Saga of Volunteer vs. Paid Firefighters continues

October 10, 2006

Chief Kenny Perkins
Escambia County Fire Rescue
6565 North W Street, Suite 230
Pensacola, FL  32505

Chief Perkins:

On October 7, career and volunteer firefighters responded to a structure fire at 2155 Antillies Drive.  Although there were no injuries, the structure was completely consumed and two vehicles suffered major damage.

There were a number of problems with that response that we are compelled to bring to your attention.  Individually, none of these would merit undue concern and could be resolved without your involvement.  Taken together, however, the issues we faced during the Antillies Drive fire reflect deeper and more serious problems.  This is especially frustrating because we have brought some of these problems to your attention previously, yet they seem to be growing worse.

PART ONE: SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEMS

Following is a brief summary of the problems we experienced prior to and during the fire.  (For your reference, we have attached detailed reports from some of the volunteer leaders who were present.)

Issue 1:  Dispatch Errors

• Units were dispatched based on the perceived availability of career crews rather than on proximity and expected response times.  The Myrtle Grove VFD, only six miles from the scene, was not called initially.  However, units from Perdido Key and Innerarity Point were.

• When asked why, dispatcher Andy Hamilton responded that he knew the distant stations would have career crews available.  He then suggested that wasn’t the case with the volunteer stations.

Issue 2: On-Scene Mistakes

• Engine 1919, manned by a career crew from Perdido Key, arrived on scene and inexplicably drove between the first-in engine (1115) and engine (1613) which was attempting to provide additional water to the two crews engaged in the primary attack.

• Incident Commander Ryan Maxwell instructed the crew of engine 1919 to provide water to engine 1115 (since it was now cut off from 1613), but his instructions – issued clearly and repeatedly – were ignored.  Instead, the crew donned protective equipment and moved away in the direction of the structure.  This action caused an estimated three-minute delay in getting water to the primary attack team and it happened at a very critical point during the fire’s progression.  (Quite frankly, we do not accept Battalion Chief Curt Isaacson’s response to Chief Maxwell that the engine was properly placed because the hose was to stay on the opposite side of the road and thus avoid heat from the fire.)

• Without checking the status of the interior crews engaged in the primary attack, Battalion Chief Isaacson issued a “mayday” order and forced them to exit the structure because of his concerns over a potential roof collapse.  However, there were no visible signs of an imminent collapse and in fact, it never did.  Further, the two firefighters in the structure were known to Isaacson to be experienced, senior leaders.  It was certainly Isaacson’s responsibility to protect the team inside, but customary procedures and common sense would argue for at least checking their status first.

• All crews engaged in the attack on the Antillies Drive fire were instructed by the incident commander to check in with the on-site medical personnel (rehab) as required by Fire Department rules.  All complied with the exception of the crew from engine 1919.

• After the fire was contained, the crew of engine 1919 was asked to help secure the hoses that had been used at the scene.  Despite the fact that they were watching other crews do just that, their nonsensical response was that they did not see any hose.  Other crews on site completed the task.

 

Issue 3:  Violations of Written Policy

• Battalion Chief Isaacson spoke with a group of homeowners who sought to complain about the department’s response time.  Department policy requires him to hear such complaints, but refer them to the Volunteer Command for resolution.  Instead, Isaacson told the homeowners that there were problems with the volunteers and that their association should contact the county commission.  When Chief Mike Aaron of Warrington VFD reminded Isaacson of the policy, Isaacson became angry and combative.

• Battalion Chief Isaacson gave an interview to the Pensacola News Journal in direct violation of the Department’s policy that only the incident commander should speak to the news media.

Issue 4:  Conduct of Battalion Chief Isaacson

• By their very nature, fires create a dangerous work environment for firefighters.  However, Battalion Chief Isaacson’s conduct too often makes ours a hostile work environment as well.  This cannot continue.

• As we have pointed out to you previously, Isaacson continues to make threatening comments to our volunteer leaders and has made no secret of his contempt for the volunteers who make up the bulk of our force.  This pattern of aggressive behavior and repeated threats are intolerable for our volunteers, inexcusable in a professional department – and unacceptable to the taxpayers who rely on our services.  We must reiterate that this rises well beyond the level of simple personality conflicts.  This is the consensus of a number of our volunteer leaders who have dealt with Isaacson on many occasions.  And, it is not the case with other battalion chiefs with whom we work.

 

PART TWO:  RECOMMENDATIONS

These issues are obviously deep-seated problems that are going to require your active involvement and leadership to solve.  Toward that end, our recommendations follow:

1. If Department policy allows the dispatch staff to use its own discretion in determining which units to send, we respectfully suggest that policy be changed.  Dispatch should be determined by proximity first and the discretion of the incident commander second.  If that is our policy, then we ask that you enforce it.

2. You must enforce Department policies that require everyone to respect the on-scene chain of command, regardless of whether the incident commander is a career firefighter or a volunteer.  We have given you our commitment and shown you by our actions that the volunteer force will respect our counterparts on the career side.  The reverse is not always true and certainly was not the case at the Antillies Drive fire.

3. You must enforce Department policies with regard to handling complaints and dealing with the news media.   We find it unacceptable that a senior leader can simply ignore very clear directives on which we have all agreed.

4. With regard to Battalion Chief Isaacson, at a minimum we recommend that he not be appointed to act as chief in your absence.  Suffice it to say that he does not have the faith and confidence of the volunteer leadership and his repeated threats have only served to undermine morale among our firefighters and diminish us all in the eyes of the public.

 

PART 3:  CONCLUSION

 

Chief Perkins, none of the above should come as any surprise to you as we have brought these matters to your attention before.  The Antillies Drive fire simply brought to a head some long-simmering problems that all of us hoped had been addressed.

Our first concern – and one we know you share – is the safety and well-being of the residents we are charged to protect.  Toward that end, we ask that you review this letter and its attachments, investigate the problems we have identified and respond to us by October 21.  For our part, we will make available any of our personnel with whom you wish to discuss these problems.

We insist, however, that you take immediate and decisive steps to remedy these problems.   The people of Escambia County deserve no less.

Regards,

Chief Steve McNair, President

Escambia County Volunteer Firefighters Association

CC:

George Tourart, Escambia County Administrator

Willie Taylor, Assistant County Administrator