A fire department battalion chief defended the department in a statement to the Town Council this week. In the remarks, career firefighter Glenn Dube responded to months of criticism by elected officials and volunteer firefighters. “The Southington Fire Department is not broken,” Dube said “These statements are hurting the fire department. They’re devastating to morale and they are preventing the department from moving forward as one group.” Town Council Vice Chairwoman Cheryl Lounsbury said the fire department was in disarray several months ago. The council urged changes to the Board of Fire Commissioners, which led to the recent retirement of Chief Harold “Buddy” Clark. He was replaced by interim Fire Chief Eric Heath.