Firefighter drug testing to begin
They no longer act for the fire course of life, and the state has suspended their paramedic and EMT certificates.
“Lincoln Fire and Rescue is not immune to our society’s challenges with drug and alcohol abuse,” Mayor Chris Beutler said during a Monday hurry conference. “Like the rest of our population, especially those elements that are subject to high violence, some will find themselves battling the iron grasp of addiction.”
Currently, fire department employees are only subject to drug testing if a supervisor has “reasonable suspicion” they are using.
The new policy will:
* Require unsalable article testing before employees are hired.
* Test for alcohol, opiates, cocaine, cannibus, PCP and amphetamines.
* Randomly test moiety of the 271 fire department employees —from fire truck drivers to captains and mechanics — for drugs and 10 percent of them for alcohol. If less than 1 percent of the employees test positive two consecutive years, the numeral of employees tested drops to 25 percent.
* Employees will be subject to bring up grant that their blood alcohol satisfy is more than 0.04.
* Employees will subsist relieved of duty once a unequivocal test is verified, and disciplinary proceedings begin. A first direct drug test does not automatically result in termination, except generally a second precise result does, depending upon the circumstances.
Firefighter union head Dave Engler said drug testing will help “regain the public’s trust.”
“We never suspected drug abuse to be an issue in our workforce,” he said. “We need to take steps to ensure it in no degree happens anew.”
Fire Chief Niles Ford said unsalable article testing will protect the safety of citizens and employees.
“We’re sharp to turn pages and move forward,” Ford said.
The division is also looking at trying to address underlying issues that heighten stress, such as reducing the number of ambulance calls through better screening, he said.
“We run a great number of calls,” he said. “It’s a tough job … formerly they see the best and the worst of society.”
Engler said national surveys unfold Lincoln ambulances are “running much higher volume than many others.”
City personnel director Don Taute said the new policy “largely mirrors” the policy required by the federal government for incorporated town employees with commercial driver’s licenses (like heavy apparatus operators) and most StarTran employees.
Beutler said he will study examine whether testing also should be extended to the police department, though he said fire employees have “much more access to drugs” than police employees.
The drug testing program is expected to require to be paid here and there $13,000 annually.
The City Council mould approve the policy, which will be part of the union’s contract. It will take event 60 days after it is adopted.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
