More Space at the Top Comes Available

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THE FORMER CHIEF OF the Caribou (Maine) Fire and Ambulance Department was indicted last week on three counts of unlawful sexual contact, one count of unlawful sexual touching and three counts of assault.  The crimes all took place in Caribou and apparently a city employee is the complainant against Chief Roy Woods, 67.

Roy Woods  (Aroostook Republican photo)

The Bangor Daily News reports:

Woods resigned in January after 44 years with the Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department, including 21 years as the head of fire, ambulance and emergency management services for the city. According to a copy of his resignation letter, Woods said he was resigning for "medical reasons."

However, Caribou City Manager Steven Buck issued a statement indicating that he accepted the resignation "in lieu of termination" after an investigation into a complaint filed against the fire chief by a city employee.

"An independent investigation into the personnel matter was conducted with an expanded scope," said Buck. "After extensive review and evaluation of the results of the investigation, my own evaluation and after reviewing these evaluations with Woods and a subsequent review of his responses, I accepted his immediate resignation."

Read the detailed story in the Bangor Daily News HERE.

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IRVING, TEXAS, FIRE CHIEF MARIO MOLINA was placed on administrative leave last week for undisclosed reasons.  However, it is strongly believed that it is connected to an FBI investigation into corruption.  The Dallas Morning News is reporting:

The move came weeks after a former mayor said two FBI agents questioned him about the chief’s alleged attempts last year to secure an employment contract in exchange for reversing unpopular disciplinary decisions against two department employees.

City spokeswoman Susan Rose did not respond Tuesday to questions about what prompted Molina’s leave or who made the decision to suspend him. Molina reports to City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. Rose also did not respond to questions about whether the chief is on paid or unpaid leave.

Chief Molina

At a politically explosive council work session in March 2011, Molina accused council members of putting political pressure on him to reduce the punishments of two firefighters that angered rank-and-file department employees. The meeting preceded council elections. The firefighter association’s political arm was considered a major force in city elections at the time.

(Former Mayor) Gears, who was up for re-election, said Molina offered to "take care" of the discipline issues that angered firefighters if he would help provide the chief job security through an employment contract.

The Dallas Morning News goes into greater detail about the chief's conflict with his firefighters in their STORY HERE.

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A FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE FIRE CHIEF was sentenced to jail yesterday (Monday) after pleading guilty to a Christmas Eve arson.  Bradley Eldridge, 51, was the fire chief in West Ossipee, N.H., until March 28, 2011, when the West Ossipee Fire Precinct Commission removed Eldridge "for cause" during an executive session.

The Boston Herald tells us:

Eldridge was sentenced to three years with all but 90 days suspended for setting a fire in the barn of William Day Jr. on Porterfield Road in Porter.  Day wasn’t home, but a family across the street called the fire in and was able to extinguish it before firefighters arrived, according to Assistant District Attorney Joseph O’Connor. No one was injured and the animals in the barn survived.

O’Connor said Day was dating Eldridge’s ex-wife, and that Eldridge had made threats that he would "make Mr. Day suffer." A camera caught a man pulling up in a car that looked like Eldridge’s car and entering the barn just before the fire was reported.

When questioned, Eldridge admitted to setting the fire, and admitted he had been drinking heavily when he decided to start the fire, O’Connor said.

Read the full story in the Herald HERE.

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Suspended After Reporting Safety Violations and Poor Training

HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT CAPTAIN GEORGE KAOPUIKI had no recourse but to file a lawsuit against his employers Friday following a series of harrasing investigations and a suspension.  Following a fire late last year in which an elderly woman was saved by firefighters yet died later at the hospital, Capt. Kaopuiki attended a staff meeting in December and told the five captains and a battalion chief that several costly errors were made by the companies on the scene that could have been prevented with proper training and guidlines.

Capt. Kaopuiki  (KHON-TV image)

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser continues:

The mistakes include not hooking up to a fire hydrant to ensure an ample water supply, and not starting a rescue search sooner because a sufficient water supply had not been secured early on, Kaopuiki told five fire captains and an acting battalion chief during a December meeting.

Fire personnel did not call Emergency Medical Services for 19 minutes after Kaopuiki carried the woman out of the fire, alive and breathing, he said at the meeting. He blamed the department's lack of training for the errors.

