UTFFEMT
06-12-2005, 02:16 PM
Audit shows work needed at EM fire department
Caleb Warnock DAILY HERALD
A feud between the chief and deputy chief of the Eagle Mountain Fire Department has led to a yearlong city audit and 14 recommendations to improve morale.
The city now has 26 volunteer firefighters and nine part-time paramedics. Paramedics are dispatched to 911 calls from 6 a.
m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
As of July 31, the city will begin 24-hour-a-day paramedic service.
The audit showed there is a long-standing "distrust" between Chief Robert DeKorver and Deputy Chief Kevin McCarthy, too much responsibility with too little experience for many of the captains, and a need for drug tests and physicals, among other things.
After two firefighters quit a year ago, Eagle Mountain City Administrator Chris Hillman asked City Planning Director Shawn Warnke to do an outside audit of the department. Warnke presented his findings to the City Council on Tuesday.
While praising the firefighters for their work and dedication, Warnke found many concerns about how the department is being managed, including:
Part-time firefighters sometimes being given no assignments while at work, or given urgent assignments toward the end of their shifts.
Firefighters who fail to follow procedures not being held accountable.
Experienced firefighters having difficulty taking orders from inexperienced firefighters promoted into captain positions, leading to "conflicts, bickering and backbiting."
Managers sometimes giving feedback in a way that "destroys morale."
Broken equipment not being reported to those coming onto a shift, leading to an incident in which paramedics were called to rescue someone trapped in a vehicle, only to discover the extrication equipment was malfunctioning, "resulting in the patient being pinned in the vehicle for almost an hour while the Fire Department waited for extrication equipment from Saratoga Springs."
Chief Robert DeKorver being disorganized, inconsistent in applying standards, lacking some necessary management skills and having difficulty delegating, leading him to work too many hours.
Deputy Chief Kevin McCarthy needing to improve his communication skills and be less critical of the work of volunteer firefighters.
"The biggest issue is synergy," Warnke told council members, noting the ongoing feud between DeKorver and McCarthy has created many challenges in the department. "I think the word they both used was 'distrust.' "
Warnke said he was skeptical the rift could be fixed, but DeKorver has since written a letter saying the two men will work on it.
Before DeKorver wrote the letter, "I didn't get the sense they wanted to work it out," Warnke said. "I think it is up to us to make sure they work it out."
Another issue is that some managers "don't have clear guidelines of the hours they work, and they are salary employees and they get paid no matter how many hours they work," Warnke said. "Chief DeKorver is out of town two weeks a year and still gets paid even though he can't work here. I think it creates morale issues when a chief officer is gone for two weeks and still gets paid for it."
DeKorver is a part-time employee.
Paramedics also have access to prescription narcotics with little accountability for the medication, he said.
"They should be subject to drug testing and we should make sure the drugs are secure," he told council members. "Also, we should make sure we have physicals for firefighters to make sure they are physically able to perform their job duties."
In interviews with the Daily Herald, both Warnke and DeKorver said there have been no reported incidents of missing narcotics.
Warnke told council members that his first recommendation was to hire a full-time fire chief.
He also recommended that all volunteer firefighters be asked to keep time logs for three months so managers could get a sense of what the volunteers spend their time doing while on duty.
Warnke also suggested the city begin paying volunteer firefighters for their time in training, noting the proposed city budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes such money.
Mayor Kelvin Bailey praised the fire department after Warnke's presentation.
"This is kind of constructive criticism of the fire department, not criticism of the fire department," he said. "Don't let your hearts drop and think there is something wrong with the fire department, because there isn't.
"We actually have one of the best fire departments in the state. If you look at any volunteer organization, I guarantee you couldn't find a better one."
In an interview with the Daily Herald on Friday, DeKorver said he has already begun taking management classes and buying and reading books on management. He declined to comment on whether he would be a candidate if Eagle Mountain decides to hire a full-time fire chief. DeKorver now works full time for the Sandy city fire department.
"I feel very confident the issues in the audit will be taken care of," he said. "A lot are already in progress."
