A jury on Tuesday found Perth Amboy and its fire department negligent in its supervision and training during the time period in which a now 44-year-old man was sexually abused by a former city firefighter, authorities said.
In 2019, the firefighter, Hugo Fleites, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the boy — who was 12 years old when the abuse began in 1998 — and two other victims and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to a statement from the man’s attorney Jay Mascolo.
Fleites was close friends with the boy’s family and molested him countless times, including being abused over 30 times in at least two former Perth Amboy firehouses, the victim testified.
He filed a lawsuit against the city on May 13, 2020. The case was litigated for over two years and proceeded to a two-week jury trial at the Middlesex County Courthouse that ended Tuesday.
In addition to finding the city negligent, the jury awarded $331,000 for the abuse that occurred in the firehouses, Mascolo said. The total amount will be increased to $450,000 under an agreement in place between the parties prior to the verdict.
“We are pleased that the jury found this public entity responsible for a lack of supervision and training that contributed to this horrible story,” Mascolo said in a statement. “Hopefully this verdict reinforces the concept to any organization that it must properly supervise all employees and facilities and train its employees as to risks and signs of child sexual abuse.”
Mascolo said the ruling was among the first of its kind since New Jersey extended its civil statute of limitations as it relates to victims of sexual abuse.
In 2019, Gov. Phil Murphy permanently expanded New Jersey’s civil statute of limitations for sexual assault. Prior to this, survivors of sexual assault had a timeframe of two years to pursue civil litigation, or, for survivors of sexual abuse during their childhood, two years after age 18.
Under the expansion, all victims of sexual assault have seven years to pursue civil action. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse have until age 55 or seven years from the time that they became aware of the trauma to come forward and file a civil suit against a responsible entity.
City and fire department officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Firefighters worked tirelessly for hours to quell flames at a Bronx grocery store Thursday night.
The owner noticed the fire shortly after the store closed about 5:30 p.m., CBS reported.
“We quickly put tower ladders into operation and had hand lines in all of the exposed buildings and we prevented that from happening,” FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said.
Three firefighters and a civilian were injured.
He added that firefighters had to continue working from outside. Families in nearby buildings were evacuated. More than 200 fire and EMS personnel battled to stop the flames from spreading to the neighboring gas station and tire shop.
“The supermarket has a large stock of many different types of combustibles, potential flammables,” Hodgens said.
What’s left is a pile of rubble within the walls. Neighbors say they will now have to travel for another supermarket as big as that one.
Feb. 9—An explosion rocked San Francisco’s Sunset District Thursday, damaging one home so badly that it became engulfed in flames, leaving one inhabitant dead and another severely burned.
Cadaver dogs and excavators roamed the rubble of the scorched house Thursday afternoon searching for the occupant who apparently died from injuries. Officials at San Francisco Fire Department later said that crews uncovered a body in the wreckage of the destroyed home.
“The house that exploded is completely destroyed and collapsed, it totally imploded,” said Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the Sunset.
Investigators continued to probe the cause of the explosion and the fire that followed, but answers were scant as firefighters doused the final smoldering ruins and assessed the damages to other homes on the colorful 1700 block of 22nd Avenue.
Engardio said the fire was caused by a “possible gas explosion” at the home. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials did not directly address questions about whether its equipment sparked the incident but said surveys conducted at the residence found no evidence of gas leaks.
The incident unfolded shortly after 9 a.m., when neighborhood residents were shaken by what they described as a thunderous explosion that shattered windows and jostled houses. Soon, a column of thick black smoke rose up from the home.
Marcel Moran was parking his bike nearby when he heard the deafening blast.
“The ground shook, and you could hear glass breaking,” Moran told The Chronicle. “I immediately started seeing smoke rise from a block away.”
The explosion and clouds of smoke prompted a flood of 911 calls, officials said, dispatching firefighters to the home within minutes.
Crews arriving on scene found the house ablaze and the resident outside with “serious injuries,” SFFD spokesperson Jonathan Baxter said. Paramedics transported the person to a local hospital, where they were receiving treatment for severe burns.
Eyewitnesses told the first arriving firefighters that another person likely remained inside the house. But soon after crews arrived, the front of the home collapsed shortly before 10 a.m., preventing a search-and-rescue mission.
Firefighters then moved to prevent the flames from spreading to beyond the two adjacent houses, which both suffered extensive damage. After assessing the rapidly spreading fire, commanders sent specially trained rescue squads into the adjoining homes to ensure no one was trapped within.
The aggressive efforts left one firefighter with minor injuries, Baxter said. The injured firefighter was hospitalized and later released to recuperate at home.
“They know they are taking a great risk going inside,” Baxter said.
Officials evacuated the residents of nearby homes and no other injuries were reported.
PG&E crews were among those who responded after being called to the scene. They quickly shut off gas to the home and later began conducting a leak survey, said spokesperson Jason King. The survey did not locate any leaks, he said.
