Safety Committee discusses new fire truck, police body cameras

<span>CHESTER - The Police, Fire and Public Safety Committee met in regular session at the Chester Municipal Building on Jan. 7 and discussed upcoming projects with the Chester police and fire departments.</span>

<span>Chester Police Chief Ryan Coffey said he is working on a research project for his department that will establish a chain of command. He added that he plans to present written paperwork regarding the reasoning for his final decision.</span>

<span>Coffey said he is looking forward to the addition of Officer Joe Crain on the department's shift schedule. The shorthanded CPD has been filling shifts with overtime or part-time officers.</span>

<span>"I've had to come into work to fill a hole as recently as last weekend," Coffey said to the committee. "The addition of Crain means part-time officers will shift to filling requests for time off for full-time officers."</span>

<span>Alderman Robert Platt asked Coffey's thoughts on body cameras for officers.</span>

<span>"Our squad car cameras are in a much more controlled environment and they have a tendency to break," Coffey said during the meeting.</span>

<span>In a phone interview with the Herald Tribune on Friday, Coffey said body cameras are a direction law enforcement is going in and he is open to the possibility of using them in the future.</span>

<span>"Obviously, cost is something I'm concerned with," he said. "Manufacturers have come up with different versions of these. When the timing's right and the funding's there, we'll do our research."</span>

<span>As he did during the meeting, Coffey said during the interview that reliability is a question with body cameras.</span>

<span>"I wouldn't mind holding off a little bit and seeing how durable and user-friendly they are," he said. "That's going to be a big issue, the reliability and the durability."</span>

<span>EMA coordinator Charlie Bargman told the committee he is still looking for a replacement for Dave Holder as assistant EMA coordinator.</span>

<span>Holder resigned from the Chester Fire Department in November after 12 years with the department.</span>

<span>"Anybody who's ever had interest has either switched jobs or no longer has interest," Bargman said.</span>

<span>Platt asked Bargman if the assistant EMA coordinator position required being a member of the CFD.</span>

<span>"A public safety background helps, the way we operate," Bargman said. "I'll have to check the ordinance and see."</span>

<span>Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert reported his work computer, the one currently at the city's firehouse, is slowly dying.</span>

<span>The machine is used to file fire reports with and Bert said he would check prices and report back to the committee at its February meeting.</span>

<span>Bert also spoke about the long-term need for a new fire truck with an estimated cost of $400,000.</span>

<span>"We're going to try everything we can to find grants," he said. "Hopefully, it will last for another four or five years."</span>

<span>The truck the CFD is hoping to replace is its 1986 pumper that has been repaired for the last time.</span>

<span>"The last time we needed a new truck we borrowed from the gas tax," Bert said. "That was the only thing we had."</span>