Pawtucket firefighters stand by in City Hall council chambers Wednesday at a ceremony during which three were promoted and one was sworn in. Firefighters are, from left,  Capt. Timothy Noiseux, Battalion Chief Alan Krawiec, Firefighter Stephen Bejma and Lt. Michael Polacek.   Times photo/Butch Adams 

By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — With family, friends and co-workers looking on, three veteran firefighters were promoted and one new firefighter was sworn in during a brief ceremony at City Hall Wednesday.

Mayor James Doyle remarked that it was a “bright, sunny afternoon” for “good things to happen as he referred to the quartet.
According to city officials, the three promotions are occurring due to the recent retirement of Battalion Chief Richard Meerbott, who spent almost four decades in the department.
Fire Chief Timothy McLaughlin praised the firefighters and welcomed their family members and friends. He read brief biographical statements about each of the men as they had their badges pinned on by family members or loved ones.
Among the promotions, Fire Capt. Alan P. Krawiec was moved up to battalion chief. The 59-year-old South Attleboro resident holds a bachelor of science degree from Bryant University, McLaughlin noted.
In addition, Fire Lieutenant Timothy S. Noiseux, 42, was promoted to captain. The former Pawtucket resident is a 1984 Tolman High School graduate who is now living in Westerly.
After joining the city’s fire department in 1987, he was promoted to lieutenant in 2003. He holds an EMT and EMT-Cardiac license and for the past four years has been an NFPA training instructor.
Also moving up in rank is Firefighter Michael J. Polacek, who was promoted to lieutenant.
The 36-year-old Burrilville resident has spent the past 13 years on the city’s fire department. He holds an EMT and an EMT-Cardiac license and is pursuing an associate’s degree in fire science from the Community College of Rhode Island, McLaughlin noted.
Joining the fire department as a rookie is Stephen M. Bejma. The 21-year-old Pawtucket native was pinned by his proud grandfather, Arthur Marcello.
A 2004 graduate of St. Raphael Academy, Bejma holds an EMT license and spent the last two years working as an EMT for a private ambulance company.
While the ceremony was upbeat, no mention was made of four other fire department promotions that were originally scheduled to take place Wednesday.
In an action that has become controversial in the eyes of the firefighters union, the promotion of Battalion Chief Ronald N. Doire to assistant chief has been put on hold.
Doire’s promotion would have paved the way for three other firefighters to move up in the ranks, with another new firefighter to be hired in the next fiscal year.
If Doire is made assistant chief, Fire Capt. Barry R. Phillips would be promoted to battalion chief, Fire Lt. Bruce Burns would be made captain and Firefighter John F. Dolan would move up to lieutenant.
A majority of the City Council had approved the assistant chief’s position after McLaughlin maintained that it would pay for itself.
As McLaughlin spelled it out, Doire in his new duties could spend more time recouping revenue from third party ambulance billing. McLaughlin also contended that with Doire in the second slot, the department would save money on overtime.
The financial impact to the department’s budget was estimated at approximately $96,000.
However, according to Lt. Robert Neill Jr., president of the firefighters union, the union is opposing the new assistant chief’s position because it was not negotiated properly.
In a letter dated Jan. 10 that was sent to Mayor Doyle, Neill wrote that the union “opposes the creation of a new Assistant Chief’s position in the Department in January, 2008. “
The letter states that Local 4421 as the “sole and exclusive bargaining agent” for the department, and maintains that, based on this contract provision, “the addition of an additional position is a working condition that must be negotiated by the City and the Union.”
Neill said the union is not against the position per se, but wants to see the job description more clearly defined and brought to the union membership for approval.
Neill pointed out that the union is headed for contract arbitration. “The position is a nice thing, but we’re without a pay raise this year,” he said. “We want to see our contract ratified first.”
During the earlier ceremony, neither McLaughlin nor Doyle made any reference to the promotions that had been put on hold.
In his opening comments, however, Doyle stated that “in a week or so” there will be a couple more promotions to celebrate” and added, “I’m looking forward to that.”