Fire chief, commissioner trade words

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A City of Grand Rapids fire crew's dinner break is serving as a preview of what may shape up to be the biggest battle for dollars in an ever shrinking budget: Fire department staffing.

Tuesday, the battle got personal between the fire chief and a city commissioner supported by the firefighters union and often critical of the fire chief.

The issue came up during the usually mundane Grand Rapids City Commission's Public Safety Committee meeting.

Fire Chief John VanSolkema was discussing overtime and staffing issues with members of the committee. More specifically, VanSolkema was explaining to commissioners why fire crews sometimes leave their assigned districts and raise response time averages , when he described one particular situation.

The chief said a crew from a west side firehouse drove from their district to the Polish Falcon Hall at Lane and Fulton North West to get dinner-to-go.

VanSolkema claims the April 24 dinner was part of a fundraiser for Jendrasiak.

Jendrasiak denied the fundraiser was for him, suggesting it may have been for former Commissioner and now State Representative Roy Schmidt.

" It's disturbing to make such an accusation," said Jendrasiak after the meeting.

But union officials told us the crew that went to the hall did not leave their district.

Firefighter local 366 Vice President Rich Clark said the company in question was actually from their station, just blocks from the hall.

VanSolkema later admitted to 24 Hour News 8 he may have been wrong, and that he was only going on information he got from an email invitation sent out by union officials and talks with members of the fire company that went to the hall.

But he said that really doesn't matter.

The chief said the event at the hall is beside the point. He was trying to show commissioners that there's a variety of reasons crews leave their district, and that its not fair to base opinions on response times on where fire crews are.

"It's just a statement of fact on response times. There's a variety of reasons our response times are longer. We can't look at every response time. There's tons and tons of calls. "

No rules were broken. The department allows crews to leave their districts for a variety of reasons, from grocery shopping to department training.

Fundraiser or not, union officials say there's a simple explanation for why the crew was there.

A retired firefighter was cooking that night, called the crew and told them to come by and pick up some burritos. The crew picked up the meals and took them back to the firehouse to eat.

" I'm adamant my guys don't go to political fundraiser on duty," said Local 366 President Joe Dubay, who said the union is supporting Jendrasiak in next summer's primary election.

Dubay claims the chief picked his target. "Why would you throw that out at a political forum and that's a matter of public record if not to be inflammatory in a heated ward race?"

Chief VanSolkema denies he picked that particular situation to embarrass Jendrasiak.

"No, not at all," said VanSolkema, who sent an email apologizing for the mistake if he is wrong, but explaining the reasoning behind the remark.

Jendrasiak said he hopes the chief wasn't trying to embarrass him. "If he's trying to make it personal, I think he owes me a big apology."