According to King, the utility company conducted a leak survey at the home in October 2022 and found no indications of a gas leak.
As night fell on the neighborhood, dogs continued searching the rubble for the missing adult, who remained “unaccounted for,” Baxter said. Officials lifted evacuation orders and Red Cross volunteers arrived to offer temporary housing to an unknown number of displaced families.
In all, about 100 firefighters responded to the blaze, a response that Baxter said likely saved many more houses.
“This fire could have engulfed an entire city block if not for the quick response of the firefighters and their extremely aggressive and tactical approach,” he said.
Chronicle staff writer Jordan Parker contributed to this report.
An Indianapolis firefighter was seriously injured in a fire Tuesday that authorities say was intentionally set.
The firefighter was taken from the scene to Eskenazi Hospital after complaining of a heat-related injury. However, doctors said his condition became more serious and he was placed in a medically induced coma, according to WTHR.
A man has been arrested for starting the fire that was brought under control in about a half hour.
Changes in FDNY leadership continue as two other deputy assistant chiefs are asking to return to previous assignments.
Deputy Chief of Safety Frank Leeb and Deputy Chief Kevin Woods are the latest high-ranking chiefs to relinquish their posts and request a return to the field.
Earlier this week, Chief of Department John ‘Jack’ Hodgens and Chief of Fire Operations John Esposito stepped aside following the demotions of Assistant Chiefs Michael Gala, Joseph Jardin and Fred Schaaf to deputy chiefs, according to the New York Daily News.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh demoted the trio without consulting Hodgens and Esposito, who usually weigh in on such decisions, according to Lt. Jim McCarthy, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers’ Association.
Kavanagh was greeted with jeers and boos as she stepped to the podium Tuesday morning during the department’s promotion ceremony.
Hodgens, on the other hand, got a rousing standing ovation that lasted several minutes. He didn’t take the podium to address the new officers as he usually does.
Leeb, who gave the keynote at last year’s Firehouse Expo, wrote in a letter requesting the move that recent changes made it impossible for him to continue in his position.
“Several changes have led me to believe that our organizational priorities are shifting away from the cornerstones of safety and training which have long protected the citizens and visitors of New York City, as well as the members of our great organization. Additionally, breaches of trust coupled with a lack of communication and transparency have further led me to this difficult decision,” according to The New York Post reporters who reviewed the letter he sent.
Leeb’s request continued: “As a servant leader, I have never placed myself before the organization and today’s decision is no different,” Leeb’s letter states. “I look forward to continuing to serve and contribute in meaningful ways. Therefore, I am respectfully requesting a return to a field assignment in my civil service title of deputy chief effective [at 9 a.m.] Monday, March 6th, 2023.
McCarthy said he wouldn’t be surprised if other deputy chiefs make similar requests.
Two state troopers and a firefighter were injured on the scene of separate crashes in Hamden and Cromwell on Wednesday morning, according to the Connecticut State Police.
There were several crashes on Wednesday morning as Connecticut saw some icy road conditions following a bout of rain on Tuesday night. There were reported injuries reported in at least four crashes on Wednesday morning, state police said.
Troopers responded to a report of a crash on Route 15 South near Exit 60 in Hamden at around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. A trooper was struck by a car while inside their cruiser, state police said. Minor injuries were reported in the crash. The highway was closed for a short amount of time.
Troopers from Troop H responded to a report of a rollover crash on Route 9 near Exit 22S in Cromwell before 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Minor injuries were reported in the crash and one person was transported to an area hospital, state police said.
While on the scene of the crash in Cromwell, a trooper and a firefighter were struck by a car while outside of their vehicles. The two responders were injured in the crash and transported to an area hospital, state police said. The off-ramp to Interstate 91 North was shut down.
“Anytime a motorist sees any emergency vehicle on the side of the road they should slow down well below the speed limit and, if safe, move over to the lane farthest from the emergency vehicle(s),” Trooper Pedro Muñiz said in a statement Wednesday.
There were also reported crashes with injuries in Meriden and Manchester on Wednesday morning, state police said.
Troopers responded to a one-car crash where the vehicle was overturned on I-691 West near Exit 5 in Meriden after 5 a.m. One person was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries, state police said.
State police also responded to a one-car rollover crash in the median of I-84 East near Exit 62 in Manchester before 7 a.m. There were serious injuries reported in the crash, but the extent of the injuries is unknown at this time, state police said.
Muñiz said drivers should slow down and “ditch all distractions” when faced with icy conditions as the state saw on Wednesday.
Two cars, one of which police were attempting to stop, collided and struck an East Baltimore building Wednesday night, killing a pedestrian, injuring five people and causing the structure to partially collapse, according to Baltimore Police.
Baltimore Deputy Commissioner Richard Worley said the crash happened at about 8:54 p.m., after police attempted to stop one of the vehicles, which he said was stolen, on the East North Avenue corridor.
