Cranston votes in new fire chief – after he’s cleared of derogatory remarks

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) – The Cranston City Council approved Mayor Fung’s appointment of Stephen MacIntosh to the position of fire chief Monday night, after MacIntosh was seemingly cleared of making offensive remarks about minorities.

“Are you a racist?” one councilperson asked MacIntosh during the Finance Committee meeting.

“No,” replied MacIntosh.

“Would you hold prejudice against any candidate applying for the fire department regardless of their ethnicity, skin color, sexual preference, or any of the above?”

“No,” he replied again.

The line of questioning came after minutes from a Cranston Diversity Commission meeting indicated that MacIntosh had said the Providence Fire Department suffered ever since diversifying the department.

“I was offended by it. I thought it was a reckless statement. My head literally snapped back,” recalled NAACP President Jim Vincent to the Finance Committee.

The comments had allegedly come during a discussion on how to bring in more people of color to the Cranston Fire Department. Someone suggested eliminating an EMT cardiac license test.

“Could you elaborate on what you meant at that Cranston Diversity Commission meeting back in July 2019?” asked Councilwoman Lammis Vargas.

“Oh that’s easy, I didn’t say those words,” said MacIntosh.

Later on in the night, Chair of the commission Susan Ayrassian compared the meeting minutes to a recording of the conversation.

Chief MacIntosh had referred to a time several years ago when the Providence Department didn’t require that cardiac test, and he asked what Providence had done in the past besides lower their standards.

“At no point did he state that Providence had suffered, or that the quality of the work force in Providence or Central Falls was in any way inferior,” Aryassian told the council.

Chief MacIntosh clarified on Monday that he does not believe that is the current practice for the Providence Department.

Currently the Cranston Fire Department is made up of just over 200 people. Three are women, the rest are white males.

It’s something the city council said Monday night has been an on-going issue.

“Working together is the only way we’re going to change the stigma, change the problem, and solve the concept of diversity,” said City Council President Michael Farina.

MacIntosh was appointed to Chief by a majority vote.

He said he’s committed to working with the city to bring in people of color starting in the schools.

As for the diversity commission, Chair Ayrassian says she’s glad she had that recording.

WLNE-TV / ABC6 2019