Deputy Chief James McGloughlin has become the sixth Hartford firefighter placed on paid administrative leave since November, reports The Hartford Courant.
City officials have declined to say why McGloughlin was placed on leave, effective Dec. 10.
He joins firefighter Justin Wood, who was charged in the accidental shooting of a friend; firefighter Jeffrey Vendetta, who was charged with drunk driving and evading arrest; firefighter Cinque Scott, who was suspended following an on-the-job alcohol-related incident; and lieutenants Vernon Tyson and Scott Cunningham, who were involved in a fight at the scene of a fire.
McGloughlin also declined to discuss the reason for his suspension and referred all inquiries to Hartford Fire Chief Carlos Huertas’s office. Huertas did not respond to a request for comment.
McGloughlin was the incident commander in the Oct. 7 fire on Blue Hills Avenue that killed one Hartford firefighter and left another seriously injured.
Kevin Bell, 48 and a six-year veteran of the department died in the fire. He was found unconscious on the second floor of a two-story house in a room to the right of the stairwell. He was discovered missing after McGloughlin ordered all firefighters from the building in order to conduct a head count.
Firefighter Jason Martinez, 29, was also seriously injured when he jumped from a second story window on the front side of the building. He sustained burns on 10 percent of his body and was taken to the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital. He was released from the hospital Oct. 30 and has not returned to work.
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