays Out Concerns
APRIL 11, 2024
Former Bethel Fire Chief Dave Aldrighetti, shown here speaking during a town meeting in 2018, resigned his position in protest after he was ordered to reinstate a firefighter whom he had previously suspended from the department. (Herald File / Tim Calabro)
The chief of the Bethel Fire Department threw up his hands and stepped down on over the actions of one member of the department and what he calls the lack of support from town leadership.
Chief David Aldrighetti suspended firefighter Thomas Gauthier over a Facebook post he made following a Vermont State Police trooper’s serious crash in early March. But Friday, March 29, Aldrighetti said he was told he had to reinstate Gauthier, return his pager, give him access to the firehouse, and unblock him on Aldrighetti’s personal cell phone. Aldrighetti, a 35-year member of the Bethel Fire Department, said he was told town legal counsel had advised the town to handle the situation that way, and the long-time fire chief said he couldn’t compromise his values, so he stepped down.
At a Bethel Selectboard meeting Monday, April 8, the chief had one final say.
Standing in front of a crowd of well over 75 supporters in the room and another 35 on Zoom, the former chief said his piece, and walked out of the building to a sustained ovation.
At the center of the brouhaha, Gauthier, a three-year member of the department, doesn’t see it the way most have reported the situation.
Gauthier said there have been no problems during his tenure, and he had worked hard, making about 70% of the calls and applying himself to become a good firefighter and improve the department.
“Everyone has their own perspective on things,” he said.
But, in Facebook posts after Aldrighetti stepped down, Bethel firefighters, their family members, and supporters in the community, placed the blame squarely on Gauthier, some calling him a “cancer” in the firehouse.
Some firefighters spoke off the record. Others said they wanted to talk, but didn’t want to risk their position in the department.
In an interview, Gauthier said he was never disciplined once in his three years. The definition of “disciplined” is the key. He defined it as having been officially written up. Leaders in the department said he has been verbally addressed many times for actions including some that put firefighter safety at risk. And there was a letter at some point, addressing multiple problems.
Other allegations, which could not be confirmed, would be illegal if true.
“That’s entirely inaccurate,” Gauthier said. “I don’t have any disciplinary writeups.” Gauthier insists he’s had no problems with anybody in the firehouse with the exception of a couple of officers.
But Gauthier had something else when he joined the department. A record.
Aldrighetti said they knew about Gauthier’s criminal background, and they allowed him to join the BFD. By all accounts he had grown from his experience, which he chalked up to being young and hanging with the wrong crowd.
Some struggled with it, however.
Gauthier said he paid his debts with a prison term and a record he carries with him.
He pleaded guilty to possession of explosives after he was caught with others stealing 209 sticks of dynamite and two rolls of detonation cord from the Rock of Ages Quarry in Bethel.
The crime was committed in 2008, but he wasn’t caught right away. Plus, state charges were dropped and the feds took over the case.
According to the Times Argus, Gauthier was sentenced to 21 months in prison and two years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to possession of explosives.
He also was convicted of having sex with an underaged girl when he was 20 years old, making him a registered sex offender.
He served his full sentence and probation.
Gauthier said he revealed it all on his application to join the fire department.
“In order to get on the department you have to fill out an employment application and you have to list your criminal history,” he said. “They knew upfront everything that I’ve been involved with. I don’t hide anything from anybody.”
Some firefighters have brought his history up but Aldrighetti said he knew about it and was willing to give him another chance.
Gauthier said he has been working to turn his life around. Today, he owns his own business and has lived in Bethel for 25 years, he said.
Final Straw
Gauthier claimed on Facebook he didn’t know the details surrounding Aldrighetti stepping down.
“The situation with our chief is unfortunate and unexpected,” Gauthier wrote in a Facebook post under the name Thomas Kat. The Herald confirmed with Gauthier and several other people that it is Gauthier’s account.
“I do not know the details as personnel matters are confidential,” Gauthier wrote on Facebook. “I will do my best to advocate for him as I have always respected his leadership and advice.”
But tensions had been growing for about a year, said several firefighters who spoke on condition their names were not used.
