Rep. Nardolillo Calls for Fire Board Chairman to "Step Aside" over Flag Flap, ISIS Comments

COVENTRY, RI—A state representative is calling for the Central Coventry Fire District board chairman, Fred Gralinksi, to step aside over his remarks at a board meeting last year likening firefighters hanging the American flag from fire trucks to ISIS terrorists flying their black and white banner.

Coventry Rep. Robert "Bobby" Nardolillo said in a statement on Monday that he is disappointed by the comments that he described as "offensive along with the intense negative attention focused on the town as a result of widespread national news coverage of the flag flap in recent days.

"As a state representative from Coventry, I have always wanted to see our state and fabulous town receive positive attention for the many good things our people do every day," Nardolillo said in a statement.

Along with the negative attention and "offensive comments he made about our fire service professionals," Nardolillo said that he's heard from many constituents who "are equally dismayed by the negative attention."

"I have always wanted what's best for the district. At this time I believe it may be in the best interest of the Central Coventry Fire district and the citizens if the chairman would step aside."

The district's spokesman did not have any comment in response to flag issue on Monday, though as far as the district is concerned, the issue was settled last week along with $1.4 million in claims by the union.

Gralinski insisted in an interview that he regrets his choice of words and said board meetings have been heated and tensions have run high in the district as it went through a financial crisis and ill-fated bankruptcy period that was terminated last year.

He said that the removal of flags and union decals from trucks was raised during a conversation between the union leadership and District Manager Gayle Corrigan. Gralinksi denied that there was a direct order to have the flags removed, but firefighters insist otherwise and took to social media and the press.

Earlier in the week, Corrigan said in a release announcing the grievance settlement that the district has also "equipped all of its fire apparatus with new American flags that replaced old, tattered and dirty flags which were on the trucks."

“I’d like to thank Tony DeQuattro of Operation Stand Down-Rhode Island for providing us with the correct protocols to ensure American flags on our fire trucks are afforded the respect they deserve,” Corrigan said. “I would also like to thank the taxpayers who brought the issue of dirty and dingy flags on our trucks to our attention and questioned us about proper flag etiquette. We now believe our trucks are in compliance.”

But that didn't quell the simmering outrage and by the end of the week, the story had been picked up by several national news outlets, including Fox News, which devoted a fair amount of coverage and gave airtime to local firefighters in an unusual aligning of the stars. It's not often that Fox News promotes a union's cause, especially one against a conservative board chairman on the eve of contract talks.

Gralinksi is now being pilloried on social media and the blurry video recording of him saying "they look like a bunch of yahoos like you see in the paper, like ISIS going into Syria to take over a city," has become an internet meme. "I don't think they need that big flag on the back of the truck because that's not America to me. Those are a bunch of terrorists."

This story was first posted at 5 p.m. and is being updated.

Photo courtesy: Rhode Island General Assembly