"Acting Battalion Chief Mark Nakagawa cautioned everyone present, 'This is an internal meeting. This information stays in-house with lessons learned,'" the lawsuit said.

The suit alleges Kaopuiki was retaliated against when he was subjected to an investigation Jan. 16 for false allegations of mistreating a firefighter at the Kakaako station, which he was told was at the direction of (Fire Chief Kenneth) Silva. That firefighter told Kaopuiki he never made a complaint against him.

Kaopuiki alleges he was retaliated against by being subjected to investigations based on false allegations, being suspended and being transferred, which resulted in loss of pay.

Kaopuiki says that he reported the errors up through the chain of command and then the harrassing actions began.  He is suing the City and County of Honolulu, the Honolulu Fire Department, and Fire Chief Kenneth Silva. 

KHON-TV filed this video report Friday that includes a good interview with Capt. Kaopuiki:

He also said that he was reprimanded and warned for writing a 2008 memorandum to an assistant chief about a firefighter who created a safety hazard by taking an unreasonably long time to respond to emergency calls, being unable to drive the firetruck into a correct position to raise a ladder in an emergency situation and being unable to provide medical emergency care.

He has been a member of the HFD for 23 years.

Blustery Boisterousness and Poor Phone Manners Can Do It

THE CINCINNATI, OHIO, SUBURB FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP's Trustees met Tuesday and voted to dismiss David Downie, their fire chief, three months after he had been placed on suspension.  He had been with the fire department for 36 years, the past 25 as chief.  His transgressions that warranted his dismissal after 3+ decades of service were, yelling at other city employees and being rude to another town worker on the telephone.

Chief Downie  (Cincinnati Enquirer)

WKRC-TV described the insubbordinations:

The decision comes after a series of disciplinary hearings last week, where officials heard from the township's roads superintendent, Mike Bishop.  Bishop testified about an argument he says he had on the phone with Downie after a winter storm. According to Bishop, Downie told him to "get off his butt" and do his job, and threatened to "throw him under the bus and stomp on it" if any of his men were hurt due to the road conditions.  [Two FD vehicles had slid off the road during that time....ed.]

A second witness said she overheard Downie allegedly yelling at another employee.

A large number of local citizens and supporters of Downie became infuriated with yesterday's action because the Trustees had waited until Downie was out of town to fire him.  Chief Downie was in Washington, D. C. with a charitable group Honor Flight that escorts WWII veterans to the various memorials.

WKRC-TV was at the public meeting Monday and filed this video report:

More details of the situation are found in:
Cincinnati Enquirer HERE.
WLWT-TV Ch. 5 HERE.

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Serious Conflicts With Fire Board

THE ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP, 13 VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS IN NICHOLAS COUNTY, Kentucky, resigned from the department Thursday night following a confrontation with the County Fire Board.

Apparently there have been many issues over the past several months involving some dubious actions by the fire board that have hindered the operations of the fire department, at least in the eyes of the firefighters.  Last night the spokesmen for the volunteers demanded that the fire board members resign.  When they refused, the firefighters quit en masse and walked out, leaving their gear and equipment on the floor.

WTVQ-TV Ch. 36 Lexington covered the evening's activities in this video report:

Much of the causes for the conflict have been kept within the department, but some local community online forums suggest that the fire board, which consists of appointed members who have no requirements to meet any particular qualifications, has been operating in questionable ways.  On the other hand, the fire board seems to be concerned about the lack of training in the FD, claiming that nobody is a certified instructor and no training has been done in six years.

A local blogger, Brian Cannup posted today on his website:

For the last 90 days there has been a political battle in Nicholas County over the leadership of the fire department. Allegations of impropriety have been levied by and against both members of the fire board and line serving firefighters. That argument has grown and grown to the point where firefighters with decades of experience have resigned and there is, for the first time since the 1960’s some doubt about who will come when a Nicholas Countian Calls 911. This tension has also caused members of the Fire board to resign from their posts.

The Carlisle Courier has published:

According to several firefighters, tensions between the board and the volunteer firemen increased when members were appointed to the board who, they claim, wanted to get rid of then fire chief Mark Hughes for personal reasons. The situation worsened when the former county judge, who according to the by-laws appoints three of the seven fire board members, appointed a fourth member after the board failed to add names to the general election ballot for one of the two members who are to be elected by the citizens of the county after his term expired.

