A group of Amherstburg residents and firefighters are looking to get former fire chief Randy Sinasac reinstated, while the town is ready to introduce his replacement.
Chief Alan Reaume, a 43-year firefighting veteran and former deputy chief in Windsor, will be officially named at next week's town council meeting. On June 3 council held an in-camera meeting and decided to terminate Sinasac's employment.
Close friend of Sinasac, George Kritiotis, is calling Amherstburg's transparency into question after the quick hire. "They had somebody already assigned the day after (Sinasac's firing). Obviously it shows that there have been some dark closed-door meetings where they've kind of been ganging up and bullying one individual over something that was in-house."
Kritiotis says a petition is circulating with more than a thousand signatures on it, but Mayor Aldo DiCarlo doesn't believe council will be backing off of last week's decision. "We have met our requirements under the (Municipal) Act and any other regulations for fire. We have replaced the chief with someone with quite a bit of experience." DiCarlo adds Amherstburg has also contracted a health and safety specialist to do a complete review of its fire department, which could lead to more restructuring.
Kritiotis hopes to be part of a delegation to come before council soon, although DiCarlo is asking that anyone looking to speak on the issue make an appointment with him directly, due to the legal nature of the case.
