By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City officials announced Tuesday that an internal review has cleared Fire Chief Frank Edwardi Sr. of state allegations that he did not have the proper certification to hold his leadership position.
In a press release, the city said that the state “erroneously concluded” in June that Edwardi lacked certification. The city also believes the state was wrong when it issued a cease-and-desist letter to have Edwardi removed as chief.
During its own internal review, the city found that Edwardi holds the proper certification to head the volunteer fire department, the release said. The city blamed the state for losing his fire certificates, but did not explain how it happened.
“The City makes no statement as to how the State lost Fire Chief Edwardi’s certificates and came to that mistaken conclusion,” the release said.
Edwardi is now working with Sea Isle’s police and fire departments to resubmit his certification papers “in order to clear his name,” the city said.
In the meantime, the city’s internal review “exonerates” him, according to the release.
Edwardi, the father of City Councilman Frank Edwardi Jr., has been a member of the fire department for nearly 50 years and served as chief for the last eight. He has not actively led the department in the past year because of health reasons and is preparing to retire, the city said.
Edwardi and two assistant fire chiefs, Mike Ryan and Mike Tighe, were removed from their leadership posts in June following cease-and-desist letters issued by the state Division of Fire Safety. The state concluded all three did not have the proper certification to command the department.
In its press release Tuesday, the city did not mention the status of Ryan or Tighe. However, the city thanked Edwardi for his years of service and wished him well in his retirement.
According to the city, the fire department’s bylaws require elections each November to choose the leaders. Citing the bylaws, the city anticipates the election of a new chief this fall.
The recent shakeup in the fire department’s leadership followed a series of major fires in Sea Isle in nine months, including one resulting in the death of an elderly woman at her home on 54th street in November 2018.
The fire department has been under scrutiny by residents who have been coming to City Council meetings urging the governing body to replace the volunteers with a paid department having full-time members. City officials have told residents they will consider ways to improve fire safety, but have not made any commitments to having a paid department.
City Business Administrator George Savastano said during an interview Tuesday that he has never lost faith in the fire department’s ability to protect Sea Isle.
“I’ve always been confident,” Savastano said.
Earlier in July, the city issued a statement saying that there was no connection between the fires and the certification controversy involving Edwardi, Ryan and Tighe. The city also said that fire safety in Sea Isle was never compromised.
“It is also important to note that the recent fires that have occurred in Sea Isle City during the past nine months had nothing to do with the SICVFD’s certification process,” the city said in a statement on July 9. “Each of those fires were independently investigated and determined to be caused by non-criminal acts that were unrelated to the lack of updated paperwork being obtained by Sea Isle City’s firefighters.”
On Tuesday, Savastano released a copy of a July 20 police memo that disclosed the cause of each major fire in Sea Isle dating back to November 2017. The memo was based on fire investigations conducted by the Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office.
The most recent fire, on June 16, was caused by Freon leaking from an air-conditioning unit inside a bayfront storage shed. The shed and a commercial fishing boat were destroyed by the flames, and an adjacent home was damaged.
A fire on May 23 that destroyed a single-family home at 5605 Central Avenue was caused when flames spread from a car fire in the driveway.
On April 21, two bayfront homes on 75th Street were destroyed by a raging fire. The cause was determined to be a “moldy power strip” in a second floor bedroom of one home.
A fire on Nov. 29, 2018, killed an 89-year-old woman and destroyed three adjacent duplexes on 54th Street. The cause was not determined.
The cause also was not determined for a fire on Nov. 24, 2017, that destroyed a single-family home and two adjacent duplexes on Pleasure Avenue at 91st Street.
During a City Council meeting Tuesday, members of the public asked about the fire department and its leadership. Savastano assured the audience that steps have been taken to protect the public from fires.
One homeowner, John Divney, who is a former city councilman, questioned whether the city has been open enough with residents about the fire investigations. He suggested that the city should issue a “white paper” detailing what measures are in place to prevent more fires from breaking out.
“I get a sense that you’re not disclosing to us what’s happening,” Divney told the Council members. “We haven’t really heard any of the reasons why these fires happen.”
In response, Savastano publicly read the July 20 police memo that described the cause of each recent fire. After the meeting, Savastano released a copy of the memo to SeaIsleNews.com.
During his remarks, Divney praised the volunteer firefighters for doing “one hell of a job.” He said he did not want their service to the community to be overlooked or to fall under “a cloud” amid the certification controversy and the recent outbreak of fires.
