Island Park Fire Department chided for drinking in Irish Day parade

After several members of the Island Park Fire Department openly passed bottles of beer around and drank from them as they marched down Beech Street during the Irish Day parade on Oct. 2, parade organizers said that the department would not be invited back to next year’s event, owing to what has been described by many as an embarrassing error in judgment.

“It’s unacceptable behavior,” said Brian Sharkey, president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 17, the group that organizes the parade. “Besides breaking the parade’s rules, it’s against the City of Long Beach rules and they shouldn’t have been drinking in uniform at all. I’ve been marching in this parade for over 20 years and I’ve never heard of that happening before.”

Sharkey said that people were shocked when they learned about the incident, and on Monday, he explained that he informed the department that it would not be invited back.

“People can’t believe it,” Sharkey said. “Drinking in uniform sends the wrong message.”

Parents and residents criticized the firefighters who passed the beers around, saying that their behavior gave children the wrong impression on a day that was meant to celebrate Irish heritage.

Judi Vining, coordinator of the Long Beach Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, said she and other parents saw several firefighters drinking as they marched past Grand and Beech streets.

Some concerned parents brought the issue up at the coalition’s meeting on Oct. 6, Vining said, and at a Long Beach High School parents-and-principal meeting on Oct. 5, according to one of the parents. Vining said that because young people view firefighters as role models and heroes, “watching them parading with beer bottles sends the wrong message,” and that she and other parents were troubled by the incident.

“They were literally drinking from bottles of Heineken, passing them back and forth,” Vining said, adding that parents looked on in shock. Parade organizers said that drinking in the parade is prohibited.

Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan said that although he was unaware of the incident, drinking among marchers during the parade is not condoned, and for the most part, people obeyed the rules this year. Police were out in force on Irish Day and issued 39 summonses, many of them for public drinking, along with nine arrests ranging from disorderly conduct to drunken driving.

On Monday, the coalition sent a letter to Island Park Fire Department Chief Edward Madden, urging him to talk to members of the department about “how they present themselves to impressionable youth so that in future parades, the image of the Island Park Fire Department is one of which you can be proud.”

For his part, Madden said that he was aware of the coalition’s letter and that the issue had already been addressed. He said that three or four members of the department, out of 34 who marched in the parade, erred in judgment. The beers, he said, were given to the men as they marched past some parade-goers who were cheering them on, and while they should have refused, the men “became caught up in the moment.”

Madden said he was marching in front of the line and was unaware of the drinking when it was occurring, but immediately addressed the issue once he learned about it after the parade. “When you’re marching in line, it shouldn’t be done, and it won’t happen again,” he said. “It was a momentary lapse of judgment. It was two or three guys involved, and they apologized. The guys got caught up in the spirit of the day and should have said no. It has never happened before when we’ve marched in the parade — it’s a one-time thing that won’t happen again.”

City Councilman John McLaughlin said he was unaware of the incident, and that he believed the IPFD would address it. “Anybody can make an error in judgment, and it could have been an immature moment...,” McLaughlin said, adding that the department is “a really professional group.”

Although drinking is common at local bars after the parade, most people who talked to the Herald said that most of the marchers follow the rules. “During the parade, the Long Beach firefighters represent their department [and] the best interests of the community, and the last thing you want to do is drink...,” said one firefighter who asked not to be named. Madden echoed those sentiments, and said that members of his department are known for demonstrating professionalism in the parade.

Some parents said that underage drinking in Long Beach is a serious issue, and that such behavior hardly helps. On Oct. 2, police said, a summons was issued at the home of a middle school parent for violating the social host law during a party where underage drinking occurred. That incident was not related to Irish Day, police said, and did not occur in the West End.

Nonetheless, said Long Beach High School PTSA President Cathy Musk, “It’s a real issue — Long Beach is known for being a party town, and it’s difficult to keep our kids safe. Our major concern has always been that, because Irish Day is in the West End, which has many places for residents to drink, it sends a message that a lot of our young people have picked up on.”

Madden said that he had expected not to be invited back, and said he was sending a letter of apology to parade organizers. He said that the firefighters involved have been reprimanded, but he didn’t believe their actions were serious enough to deserve suspension.

“I understand why they’re doing it,” Madden said. “It’s an embarrassment for me and an embarrassment for them. The guys are role models and should have known better.”

Sharkey said that despite the incident, it shouldn’t reflect on the department as a whole. “The Island Park Fire Department is a professional organization of dedicated men and women who serve their community unselfishly,” he said.

Vining said she hoped there would not be a similar incident next year. “If this is a family festival, then we have to be aware of what this community is trying to do about underage drinking and honor it,” she said.

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