Emotions spiked in the firehouse after a crash the Bethel Fire Department responded to on Interstate 89 that involved Vermont State Police Trooper Eric Vitali.
Vitali crashed into the back of a Bethel fire truck that was blocking the scene of a rollover on March 8.
Bethel firefighters worked feverishly to cut the car away from the gravely injured Vitali, who was flown to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center where he remains more than a month later.
The effort took a physical and emotional toll on many members of the Bethel Fire Department.
But, Gauthier and Vitali had a history.
Vitali had stopped Gauthier for a bad headlight, suspected Gauthier of driving under the influence and Gauthier didn’t comply.
In a struggle, Gauthier said Vitali punched him twice, used a stun gun on him twice, before subduing and cuffing him.
Gauthier said he believes it was unnecessary force and said he suffered a permanent injury from the encounter.
After being charged with DUI, Gauthier said the charges were later dropped and expunged from his record.
Gauthier said emotions were running high when he saw the news of the crash and wrote, “Karma is a meal best served cold. … Some peace has been brought today. I pray no one else will ever suffer what I have suffered at the hands of that officer.”
Gauthier admitted the post was insensitive, and apologized for the way it was worded.
“I was insensitive,” Gauthier said. “I don’t apologize for saying that, I apologize for the way it was worded.”
Gauthier also said that while people might not like it, it is protected free speech.
“You can’t punish people for that,” he said.
But, the post was one step too far for Aldrighetti, who suspended Gauthier.
“Vitali deserved better,” Aldrighetti said.
So, when the chief was told he had to reinstate Gauthier, he said it was a step too far.
“All I can say is I had to stand up for what I believe in and keeping this person on the department was against my beliefs,” Aldrighetti said.
Fire Meeting
Just three days after Aldrighetti resigned, a meeting was held Monday evening, April 1, at the Bethel Fire Department.
A meeting scheduled for Monday at the town hall between the remaining firehouse officers and town officials didn’t happen.
Word of the meeting spread on social media. The location was changed several times but when it came time for the meeting, nobody from the town showed up, according to those in attendance.
A crowd of supporters, however, did, estimated at about 75 people made up of firefighters from Bethel and nearby departments, as well as family members and other residents.
At that meeting, Aldrighetti said he addressed the firehouse to tell them what he had been keeping to himself because he was told he couldn’t share it.
He said a lot of people didn’t know what was going on although the situation had been spreading across Facebook throughout the weekend.
Aldrighetti said he was prepared to look Gauthier in the eyes as he told the department his side of things.
Gauthier didn’t show up.
“The assistant chief had called him and told him not to come, which was probably for the better,” Aldrighetti said. “I had a great heartfelt conversation with the department members and they understood.”
He also said he asked that everybody else stay on at the department, and that those who had planned to resign, agreed to stay on.
“I did ask all of them to stay on and keep the town safe and the department going,” Aldrighetti said.
One, however, did not. Rob Tracy served on the department for more than 30 years with Aldrigetti and said he couldn’t stay.
“When Dave resigned, I resigned,” Tracy said. “It bothered me greatly.”
Selectboard Discord
Monday, April 8, more than 100 people attended the Bethel Selectboard meeting and for a half hour, every single person who spoke ripped the town and board for how it handled the situation.
Selectboard chair Chris Jarvis addressed the crowd, saying the town has always supported its fire department.
He spoke at length to deny rumors that have festered, including denying there were any secret meetings or backdoor decisions, both of which the board had been accused of.
Jarvis then opened the meeting up to public comment and Aldrighetti jumped to the mic stand and started pointing out inconsistencies.
“I keep getting told it was my fault because I don’t have a fire department employee policy,” he said. “Yet the person who was reprimanded six times in a letter, [it was because] he violated the Bethel employee conduct policy. It’s been this double talk constantly.”
Aldrighetti said he had warned from the beginning that Gauthier was a bad egg.
“Firefighters have to trust their fellow firefighters,” he said. “This person we’re talking about, we can’t trust him. But none of that matters because it’s all employee rules and employee laws. You threw the whole department under the bus.”