A number of board members countered with the argument that several matters had come to their attention recently that were not being done correctly or done at all, that the fire chief who has the responsibility of overseeing the operation of the fire department had been negligent in several of his duties, and that they had an obligation to take action to protect the citizens of the county.

Fire Chief Hughes was subsequently dismissed by the fire board in March under three charges: 1) Failure to have the pumps tested; 2) Failure to have the trucks serviced; and 3) Billing the fire board for telephone, fax, and internet lines that were not located at the fire department.

In a Letter to the Editor, Mr. Hughes announced his decision not to appeal the decision of the board, claiming their decision was based on personal reasons, that their minds were made up before the disciplinary hearing, that no amount of evidence would change their minds, and that the same situation would have continued eventually resulting in the same outcome.

Although several firefighters agreed that they had become lax in certain areas and needed to improve, they felt that the board, rather than working with them, was continuing to advance their own agenda, citing how the board had called meetings without proper notice and failed to follow their own procedures.

Read the entire article in the Carlisle Courier HERE.  (no direct link, you may have to scroll down.)

Later last night, after the walkout, all but two of the seven board members did resign, but the FD remains shut down.

Protection for the county will be covered by the Carlisle Fire Department temporarily.

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Always, Always….

THERE WAS NATIONWIDE COVERAGE this week given to the tragic event in New Hampshire where a police chief was killed and four other officers wounded in a botched attempt to serve a search warrant.  The raid was aimed at ridding the town of what the police called "a menace," referring to the culprit Cullen Mutrie.

When the operation was wrapped up, the police found Mutrie and his girlfriend both dead from apparent suicides or murder/suicide.  While the news was rightly focused on the tragedy of the police officers, we would learn a few things if we take a look at the drug dealer, Cullen Mutrie.

For the past several years, despite his growing criminal record, Mutrie was serving as a volunteer firefighter and had hopes to become a paid firefighter on a New Hampshire department.

2006 mug shot Portsmouth NH police

His criminal history begins in 2003 when he had a violent confrontation with a former girlfriend who had get a court protective order against him.  WMUR-TV posts:

(She) claimed Mutrie, "forcefully grabbed me, choked me and pulled my hair … as well as pushed me down several times." The woman also said Mutrie was "threatening," was "prone to jealous rages" and indicated he had guns and knives in his possession.

On Dec. 12, 2003, she accused Mutrie of calling her, "intoxicated in a rage, asking where I was and verbally abusing me. I then woke up on Dec. 13 to find two of my car tires slashed," she wrote, "I am very scared of him because of our history and his explosive behavior and past history of violence."

In 2005 he applied for a gun license and was denied "due to his criminal background" according to court records.

In 2006 he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault following a fight with another man, but the next year he applied to the court to have the conviction dismissed and be permitted to have a trial on the charges.  His reasoning was that he had been given poor legal advice from his lawyer to told him that a misdemeanor conviction would not prevent him from getting a job as a firefighter.  He since found out that was not the case and wanted to get his record cleared.  At the time he told the court he has been working as a volunteer firefighter for seven years and has been going to school nights and weekends "to get certified."

Hampton Falls Fire Chief Jay Lord said Mutrie was a volunteer firefighter from 2004 to July 2010. He said Mutrie was nice and polite and dreamed of a career in the fire service.

In 2010 he was arrested again for beating up another woman.  He was ordered then to surrender any guns that he possessed, but the woman told police later that there were still several in the house.  A report by Officer Wayne Young quoted the victim as saying Mutrie had "a few" guns in his bedroom, one in his vehicle, one in his living room and that he usually carried another one on his person. So local police went to Mutrie's home on July 24, 2010 to collect them.  It was then that they found more contraband in his house and arrested him on drug charges again.

In February of this year the state drug lab sent more evidence of drug possesion and it was this week's raid that was based on this recent report.

On his Facebook page that was recently created (and is no longer posted) he claimed that he was currently working for the Hampton Falls FD and also studying "paramedicine" at a local community college.

Mutrie is at the far right in the above photo.  He was 6'-2" and weighed 260 lbs.

