Chesterfield Fire Company leaders allege Stephanie Kneier had ongoing disciplinary issues; Kneier says she was notified of her suspension after speaking publicly

Jack Lakowsky
The Day

MONTVILLE, Conn. — Leadership of the Chesterfield Fire Company said accusations of poor management were made by a former ambulance captain with past and present disciplinary issues, and who is currently suspended from the station.

Rather than take the corrective actions being asked of her, (Stephanie Kneier) elected to bring the matter into a more public forum,” wrote Steve Frischling, CEO for the Chesterfield Fire Company, in a joint letter with Chesterfield Chief David Nelson on Tuesday. The pair addressed their letter Monday with the Town Council, which chose not to intervene in the situation because the fire company is private entity.

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Frischling said Kneier refused to perform or fell behind on many of her duties, and soon faces a disciplinary hearing with all of the stations leaders. This kind of hearing only occurs for serious, repeated disciplinary issues, he said.

Frischling said Kneier is now on suspension for failing to carry out her duties, including not replacing expired supplies and equipment. He added that Kneier was weeks behind on patient care reports, which must be done within days and submitted to the state.

Reached Tuesday, Kneier said she was unaware of any discipline against her until that morning, when she received a text from Frischling that she was suspended immediately.

Kneier noted the text came soon after The Day published a story in which Kneier discussed problems at the firehouse.

Frischling said Kneier’s poor performance “forced our hand” but declined to provide further detail on the specific infraction or failure that triggered discipline against her.

Nelson and Frischling in their letter said they both tried to address Kneier’s performance, and that other fire companies in the town have “documented similar experiences regarding Ms. Kneier’s EMS performance.” Frischling declined to identify the departments.

The two Chesterfield leaders also said the situation is an “internal personnel matter, one the town should not be involved in going forward.”

Kneier said the station is using too many out-of-towners for the service, saying their long drives cause staff shortages for the ambulance. Frischling said while the station now does have volunteers who come from Windham and Hebron, for example, the service is fully staffed.

Responding to Kneier’s claim the station has a too-slow response time, Frischling did say that the service is all-volunteer, and does not have paid 24/7 paid staff. Stations with paid staff sleeping at work are undeniably able to respond faster, he said.

He also said Chesterfield hasn’t been immune to the pervasive shortage of emergency service volunteers, but that the fire company is paying tuition for five emergency service trainees.

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