McCarthy could not be reached for comment.
Caleb Warnock DAILY HERALD
A feud between the chief and deputy chief of the Eagle Mountain Fire Department has led to a yearlong city audit and 14 recommendations to improve morale.
The city now has 26 volunteer firefighters and nine part-time paramedics. Paramedics are dispatched to 911 calls from 6 a.
m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
As of July 31, the city will begin 24-hour-a-day paramedic service.
The audit showed there is a long-standing "distrust" between Chief Robert DeKorver and Deputy Chief Kevin McCarthy, too much responsibility with too little experience for many of the captains, and a need for drug tests and physicals, among other things.
After two firefighters quit a year ago, Eagle Mountain City Administrator Chris Hillman asked City Planning Director Shawn Warnke to do an outside audit of the department. Warnke presented his findings to the City Council on Tuesday.
While praising the firefighters for their work and dedication, Warnke found many concerns about how the department is being managed, including:
Part-time firefighters sometimes being given no assignments while at work, or given urgent assignments toward the end of their shifts.
Firefighters who fail to follow procedures not being held accountable.
Experienced firefighters having difficulty taking orders from inexperienced firefighters promoted into captain positions, leading to "conflicts, bickering and backbiting."
Managers sometimes giving feedback in a way that "destroys morale."
Broken equipment not being reported to those coming onto a shift, leading to an incident in which paramedics were called to rescue someone trapped in a vehicle, only to discover the extrication equipment was malfunctioning, "resulting in the patient being pinned in the vehicle for almost an hour while the Fire Department waited for extrication equipment from Saratoga Springs."
Chief Robert DeKorver being disorganized, inconsistent in applying standards, lacking some necessary management skills and having difficulty delegating, leading him to work too many hours.
Deputy Chief Kevin McCarthy needing to improve his communication skills and be less critical of the work of volunteer firefighters.
"The biggest issue is synergy," Warnke told council members, noting the ongoing feud between DeKorver and McCarthy has created many challenges in the department. "I think the word they both used was 'distrust.' "
Warnke said he was skeptical the rift could be fixed, but DeKorver has since written a letter saying the two men will work on it.
Before DeKorver wrote the letter, "I didn't get the sense they wanted to work it out," Warnke said. "I think it is up to us to make sure they work it out."
Another issue is that some managers "don't have clear guidelines of the hours they work, and they are salary employees and they get paid no matter how many hours they work," Warnke said. "Chief DeKorver is out of town two weeks a year and still gets paid even though he can't work here. I think it creates morale issues when a chief officer is gone for two weeks and still gets paid for it."
DeKorver is a part-time employee.
Paramedics also have access to prescription narcotics with little accountability for the medication, he said.
"They should be subject to drug testing and we should make sure the drugs are secure," he told council members. "Also, we should make sure we have physicals for firefighters to make sure they are physically able to perform their job duties."
In interviews with the Daily Herald, both Warnke and DeKorver said there have been no reported incidents of missing narcotics.
Warnke told council members that his first recommendation was to hire a full-time fire chief.
He also recommended that all volunteer firefighters be asked to keep time logs for three months so managers could get a sense of what the volunteers spend their time doing while on duty.
Warnke also suggested the city begin paying volunteer firefighters for their time in training, noting the proposed city budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes such money.
Mayor Kelvin Bailey praised the fire department after Warnke's presentation.
"This is kind of constructive criticism of the fire department, not criticism of the fire department," he said. "Don't let your hearts drop and think there is something wrong with the fire department, because there isn't.
"We actually have one of the best fire departments in the state. If you look at any volunteer organization, I guarantee you couldn't find a better one."
In an interview with the Daily Herald on Friday, DeKorver said he has already begun taking management classes and buying and reading books on management. He declined to comment on whether he would be a candidate if Eagle Mountain decides to hire a full-time fire chief. DeKorver now works full time for the Sandy city fire department.
"I feel very confident the issues in the audit will be taken care of," he said. "A lot are already in progress."
McCarthy could not be reached for comment.