Firefighters Union Backs EMS Move

While the overwhelming majority of those who addressed Township Council during Monday's special meeting expressed outright support for Gloucester Township EMS Alliance, not everyone did.

Some, like Valleybrook resident and Council meeting regular Darren Gladden, advocated for Council to give EMS Alliance a few weeks to correct deficiencies before it considered whether to go with Kennedy Health Systems for EMS coverage through December.

Then there was Keith Kemery, president of International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local No. 3249, the union that represents the career firefighters at four of Gloucester Township's six fire districts (Blenheim and Glendora districts, being all volunteers, do not have union representation).

It was clear Kemery neither supported EMS Alliance or wished to see Township Council give them a grace period to clean up things.

Kemery, a retired Blackwood Fire Co. firefighter, refuted many speakers, including now-former EMS Alliance Chief Tom Eden Sr., who claimed the move was one of a political nature.

"We lost our ambulances on June 26. And it wasn't the mayor that shut 'em down and it wasn't the chief of police," Kemery said. "It was the (New Jersey) Office of (Emergency Medical Services). I don't believe for a second that the state Office of EMS came in as part of an politically orchestrated event and shut down our ambulances."

The much-publicized June 26 shutdown caused "sufficient doubt" about EMS Alliance management to justify the township's move to Kennedy Health System, Kemery said.

While IAFF 3249 fully supports the township's decision to banish Gloucester Township EMS Alliance, it suggested in a statement that the move "should not cast a negative light on the dedicated rank-and-file emergency workers who actually staffed the ambulances and provided emergency services."

Gloucester Township Police Cpl. Sean Grannan, past president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 206, which represents Gloucester Township Police officers, spoke of criticism some have directed at Police Chief W. Harry Earle since the June 26 shutdown.

""This man has given you no reason to question his leadership, no reason to question his motives, no reason to question his actions. He's given you none. No reason to do so. And that is all I've heard this evening," Grannan said. "Please remember that—that the men and women of the Gloucester Township Police Department do not engage in these sort of things. We are the gatherers of fact. We are the gatherers of fact, to present them to the convening authority, and they are the ones to make the decision."

Earle presented a synopsis report to Council on the roughly 18-month investigation of EMS Alliance management by Gloucester Township Police Department Professional Standards Bureau during Monday's meeting.

Eden has maintained EMS Alliance was banished as part of a personal vendetta by Earle that dates back to Eden's October 2010 arrest on the charge of driving under the influence—a charge that ultimately was amended to reckless driving and Eden's May 2011 guilty plea.

"I was not driving. It was a hearsay charge. It's a political move by Harry Earle," he said.

Eden resigned his post during Monday's Council meeting, in a last-ditch attempt to spare his 45 employees. Following the meeting, Eden refuted Kemery's claim he had stepped down in the past, but still managed to run EMS Alliance.

"That's not true. I had somebody in place," he said. "She ran the show (as an interim chief)."

"She" is former EMS Alliance supervisor June Pacifico, who is no longer with EMS Alliance.

Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing agreement between the township and Kennedy Health System. Kennedy will provide, at no cost to the township, two ambulances 24/7 and a third from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., officials said.