By John Nickerson, Stamford Advocate Updated 10:56 pm, Friday, February 3, 2017
STAMFORD — The city fire department’s highly decorated chief of volunteers was suspended for one week for safety violations.
Assistant Chief Robert “Rex” Morris was suspended after he unexpectedly fell through a fire-damaged floor in a burning North Stamford home on Deepwood Road on Jan. 21. His suspension was lifted Friday.
Morris, 68, said he was not injured in the fall and was able to get himself out of the home unscathed.
Morris was the highest-ranking fire official at the blaze, according to a list of those who responded to the scene. Morris said the accident occurred when he slipped on a board and fell through a hole in the floor. He said firefighters were removing debris from the home at the time of the fall and the blaze was nearly completely extinguished.
Fire Chief Trevor Roach declined to describe what exactly Morris’ violations were and would only say he was suspended for “safety concerns.” Roach also declined to discuss any additional penalties Morris was given for his conduct during the fire, calling them “personnel matters.”
Morris referred a question about his suspension to Roach.
Morris, the former commander of the New York Fire Department’s storied Rescue Co. 1, was hired as one of the Stamford department’s two assistant chiefs in November 2014.
Morris’ position was created as part of the 2012 Stamford Charter Revision that formed a single unified city fire department out of five volunteer departments and one professional department.
Fire union President Brendan Keatley said he was not at the Deepwood Road fire and declined to comment about the Morris incident. But Keatley said there needs to be more uniform procedures among the volunteers and career firefighters.
“It’s a disaster from the beginning,” he said. “There is no one department, there is no one anything. There is no one set of procedures for career and volunteer firefighters alike.”
Keatley said there were firefighters at the Deepwood blaze whose job it was go go into the burning structure.
“Could someone ask what his job is? Is he an administrator or a fire suppression person. I think there has to be a distinction,” Keatley said.
From November 2014 until the following October, Morris served in an equal position with Roach, who was assistant chief of the career firefighters. Roach was then promoted to the fire department’s top slot when Chief Peter Brown retired.
Brown called Morris when he was hired in Stamford the “guru” of forcible entry. Morris invented a lock-breaking device — dubbed the Rex Tool — carried by firefighters to break into burning buildings. Brown even deemed Morris “a legend in his own time in the fire service.”
Morris’ firefighting career spans more than 40 years, beginning as a Belltown volunteer.
Morris joined the FDNY in 1973 and worked in all five boroughs, earning 28 meritorious awards.
jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
A 2014 photo of Robert Morris, 68, Fire Department Chief of Volunteer Services. Morris was given a five-day suspension for safety violations following a North Stamford fire in January. Photo: Lindsay Perry / Stamford Advocate
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