There are several lessons in this relating to the necessity of background checks for firefighter and EMT applicants.  Mutrie was obviously trying to construct a phony resume here, including a Linked In account.  Just "surfing the web" does not equate to a bona fide investigation.  And there is no excuse to avoid performing this function.  Firegeezer has been preaching this for years, yet there are still hundreds of departments who skip this necessity.  It's not enough that they are "nice and polite."

Thanks to Mark Donovan for research assistance.

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The Fire Chief Merry-Go-Round Continues

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STAFFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA'S FIRST all-county fire and rescue chief announced Friday that he is resigning to take a new position.  Chief Rob Brown, 49, sent an email to all members of the department Friday telling them that he has accepted the position of fire chief of Fresno, California.  He will take over that position in mid-May.

Chief Brown took on the newly-created job in Stafford County in 2005 after the Board of Supervisors decided that the growing county would have to take a more direct control over the volunteer fire departments.  Currently the county has 116 career firefighters  and about 250 active volunteers in 14 stations.  Fresno has 357 paid firefighters and 24 stations.

The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star has the DETAILS.

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CHILLICOTHE, OHIO, FIRE CHIEF Bruce Vaughan has been temporarily relieved of his duties and the department's Assistant Chief Jeff Creed has been appointed interim chief to maintain the office.  Chief Vaughan's latest problem surfaced last month when it was discovered that most of the department's breathing air bottles were beyond their 5-year expiration date for hydrostatic testing.  The mayor is especially upset over not being made aware of the situation and yet the newspaper did.

Vaughan has said that he will announce tomorrow (Monday) whether or not he will voluntarily take his retirement.  He has been on the department since 1973.  The Chillicothe Gazette has the STORY.

Firegeezer readers may remember that a year ago the city's only remaining fire station was cited by the state fire marshal for not having a fire alarm system and having an inoperable sprinkler system.  The department then had to pay firefighters overtime for 24 hours to patrol the station on active fire watch until the systems had been corrected.  Reat that story from March 31, 2011, HERE.

On patrol for time-and-a-half.

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THE SWANSEA, ILLINOIS, VILLAGE COUNCIL is thinking about fire department layoffs to help balance the village budget.  Nothing new there, except their layoff consideration  is the fire chief instead of the firefighters.  In reality, the village has just two paid firefighters, the chief and the deputy chief, and 35 paid-on-call FF's.  But since the chief makes $15,000 more than the deputy, the council has this brainstorm suggesting that they lay off the chief (who is just 4 years shy of retirement eligibility) and appointing the deputy as acting chief without any raise in pay.

Chief John McGuire tells the News-Democrat:  "Why would you cut a department with two people that have a direct, daily effect on the residents when you could cut other places that don't affect residents' safety? Anybody could read that budget online and find the budget problems are not caused by the Fire Department."

Read the entire article HERE.

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Roof Collapse

A PRE-DAWN FIRE IN DECATUR COUNTY, TENNESSEE, Saturday claimed the life of the District 3 Fire Chief, Kenny Fox.

Fire Chief Kenny Fox

The Jackson Sun reports:

Kenny Fox, fire chief of District 3 in Decaturville and sergeant for the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, died Saturday morning after saving the lives of two other volunteer firefighters by pushing them out of the way before a roof collapsed in a fire.

Decatur County Sheriff Roy Wyatt said the call for the fire came in around 4:24 a.m. Saturday from the Oak Hill Cafe Bar and Grill on U.S. 412, west of Parsons. He said the firefighters arrived on the scene at 4:45 a.m. Wyatt said the roof collapsed on Fox.

The two firefighters that he pushed to safety are brothers.  Jeremy and Randy Inman were taken to Decatur County General Hospital and then later transferred to the burn unit at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville for treatment to 3rd-degree burns that both suffered.

Channel 5 News prepared this video report:

Chief Fox was age 39 and is survived by his wife and three sons.  One of his sons, age 19, was also working the fire and remained until his father was located and removed from the destroyed building.

Jackson Sun

The restaurant was a total loss and the investigation into the cause and results is continuing.

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More Turnover at the Top

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A PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF has been given a "30-day suspension with intent to dismiss" yesterday for failing to inform the fire chief that he had been arrested and charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct in a domestic dispute with his wife back in September.  Robert Wilkins, 50, pleaded guilty to the charges last month.  TV Channel 10 adds:

On September 24 of last year, police responded to the Quality Gas Station on York Road in Warminster for an assault report. When police arrived they found a woman who claimed she was assaulted by her husband while driving south on York Road in the vicinity of Street Road. While police say the woman suffered several facial injuries and bruises they claim she refused transport to the hospital and said she would seek private medical treatment.

