Enfield Fire Commissioners halt virtual viewing after porno-bomb attack
by Robert Lynch; December 17, 2024
From now on, if you want to attend a meeting of the Enfield Board of Fire Commissioners, you’ll have to travel to the fire station to see it. You’ll no longer be able to view it on Zoom.
Amid the first widespread disclosure that their December third session had been hacked with pornographic content, Fire Commissioners Tuesday unanimously discontinued future streaming of their twice-monthly meetings on the Zoom platform.
“It’s a double-edged sword for me,” Commissioners Chair Greg Stevenson said Tuesday during what little comment the Zoom termination received. “It’s about folks being able to see our meetings; being transparent,” Stevenson acknowledged. But the Chairman also revealed that the Enfield Fire District’s attorney, Mark Butler, had advised him that “there is some responsibility that falls upon us to protect the viewers.”
And in terms of that viewer protection, Stevenson concluded, “I don’t see how to do it and still offer Zoom.”
Legal liability became clearly an issue.
The Enfield Board of Fire Commissioners has up until now regularly offered virtual meeting attendance. Occasionally—but rarely—Commissioners themselves have participated online. The practice began shortly after the initially-appointed Board took office in August 2023. It’s continued with the elected Commissioners who succeeded the appointed Board last January.
Asked as to how many often attend Commissioners meetings online now, Board Secretary Alexis Beckley confirmed attendance has dropped off. Occasionally it’s as low as a single attendee. “There are not many people up on there,” Beckley told the Board.
However, there’s nothing like an impromptu porn show to draw viewers out of the woodwork.
“I was shocked by how many people said what they saw,” Stevenson remarked. At least four or five people saw the Zoom-bomb December third, maybe more, Commissioners were told. Stevenson said some of those who viewed the hack watched it at the Ithaca Fire Department.
Stevenson said the same hacker—with the same X-rated performance—also infected a recent meeting of the Ithaca Common Council. There’s no indication yet that Ithaca’s leaders will respond with the same finality as Enfield’s Fire Commissioners have.
And the same prankster antics could just as easily infect future meetings of the Enfield Town Board.
The Town Board regularly airs its meetings virtually. Town Supervisor Stephanie Redmond has occasionally encountered Zoom-bombers as she engineers virtual sessions simultaneously with trying to conduct Town business. However, Town Board hacking has seldom, if ever, stooped to the depth of actual pornography.
There’s also no indication that Enfield’s Town Board will follow the Fire Commissioners’ lead in terminating Zoom coverage.
In other Enfield Fire District business December 17:
The Board of Fire Commissioners upped the level of cancer protection coverage provided for eligible volunteers.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Chairman Stevenson said of the change. “It’s clearly the right thing to do.”
Up until now, the Enfield Fire District’s firefighters’ insurance policy has covered ten categories of cancers, mandated for protection by New York State. Tuesday’s vote expands Enfield’s insurance coverage to cover all forms of cancer, not just those mandated.
The expansion will raise each annual premium by $45 for one class of firefighter; $39 for another. Total cost to the Fire District will rise by about $1,200 a year. Twenty-nine volunteers would benefit.
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The Fire Commissioners also authorized Fire Chief Jamie Stevens to spend just over $25,000 next year to purchase five additional sets of protective outerwear—so-called “turnout gear”—to continue to keep gear in line with regulatory standards. Chief Stevens said those most active in his organization require two sets of gear, so that if one set’s being cleaned when another fire breaks out, the volunteer will have the protection needed for a second response.
And in reaction to concerns voiced by attorney Butler since the last meeting, the Board of Fire Commissioners revisited—this time in public session—tightened training and service requirements for the Fire District’s line officers.
In addition to some linguistic changes the attorney had recommended, the Board on its own initiative hastened the timetable for officers to meet firefighter training requirements.
“The time line is too long,” Commissioner Barry “Buddy” Rollins complained about the originally proposed training window. “If they weren’t qualified for these positions, then they shouldn’t hold them,” he said.
Since the entry level of leadership is generally the office of “Captain,” the training requirement falls most heavily on that position. Leaders generally advance through the ranks. At several commissioners’ urging, the Board cut the required training window from two years to “one year, or as soon as possible.”
Chairman Stevenson said one must realize that Enfield is a volunteer department. “We’re not talking about full-time firefighters,” Stevenson reminded colleagues. “We’re talking about people with full-time jobs somewhere else.”
As for grooming entry-level leadership, the Chairman remarked, “Sometimes you can’t buy one off the shelf; you have to grow ‘em at home.”
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