Ullrich: 'I Know I'm Not Going to Be Fire Chief'

The search for a new Fire Chief in Shelton has been put off a little longer. At the Board of Fire Commissioner's monthly meeting Tuesday night, all job appointments were tabled due to a legal technicality.

Under the City Charter, the chairman or vice chairman of a committee must formally file a request to set up meetings or interviews. Last month, a chair or vice chair had not even been appointed, and thus interviews for Fire Chief could not be scheduled. Since then, Mayor Mark A. Lauretti has appointed Chuck Sutton as chairman.

The three candidates vying for the job -- Mike Ullrich, Paul Wilson and Fran Jones -- will now be interviewed next Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. in during a special meeting. The public portion and announcement of the Board's choice will follow at 7:30 p.m.

"We found out from the corporation counsel that we can’t [recommend a Chief] because we didn’t meet anywhere in between the last meeting and tonight. It’s a whole legal process," said commissioner Justin Sabatino, a firefighter with .

The Board's November meeting was held without approval from the city clerk, which Sabatino explained is illegal. "Any action that was taken that month is void unless we retake it,” he said, which is exactly what they did at Tuesday's meeting.

Morale was visibly low amongst the crowd, but Victor Godin said Shelton's fire crews continue to work hard, making their needs even more a priority.

"The potential we have here for fire service is unbelievable. We’ve had it for 130 years or more; has been here for over 130 years. A while back the Pine Rock station went through our 75th anniversary.  We have four companies in this town and approximately 300 firemen. We have one of the largest volunteer services on the east coast," Godin said.

Ullrich, the Board’s unanimous choice for the chief’s job earlier this year, was rejected by Lauretti twice. Last Thursday, Nov. 29, Ullrich was elected to be the 2012 Board commissioner.

"I know I'm not going to be the Chief, I've finally taken that in," Ullrch said. "I'll be the commissioner starting in January, but I'm still going to go through the process. If I come out number 1 and [Lauretti] says no again -- whatever, I'll be commissioner come January."