Wilkens made news back in March 2010 when he shot a woman who had broken into his home in mid-day.  Wilkens was sleeping upstairs when she broke out the glass in a storm door and kicked in the front door of the house.  Hearing the noise downstairs, Wilkens grabbed a gun and confronted her.  When she turned and started running away, he shot her four times.  Despite the fact that she was running away and she was unarmed, no charges were filed because it was ruled to be "self defense" on the deputy chief's part.  (see video report from STATter911.)

His luck appears to have run out.  Monday's personnel action is reported HERE.

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PERRYVILLE, MISSOURI, FIRE CHIEF Charlie LaRose has been bounced from his position as a result of his participation in a scheme to steal city property and sell it to scrap dealers in St. Louis.  The Southeast Missourian is reporting:

LaRose had already been removed from his position as water/wastewater superintendent, along with three other public works employees, coinciding with a city investigation into the theft of scrap metal owned by the city. However, no charges have been filed against any of the fired men more than a month after suspicions surfaced.

City administrator Brent Buerck informed the board of aldermen in closed session Feb. 21 that four employees allegedly took wire from a city facility to a recycling center in St. Louis "for personal profit." After an internal investigation headed by Perryville police chief Keith Tarrillion, the workers were fired March 6.

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ORO-MEDONTE TOWNSHIP IN ONTARIO has just hired a new fire chief and they were waiting for Bob Davidson to report to work yesterday when he sent word that he wouldn't be taking the job after all.

The Barrie Examiner tells us:

Bob Davidson, who was recently named director of fire and emergency services/fire chief, has informed the municipality that he will not be taking the job for "personal and confidential reasons."  As a result of Davidson’s decision, Deputy Chief Hugh Murray was named acting Fire Chief by council on March 28.

Future and Former Chief Davidson

"When you manage to find somebody who fits the position as well as Mr. Davidson appeared to, and then to find out that he will not be coming to the position, there is a disappointment," said Mayor Harry Hughes. He would not give a specific reason for Davidson’s decision, stating it is a personnel issue that must be confidential.

Details in the Examiner HERE.

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Chose to Ignore Fire Chief's Warnings

THE KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, COUNCIL cast their final vote on the next fiscal year budget Thursday night and passed the bill including the city manager's request for a $7.6 million reduction to the fire department.  After going through the charade of taking testimony and "considering" alternatives, they approved the budget without specifying what will be reduced in the FD.  However, the city manager and mayor have been insisting that it will be achieved by laying off 105 firefighters, preferably by reducing the minimum staffing of every engine from four to three.

City Manager Schulte  (K. C. Star)

For the background and details of these negotiations, be sure to review the earlier Firegeezer reports on these plans HERE and HERE.

As we pointed our earlier, most of these cuts are not savings, but instead being used to give employees in other agencies pay raises.  This new budget sets aside $5 million to fund raises for police officers.  Another $5 million will go to raises for other city employess, but none for firefighters.  The mayor's office budget will be getting a $675,000 increase to hire more people for his fiefdom.

KSHB-TV reported from council chambers last night with this video report:

The Kansas City Star has the STORY HERE.

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They Could Use a New Personnel Director, Too

THE CARLISLE, IOWA, FIRE DEPARTMENT is showing some openings at the top of the personnel chart following the sudden resignation of the fire chief yesterday (Monday) and their assistant chief as well.  Chief Scott Burger was riding in a car being driven by Assistant Chief Roy Galindo on Saturday night when a police officer pulled them over for speeding.

The officer found two open containers of "alcohol" in the front seat with them and after the standard roadside test he charged Galindo with DUI and also charged Burger with violating the open-container law.  This was Burger's second alcohol-related offense as chief.  In 2009 he responded to a medical call while he was under the influence and was suspended for 6 months following a hearing.  He turned in his resignation yesterday to take effect immediately.

Scott Burger  (KCCI-TV image)

Assistant Chief Galindo was already currently serving a suspension from his job for an undisclosed reason that the city council declines to reveal.  This latest incident has been referred to the County Attorney's office.

The Des Moines Register has the STORY.

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