TWO HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS, ONE UNIFORMED AND ONE CIVILIAN, AT DALLAS FIRE-RESCUE left their jobs abruptly yesterday and Tuesday. Assistant Chief John Cook, one of two chiefs brought in from outside last year by Fire Chief Eddie Burns, resigned suddenly on Tuesday and left his post immediately.
Leanne Siri-Edwards, a civilian who served as the department’s executive general manager, was called in to the Dallas City Manager’s office yesterday at lunch time and fired on the spot without explanation. As she left the office she was immediately escorted from the building and her personal items were removed from her office and delivered to her outside the building.
Chief Burns, who worked with Siri-Edwards at the Fort Worth Fire Department, created the position for her in Dallas in an effort to help the department run more efficiently. But she was demoted in April and lost 30 percent of her pay. Siri-Edwards then sued the city claiming that she and other female employees were subjects of sexual harassment in the department.
City Manager Mary Suhm declined to comment on the firing and would confirm only that Siri-Edwards had been terminated. “The management of the city lost confidence in her ability to do the job effectively,” Suhm said.
Suhm also declined to comment on Chief Cook’s sudden departure. “People resign all the time,” she said, noting that Cook turned in a letter of resignation. “He submitted one. We accepted it.”