When police tried to stop the vehicle, it accelerated and crashed into another vehicle, and then a building on the southeast corner of North Wolfe Street and East North Avenue. Both vehicles were occupied, and the building appeared to be vacant.
The crash killed a 54-year-old man, who police said was a pedestrian on the sidewalk. Five people who were in the vehicles were taken to hospitals with injuries. Police did not know the condition of the other five.
Worley said authorities were still determining whether the Independent Investigations Division of the Attorney General’s Office will be handling the matter.
Police and fire crews pulled the vehicles from the wreckage and continued to clear debris in the intersection, which is on the border of the Broadway East and South Clifton Park neighborhoods.
Police had spotted the vehicle about “four or five blocks” up from the scene of the crash, Worley said. It was unclear how police were attempting to stop the vehicle.
“I don’t know that we were pursuing at all, we attempted to stop it,” Worley said when asked about the stop. “That’s still under investigation, we’ll look at all the body-worn camera, any other video to see what in fact happened to cause the vehicle to take off.”
CityLink Gold and LocalLink 21 bus routes are temporarily diverted as crews assess the scene.
Kansas City firefighters said they have been grabbed in sexually inappropriate ways and subjected to racial slurs in the city’s fire stations, according to a Kansas City Council report released Wednesday.
The 163-page KCFD Cultural Assessment was produced by a third-party consultant, Debra J. Jarvis Associates Consulting & Training LLC, after a yearlong review that the authors said included 231 KCFD employees from different ranks and positions. The names and identities of the participants were not included in the report.
Firefighters said they do not feel comfortable speaking up about problems because of a culture of bullying, intimidation and fear of retaliation in the department, according to the report.
“Many employees feel that their voices have not been heard and their interests not understood, promoted, or defended,” the report’s executive summary said.
Among the other key findings:
Firefighters treated fire scenes in low-income area different from those located in more affluent Kansas City neighborhoods. Fire crews will tear up houses more than necessary in poorer areas, while firefighters put plastic over couches and may not chop a hole in the roof while battling fires in more expensive homes.
Erratic driving that results in wrecks is commemorated in fire stations with plagues or mounted pieces of wreckage.
The report said it was commonplace for firefighters to tell inappropriate jokes and make slurs about a colleagues’ race, gender or sexual orientation.
Black firefighters are hesitant to speak up about problems for fear of being labeled an “angry Black man.”
Several fire stations do not have separate locker rooms and showers for women. Women firefighters reported being walked in on when using makeshift facilities.
Respondents said they would not want their family members to work at KCFD due to negative comments made about women.
Women members of the department felt they would be ostracized and their career advancement blocked if they filed harassment charges.
Fire Department leadership did not address firefighters who sent disrespectful, unprofessional emails to KCFD civilian employees.
Firefighters said they are forced to eat their meals fast and physically wrestle over who has to clean up the kitchen.
Sherae Honeycutt, a spokeswoman for the city, declined to comment on the report’s findings Wednesday.
According to the report: “The over-arching perceptions and opinions of KCFD participants in this culture study are that the two IAFF Unions prevent KCFD Management from holding personnel accountable for compliance with policies and practices because they have more power and influence in daily operations practices, as well as City politics that KCFD Management.”
Many employees who participated in discussion groups for the study cried or were distraught in relaying accounts of how they had been ostracized or ridiculed for not supporting union positions on certain matters or raised concerns about unsafe practices or harassment related to race or gender.
“When there is an imbalance between Union and Management power and influence, the community and the employees suffer,” the report said.
“The perception of study participants is that the IAFF Unions run the Fire Department, not Management. While Management is responsible by law, they do not have the authority to manage basic organizational systems, such as as hiring, training promotions, personnel assignments, and operational staffing because the Union CBAs prohibits such control.”
Safety concerns
Study participants said that safety is not a department priority.
Only about half of firefighters wear their air masks, known as self-contained breathing apparatus, at times when everyone should have them on. Seat belts aren’t always worn on the way to and from emergency calls.
The report said one result of the labor management imbalance is that the department still staffs fire stations as if fire suppression is the main priority, when in fact emergency calls are now the dominant service need.
Rescue squads are sometimes taken out of service in order to staff fire apparatus.
“Traditional staffing models have continued to prioritize staffing fire suppression vehicles over medical vehicles,” the report said.
The report released Wednesday makes a number of recommendations for correcting the department’s deficiencies. Among them is convincing the unions to engage in “meaningful, sustained, organizational culture transformation.”
That would mean management and labor examining the effectiveness of the labor-management agreement that was jointly adopted in 2001 and which many study participants identified as as one of the department’s core problems.
Clay Calvin, president of IAFF Local 3808, which represents the department’s battalion and division chiefs, said he had not read the entire report and declined to comment.
Local 42’s president, Dan Heizman, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
