Audit leads to new practices for Norfolk firefighters

NORFOLK

The fire captain wanted to check on his rental property after the police called and told him someone had broken in. So the captain and a crew of firefighters boarded a fire engine and drove it to the apartment.

On another occasion, the same captain got fellow firefighters to load bricks and lumber on a fire truck, then unload them at his furniture company during their workday.

The captain and his crew were on duty at the time.

Both incidents, revealed in an internal audit along with the fact that the fire department had skirted contracting rules, prompted Norfolk leaders to create new policies for Fire-Rescue workers.

Firefighters have been told they may not use city property or resources to check on their private businesses. They are allowed to handle personal matters as long as they do not interfere with work.

Firefighters work 24-hour shifts and find it tough to turn off the clock on their personal lives while on the job.

"These guys go to the grocery store together in their trucks," City Manager Regina V.K. Williams said. "Their spouses come over and bring things.

"It's a much different lifestyle than someone who works an eight-hour day. If you do something personal in eight hours, you're on city time. With 24 hours, it gets murky."

The audit was released to the City Council on Dec. 28 and recently obtained by The Virginian-Pilot under the Freedom of Information Act.

Norfolk auditor John Sanderlin Jr. said that overall, the report's findings were positive. He praised Norfolk Fire Chief Edward Loy Senter Jr. for implementing several of the audit's recommendations.

However, the audit found that in 2002 and 2003, a fire captain twice used city property and employees to check on his private businesses.

Sanderlin learned of the incidents in 2005 and launched an investigation, which he included in the recently released audit.

In addition to his findings about the captain, Sanderlin cited the fire department for skirting contracting rules by not allowing private vendors to bid on some of the repair work in firehouses. His audit found several instances in 2002 and 2003 when firefighters were paid to do the work themselves.

Projects for more than $1,000 must be bid competitively. Sanderlin found, instead, that some projects were paid for with several checks to avoid contracting rules.

Senter ended the practices in 2004. Firefighters still repair firehouses but are paid overtime on their days off.

"I truly believe we provide a better product by having our people do it, because they have ownership of the fire station," Senter said.

Sanderlin said in a recent interview that it is unclear how much money the captain's actions cost the city. However, Sanderlin said he is troubled by the fact that the captain cited in the report wasn't disciplined.

Instead, he was transferred to another station farther away from his private businesses and remains a captain.

"I did not cast judgment," Sanderlin said. "I gave the facts. Whether it should have been more severe, that's a judgment call. A lot of people would say yes."

As for the captain using firefighters to help with his private business, Sanderlin said: "My position is that we should never do that."

Senter said he did not discipline the captain in part because he was forthright about his actions.

"Had he not been upfront, it would have been a different story," Senter said.

"This captain has done a lot of good for the city, much of it on his own time."

Senter, who began his firefighting career as a volunteer at age 15 in Virginia Beach, said working 24-hour shifts requires sacrifice.

Lt. Joe Facenda, who works at Station No. 9 on Thole Street near Granby High School, said the long shifts are tough. He was fighting fires the day his 1-year-old began walking.

"That's something that only happens once," he said.

Troy Brewer, who drives the engine for at the "A" shift at the station, has been a firefighter for 24 years.

"Your wife, your family have to be patient," he said. "It seems like everything happens, the heat breaks down, the car has trouble or someone gets sick, when we're on duty."

Senter and others said the modest pay and long work shifts force many firefighters to work part-time jobs. Facenda installs cabinets on the side.

The starting salary for a Norfolk fire recruit is $33,825. More than 40 percent of the city's 500 firefighters can make a maximum of $54,008. They are required to work 9-1/2 24-hour shifts per month.

Male and female firefighters share a locker room, a bathroom and one bunk area resembling Army barracks at the 60-year-old Station No. 9. Each day, they split their 24-hour shifts between riding the fire truck and the ambulance. All are trained to deliver emergency services.

They eat two meals per day, cooked in a common kitchen, from food they purchase together. Members of the ambulance crew often eats cold food on the run because they are constantly out on calls.

Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot said he saw nothing in the audit to give him heartburn.

"These guys live at the firehouse," he said. "If they were missing calls, I would have a problem with that. I think the administration handled things appropriately."

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com