RI firefighter overtime costs revealed

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - With the dangerous and injury-prone job of firefighting, overtime to cover injury and sick leave is a cost many fire departments struggle to contain.

"The fire department has to replace that person because of the minimum staffing agreements that we have," Providence Fire Chief George Farrell said.

As the Target 12 Investigators revealed, Providence is using a private eye to try and catch firefighters faking sick leave. It's a move that has cost the city $48,000 over two-and-a-half years. However, Chief Farrell said it has saved taxpayers millions of dollars.

So, Target 12 wanted to know how some of the other fire departments in the state were faring in terms of firefighter overtime.

In an examination of Rhode Island's seven largest departments, Target 12 discovered only Providence saw a decrease in overtime costs to cover sick and injury leave.

Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket, Warwick and West Warwick all saw an increase in overtime, with West Warwick seeing the biggest leap. Cranston also saw an increase in overtime costs overall, however it could not say how much of that went to cover sick or injury leave.

Chief Farrell said he knows why his department is the only one to see a decrease. He credits the private investigator.

"There is no secret in this fire department as to what we are doing and that we are using a private investigator," he said.

Farrell said the numbers in Providence speak for themselves.

In 2005, sick and injury overtime costs were at $4.6 million. Then, the private eye was hired. In 2008, the costs dropped 7 figures, to $3.6 million.

However, Paul Doughty of the Providence Firefighters Union disagrees, saying a number of factors have lead to a decrease in overall overtime.

"That's one of the most disingenuous things I've ever seen. What also happened during that time is we hired more firefighters. So that in and of itself reduces the overtime costs," Doughty said.

Though it has lead to only seven reprimands in two-and-a-half years, Farrell said the private investigator acts as a deterrent.