Update on Suspension of Fire Chief & Fire Lieutenant
As previously reported, Nottingham’s Fire Chief, Jaye Vilchock, and Fire Lieutenant, Sandy Vilchock, have been placed on paid administrative leave while the Board of Selectmen conducts an investigation into accusations against the Fire Chief.
This has caused much discussion on Facebook. Some additional facts - or, at least, claims to be facts - have come out. This article summarizes what has been publicly commented on or is otherwise publicly available about the situation. Except in this article where sources are linked to, all information has been obtained from comments on social media.
The suspension happened on Friday, March 24. On Thursday, March 23 the Board of Selectmen had an emergency meeting – the board normally meets only twice monthly on Mondays. The public portion of the meeting was very brief. Attending the meeting was the Town Administrator, Ellen White, and four members of the Board of Selectmen, including two members, Donna Danis and Tony Dumas, who are no longer members of the board. Also attending were Ben Bartlett and John Morin. Tiler Eaton was not present.
The accusations are only against the Fire Chief. As the Board of Selectmen barred the Fire Chief from contact with any members of the Fire Department, and as his wife is the Lieutenant, the Board of Selectmen put them both on paid administrative leave, prohibiting them both from setting foot on the Fire Station property and from having contact with other Fire Department employees.
The Fire Lieutenant works on a per diem basis. It is unclear whether she will be paid.
The Fire Chief and Fire Lieutenant have served Nottingham for a combined total of 47 years.
According to the New Hampshire Municipal Association, Jaye Vilchock receives a stipend of $11,000 per year for serving as Fire Chief, and the Fire Chief role is an appointed position.
The accusations against the Fire Chief are said to be anonymous. It is unclear whether that means that the Board of Selectmen know the identity of the accuser and are withholding it or whether the accuser is actually anonymous.
The content of the accusations are not only being withheld from the public, but they are being withheld from the Fire Chief, too. As the Fire Chief does not know what he was accused of, he has therefore had no opportunity to defend himself from the accusation.
No reports have circulated regarding what is going on in the Board of Selectmen’s investigation or how long the investigation will take.
The town’s Deputy Fire Chief, Matt Curry, declined to assume the role of interim Fire Chief.
The Board of Selectmen appointed Dale Sylvia as interim Fire Chief. According to Seacoast Online, Dale Sylvia has 28 years’ experience as a firefighter and was previously Fire Chief in Newington – a role he resigned from in 2013. In his resignation he said:
"The main reason for my decision was I disagree with certain members of the Board of Fire Engineers' philosophy, management style, integrity, and the goals and strategies they have for the fire department.
"I have spent 20 years in the military and have a great respect for our form of government and democracy. I acknowledge their rights as elected officials to govern as they see fit; however, I do not want to be a part of it.”
According to Seacoast Online, Dale Sylvia’s resignation was just one of several resignations and firings that happened at about the same time in the town of Newington.
Dale Sylvia is currently also Nottingham’s Building Inspector, Health Inspector, and Health Officer. Someone else is covering for his role as Building Inspector while he is acting as interim Fire Chief.
Dale Sylvia lives in Barrington where he is Chairman of the Recreation Commission. He is reported to be driving Nottingham Fire Rescue Utility 1 and parking it at his home. He does not have a NH Emergency Medical Service provider license.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be Monday, May 1 at 6:30 pm at the town hall conference room.
I think that is a good and concise overview of what I've read over the last day or two Doug--thank you. One of the questions that has been asked repeatedly is why the locals haven't been informed of the cause or reason for something as serious as a suspension. When the BOS goes in a non-public session of a meeting, that's just what it means--not part of a public meeting. You will hear one of the BOS ask for such a session under the auspices of a State revised statute, specifically RSA 91-A:3 section II(a). In part it says: "II. Only the following matters shall be considered or acted upon in nonpublic session:
(a) The dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such employee, or the investigation of any charges against him or her, unless the employee affected (1) has a right to a meeting and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted." So unless and until the chief or the lieutenant chooses to disclose the reason for the suspension, (which they can't do now as apparently they haven't been told what the specific problem is) we just aren't going to know anything about it. I sincerely hope they are given a reason VERY soon as I would think it's horrible to be left in the dark like that.
How can someone of the Fire Chiefs stature and impeccable reputation be suspended for over 30 days on an anonymous complaint? How can our safety depend on someone who hasn't been employed as a Fire chief for over 10 years? Why all the secrecy that only the BOS is informed of the situation and not the people of Nottingham who they represent.I sincerely hope that this is now not the start of another lawsuit which will ultimately cost the Nottingham tax payers.