Officials Offer Apology Over Labor Day Tragedy Comments

Village officials gave two apologetic statements yesterday pertaining to comments that were made regarding the deaths of Anthony Ruggiero and John Kelly on Labor Day.

The apologies came after a heated meeting two weeks ago, when numerous citizens expressed their anger and discontent with the village's response to the men's deaths. In particular, those speaking were angered over comments made on Sept. 9 that appeared to blame Ruggiero and Kelly for failing to follow confined space protocol. At the press conference, Village Administrator Michael Blau said that neither of the men were supposed to head into the manhole that day.

On Monday, Blau apologized for the timing of the comments.

"I realize the timing of the press conference was not opportune, and that some of my statements were hurtful," Blau said. "I want to apologize to the friends and family of Anthony and John and all the people of Tarrytown."

His apology was followed by Mayor Drew Fixell issuing a similar statement.

"I think I speak for the entire board, especially on behalf of myself, that we are sorry this happened the way it did, and we recognize every day that it was a mistake," he said. "Anthony and John are heroes in our village and they should be remembered as such."

The comments were welcomed by many in attendance, including John Stiloski, who spoke at length two weeks ago and had demanded an apology.

"I want to thank you for saying sorry and doing the right thing," he said.

But, the apologies didn't calm down Stoloski and about ten speakers who continued to question administration officials about safety in the Department of Public Works and what was being done to improve training standards in the village.

In response, officials revealed more details about the 2007 confined-space training program that was given to 18 members of the village DPW. Ruggiero was one of those who received the training. To the village's knowledge, Kelly was never trained for confined spaces at his job with the State DOT, or as a member of the village fire department.

The April 2007, eight-hour course, administered by a company called Compliance Solutions, was provided after the New York State Department of  Labor found, after a routine inspection in 2007, that the Village of Tarrytown did not have a confined space program.

On the company's website, it says they offer training on how "to safely and confidently understand and evaluate the hazards and procedures associated with confined spaces."

Village Engineer Michael McGarvey said that after the training, the village had purchased a tripod and harnesses – items that are required to be used when entering a confined space under OSHA guidelines. The village already had an air-quality tester that had been used before.

However, to McGarvey's knowledge, there had been no hands-on training on how to use the equipment required to enter a confined space. He said he believed the equipment was never used after it had been purchased.

"So we did have some type if awareness, and had all the tools and equipment, but we didn't bring it to the job site," volunteer firefighter Patrick Derivan asked.

Fixell said that the question was unfair, because it would be answered by the ongoing investigations being conducted by at least three agencies.

"What we will get out of the investigation is a detailed accounting on what mistakes were made or not made, and what people did wrong or right," Fixell said.

Training is now becoming a priority in the village. On Monday, DPW workers were given a two-hour awareness course on confined spaces. Blau said that the fire department was beginning to offer training on confined-space awareness. Awareness training is different than entry training, which is more rigorous and allows a person to enter a confined space upon completion.

On Monday, the village also received a number of bids on a request for proposals that was sent out two weeks ago – the village is looking for a third party to investigate where safety is lacking, and to implement training to correct it. The heads of all village departments were also ordered to check neighboring municipalities and ascertain where there are shortfalls in training and safety in their departments.

The events in Tarrytown are reverberating around the state. Resident Steve Wilgermein brought two papers with him when he spoke, the CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association) newspaper and the Fire News – which covers firefighting events in the state. Both had prominent articles on the deaths in Tarrytown.

"This is going to snowball beyond belief," Wilgermein said. "We're under the microscope."

The CSEA, of which both Ruggiero and Kelly were members, is now offering a confined-space awareness course to all of their members. The union is also working with the village to ensure that training and awareness programs, as well as operating procedures, are in place to prevent another accident.

South-end resident Alison Boldyrev said she felt more should be done to honor the memory of the firefighters, whether that should be dedicating training in their names, or offering an open session to address questions that so many in the village had. She claimed that, although it was her first meeting, village officials seemed aloof and removed from the situation.

"I think there is a lot of hurt here, and it's not going to go away," she said. "This is my first meeting and it really seems like you are dismissing them [speakers]."

Trustees reiterated that they, too, had many questions, and were still trying to assess what had happened before they could answer village residents.

"I am trying to understand the situation myself," Trustee Tom Butler said. "Until I learn the facts, I can't make a comment."

While a number of comments were directed at village officials personally, most speakers wanted to ensure safety was made a priority in both the village and the fire department.

"That is my one request, from now on, when any of these guys asks you for training, or anything to help prevent these types of things, you give it to them" said Skyler Whitehead, whose fiance is in the fire department.

Attached are video clips from Mondays's meeting and the document indicating confined space training was completed by DPW workers.