Former Hoboken Fire Chief Brian Crimmins returned to work as the lowest rank possible today after being on administrative leave for just under two years.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Be advised, until further notice, Firefighter Brian Crimmins will return to day staff commencing Monday, April 3, 2023,” a Friday memo from Acting Fire Chief Anton Peskens to the department says.
City spokeswoman Marilyn Baer said that the city does not comment on personnel matters in reply to an inquiry asking how Crimmins was brought back without his seniority.
“I have an outstanding reputation for honest and intelligent leadership, my commitment to the Hoboken Fire Department is unparalleled. The city’s charges against me are false and entirely political in nature. I look forward to setting the record straight in the near future,” Crimmins said this evening.
Part of the department since November 1st, 2004, he was placed on paid leave back on May 18th, 2021, the same day Peskens was named acting chief, as HCV first reported. The city did not explain the circumstances back then, either.
At the time, sources with knowledge of the situation, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, called the matter “unprecedented” and said they would be shocked if it didn’t result in litigation, but no one divulged any details beyond calling the situation “internal strife between Crimmins and other ranking members of the department.”
As of this writing, Crimmins had not filed a tort claim or lawsuit against the city.
Peskens was named the provisional fire chief in June 2015, a role that Crimmins assumed in November 2017 before being sworn in as chief in October 2018.