Shelton Firefighter Mike Ullrich scored the highest of three candidates on the fire chief’s test.
But it’s not yet clear if the Board of Fire Commissioners will again recommend Ullrich for the post — or go with a candidate that is more likely to be approved by Mayor Mark Lauretti.
The board Tuesday tabled any discussion or action on the fire chief’s position until a special meeting tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18.
It was just the latest postponement in the lengthy fire chief hiring process.
Shelton has been without a fire chief since last November, when former Chief Fran Jones decided not to seek another term in the position.
The Board of Fire Commissioners tested for a new chief last December. Ullrich scored the highest on the test out of the two candidates, and the commissioners recommended him for the post.
But Lauretti twice rejected their recommendation, so the board started the hiring process over this summer.
Jones and Assistant Fire Chief Paul Wilson are the other two candidates for the job.
All three candidates have taken the test, but the Board of Fire Commissioners has not met with any of the candidates yet, according to commissioner Tim Manion.
While the board has talked with Jones and Ullrich in the past, they wanted to give Wilson a fair chance to meet with them before deciding, Manion said.
Wilson is out of town until next week, so the Board of Fire Commissioners tabled the discussion until later this month so they could bring Wilson in for an interview.
“If it was just the prior chief and Mr. Ullrich, I would say let’s go to a vote,” Manion said during the meeting Tuesday. “But we need to give him his due process.”
Jones, who was at the meeting, declined to comment about his decision to seek the post again.
All three candidates are career firefighters.
Jones works in East Hartford, Ullrich works in Greenwich and Wilson works in New Canaan.
Deputy Fire Marshal
The Board of Fire Commissioners is also reviewing applications and test scores from two candidates for the full-time Deputy Fire Marshal’s position.
Volunteer firefighter Robert Albert and current fire commissioner Ben McGorty were the applicants. Albert was the high scorer on the test, Manion said.
Manion made a motion to appoint Albert to the position, but commissioner Gary Field made a motion to move the discussion into executive session.
The board met for about a half hour in executive session, then decided to table the appointment for the Deputy Fire Chief’s position.
“We want to take some time and review all this stuff,” Manion said. “This is a lot to go through.”