The former chief said Town Manager Therese Kirby’s actions hurt him the most.
“We became friends through the years,” he said. “When this happened, crickets. All you guys rely on is a lawyer. We could have sat down and talked it out. From day one, all I heard was, ‘the lawyer said, the lawyer said, the lawyer said.’”
When Aldrighetti was finished, he turned and thanked the people behind him for their support and walked out to a sustained ovation that went on well after he was out of the room.
But the crowd was just getting warmed up.
Adam Stearns said he grew up in a firehouse and recounted a story from his childhood in which a neighborhood boy died in a fire.
“I believe a chief holds the highest responsibility of anybody out there,” Stearns said. “He has to carry the weight of what happens, the decisions he made, what his team did or didn’t do. If you can put that amount of responsibility on one person, and he’s willing to take it, I believe it’s fair for that person to look to his officers and make the decision about who is entering that building.”
The former BFD chief who suggested Aldrighetti for the job, Raymond Forrest, said that the day he nominated him to be chief, was “one of the proudest days I had in the fire department.”
“I came up through the ranks and I’ve seen it all. The board has to stick with the chief.”
Keven Taylor, the chief of the East Montpelier Fire Department, showed up to talk about trust, and said the volunteer fire service is unique.
“It’s paramount that we can trust everyone involved, it’s paramount,” Taylor said. “I need to know, if we’re coming to Bethel to help you guys out, that they’re going to be OK, and there’s going to be some sort of sane leadership. If that’s not there, that’s a bad deal.”
One of the biggest ovations of the night came when Tom Harty, pastor at the United Church in Bethel, began his comments with passion and stopped just short of fire and brimstone as he addressed the board.
Harty said he had worked with the fire department members for years and was the medical examiner in the area.
“I want you to know what your fire department does,” Harty said. “I want you to know the types of things they see every day. I’ve worked with them on recoveries, I’ve worked with them on deaths from buildings that burned up. They all care.”
He said after the trooper crash on the Interstate, and the message that was written, should have closed the case.
“If I was one of these guys and you did this, I’d be gone and let you figure it out,” he said. “You seem to be unwilling to figure it out.”
Finally, shaking with anger, he pointed at the board.
“You guys disgust me,” Harty said.
The crowd rose for an ovation as he walked away.
Next Steps
Repeated requests for information from Town Manager Therese Kirby about how Bethel manages personnel issues in the fire department were unsuccessful.
Aldrighetti said he was in the process of writing a policy manual as was requested, but he didn’t understand how firefighters can be volunteers in one respect but expected to follow town employee policies.
Vermont law specifies that “a fireman may be dismissed or suspended by the chief engineer on written notice, but shall be entitled to a hearing on such dismissal or suspension before the legislative body of the municipality.”
Several board members including Jarvis said the selectboard may have to serve as an appeals board if the dismissed firefighter wanted to appeal his dismissal.
But when Aldrighetti wanted to dismiss Gauthier, he was told he couldn’t, and was told by Kirby to reinstate him.
Selectboard member David Eddy said the old school way of doing things doesn’t work anymore.
“You have to treat these situations very carefully,” Eddy said. “It’s not 1970 anymore. Unfortunately, things have to be done differently.”
Aldrighetti also pointed out that two mutual aid departments in nearby towns have made it clear that Gauthier is not welcome on their fire ground.
They’ve said Gauthier should not respond with Bethel crews rolling to mutual aid calls in those towns, and, if he’s on a Bethel scene, the other towns said they have no interest in responding to Bethel.
Mutual aid is the lifeblood of small-town, rural fire departments. Even the smallest structure fire will see three, four, or five departments responding and losing that connection is a big blow to the Bethel Fire Department.
As for Aldrighetti, he’s made up his mind.
He said the trust has been broken and even if the town reversed course and Gauthier is forced out, he wouldn’t go back.
“This whole situation has worn me down too much,” Aldrighetti said. “They can blame it all on me and policies if that’s what they want but never once did they even remotely try to help or cover the fire department’s side. Not once.”