THE ELEVEN firefighters who refuse to get the Covid-19 vaccine are currently on administrative leave with pay, Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Commissioner Dennis Mendiola said on Thursday.
“We gave them administrative leave so they will have time to make a decision and comply with the vaccination directive,” Mendiola added.
Initially, 23 firefighters signed a notice of complaint that they were filing under duress due to the threat of termination for their refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccination.
Mendiola said the number is now down to 11.
“We care, I care about them, I wish they would just comply and get this thing over with,” he added.
“I have 124 firefighters in the department and only 11 are refusing to get the vaccine. Should I worry about the 11 or about the general population?”
He said at stake is “the safety and the well-being of the community, and that’s why we do this job.”
On March 16, 2021, the fire department issued a memorandum stating that Directive 2021-002 from the Office of the CNMI Governor, mandated that all its personnel receive a Covid-19 vaccine or risk termination from DFEMS employment.
With the CNMI under a state of emergency, Mendiola said the Covid-19 vaccine has become a condition of employment for executive branch.
“We spoke about this with the fire department personnel since the launch of the vaccine. I sat down with each company. They came in and we heard their concerns. It literally just comes down to fear…. It’s the fear of the unknown, and I got it, I understand it, and I took into consideration. I didn’t discredit any of their concerns. However, I did mention to them that vaccinations have become a part of our life and our community because of the pandemic.”
Mendiola said, “There’s a lot of unknown factors, but the biggest factor that drives anything and everything that we do here is the safety of the population.”
He said the 11 firefighters’ main concern is “what if five years from now they get sick.”
“How about we turn the question around and ask what if we infect our family, the community and somebody gets seriously hurt? You know who is going to answer for that? There is going to be a lot of…inquiry, and there’s going to be an outcry because of the department’s failure.”
Mendiola said, “The safest way is to get vaccinated.”
Variety learned that the 11 firefighters were informed about their 30-day administrative leave on March 22 while adverse action was being processed and reviewed by the Office of Personnel Management, and the Office of the Attorney General.
“They have been served with an administrative action, but once the 30 days are up, they will most likely be terminated [if they still refuse to comply with the directive],” Mendiola said.
The firefighters earlier told Variety that they would take action against the CNMI government if they were terminated from their jobs.
Dennis Mendiola
