Weymouth Fire Engine Flies Hingham's 'Thin Blue Line' Flag

WEYMOUTH, MA — One of the "Thin Blue Line" flags at the center of a dispute between the Hingham firefighters union and town officials was placed on the back of a Weymouth fire truck Monday morning.

The Hingham Fire Fighters Local 2398 said the flag was flown on apparatus in that town as a tribute to late Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna on the two-year anniversary of his in-the-line-of-duty shooting death three weeks ago, and that the union decided to keep the flag flying as a tribute to all local police and first responders.

The Hingham Board of Selectmen received a complaint about the flag, however, that it could be considered a political statement in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. The Board of Selectmen said it determined the flag should not be on the apparatus since only a select few flags are authorized to be flown on town property — citing the refusal to allow a LGBTQ+"Rainbow" gay pride flag to be flown during Pride Month as precedent.

Local Union 2398 initially said that, while it did not agree with the decision, it would remove the flags, only to reverse course early last week, citing the town's lack of dialogue on the subject and public support to keep flying the flags.

Members of Local 2398, along with Weymouth police and fire union members, removed the flag Thursday morning, saying it was going to be given to the Weymouth Police Department to fly at Weymouth Police Headquarters.

"We were aware of an impending order to remove the flags from the apparatus that would be given to members on duty," the union posted on its Facebook page Thursday. "We did not want to risk the chance of having these flags removed from the trucks in a disrespectful manner. The decision was made to remove the flags on our own terms to provide the highest level of respect that they deserve."

On Friday, The Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts Union offered to give one of the flags a
tour of the state with any fire department or union wanting to fly it before it is presented to the family of Chesna. Union president Rich MacKinnon posted a statement Friday saying it will offer the flag to be flown on apparatus throughout Massachusetts as a sign of solidarity between fire and police unions at a time when "our Brothers and Sisters in blue have been under unprecedented and seemingly unrelenting attacks."

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Hingham Firefighters Union Keeps Flying 'Thin Blue Line' Flags