Firefighter drug testing to begin
The city has reached an agreement with the firefighters union to begin drug testing employees.
The agreement comes on the heels of terminations this summer of two Lincoln firefighter-paramedics in connection with drug arrests. The drugs involved were hydrocodone and morphine.
Mark Eberspacher was in court and waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday, sending his case to district court. John Massie is set to go to court later this week. Both face felony drug charges.
They no longer work for the fire department, 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 press conference. “Like the rest of our population, especially those elements that are subject to high stress, 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 drug testing before employees are hired.
* Test for alcohol, opiates, cocaine, cannibus, PCP and amphetamines.
* Randomly test half 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 number of employees tested drops to 25 percent.
* Employees will be subject to discipline if their blood alcohol content is more than 0.04.
* Employees will be relieved of duty once a positive test is verified, and disciplinary proceedings begin. A first positive drug test does not automatically result in termination, but generally a second positive result does, depending on 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 never happens again.”
Fire Chief Niles Ford said drug testing will protect the safety of citizens and employees.
“We’re ready to turn pages and move forward,” Ford said.
The department 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 … sometimes they see the best and the worst of society.”
Engler said national surveys show 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 city employees with commercial driver’s licenses (like heavy equipment operators) and most StarTran employees.
Beutler said he will consider 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 cost about $13,000 annually.
The City Council must approve the policy, which will be part of the union’s contract. It will take effect 60 days after it is adopted.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
The agreement comes on the heels of terminations this summer of two Lincoln firefighter-paramedics in connection with drug arrests. The drugs involved were hydrocodone and morphine.
Mark Eberspacher was in court and waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday, sending his case to district court. John Massie is set to go to court later this week. Both face felony drug charges.
They no longer work for the fire department, 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 press conference. “Like the rest of our population, especially those elements that are subject to high stress, 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 drug testing before employees are hired.
* Test for alcohol, opiates, cocaine, cannibus, PCP and amphetamines.
* Randomly test half 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 number of employees tested drops to 25 percent.
* Employees will be subject to discipline if their blood alcohol content is more than 0.04.
* Employees will be relieved of duty once a positive test is verified, and disciplinary proceedings begin. A first positive drug test does not automatically result in termination, but generally a second positive result does, depending on 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 never happens again.”
Fire Chief Niles Ford said drug testing will protect the safety of citizens and employees.
“We’re ready to turn pages and move forward,” Ford said.
The department 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 … sometimes they see the best and the worst of society.”
Engler said national surveys show 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 city employees with commercial driver’s licenses (like heavy equipment operators) and most StarTran employees.
Beutler said he will consider 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 cost about $13,000 annually.
The City Council must approve the policy, which will be part of the union’s contract. It will take effect 60 days after it is adopted.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
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