Grand jury report decries Davis Fire Department conduct

The Davis Fire Department has been hit hard by the Yolo County Grand Jury over alleged misconduct, including off-duty firefighters sleeping off nights of drinking at the downtown station.

The grand jury's report, released Monday, details the investigation prompted by citizen complaints. The primary complaints were that the department has inconsistent promotion practices, a hostile work environment caused by a too-close relationship between fire Chief Rose Conroy and the firefighters' union and misuse of sleeping facilities by drunk off-duty firefighters.

In a news release issued Tuesday, City Manager Bill Emlen disputed the grand jury's findings, saying the report has several problems including insufficient detail and inaccuracies.

"We believe the Grand Jury Report includes several statements that are factually incorrect," Emlen stated in the release. "Taken together, they contribute to a less-than-accurate picture of the Davis Fire Department."

During the investigation, the Grand Jury discovered that firefighters come to the department's downtown station to sleep while off-duty.

"It appears that the off-duty (Davis) firefighters, after drinking in downtown Davis, sometimes 'sleep it off' at the firehouse rather than drive home, a practice actively supported by the Fire Chief," the report states.

While the Grand Jury acknowledge that having firefighters sleep in the station is preferable to them driving drunk, city laws prohibit them from being drunk during work hours, at the work site or in uniform.

"Off-duty (Davis) firefighters seen intoxicated downtown and known to be sleeping at the firehouse afterward reflect poorly on the (department) and the City," the report states.

The Grand Jury also alleges that the fire chief has fostered a hostile work environment.

"A number of (Davis) firefighters are fearful of retaliation if they speak out against the Fire Chief or the Union," the report states.

Current and former firefighters told the Grand Jury that anyone who questions or challenges the union is shunned by union members and, in some cases, the chief would no longer speak to some firefighters except about work matters, the report states.

"One (Davis) firefighter was so fearful of retaliation that upon being summoned to testify before the Grand Jury, this individual parked blocks away and walked to the Grand Jury's office so that no one would identify the car in the Grand Jury parking lot and report it to (the department) or Union management."

Firefighters who have questioned union practices have been ostracized, the report states.

The investigation found that all Davis firefighters are union members, which the Grand Jury hypothesized could be the result of past treatment of non-union members.

A 33-year veteran firefighters who didn't join the union was denied recognition of his service or a party upon his retirement, the report states.

The Grand Jury also alleges that Conroy's relationship with the union is too close. Conroy's husband, a retired Davis firefighter, is a former union vice president and continues to maintain his relationship with the union. A union board member is a family friend who sometimes provides child care for Conroy.

"These relationship present an appearance of cronyism and undue Union influence in the administration of the (fire department)," the report states.

The investigation also found that Conroy allegedly ignores weights assigned to segments of promotion tests when promoting firefighters. The union president was recently promoted to captain, despite the person's rank of ninth out of 10 on the promotion list, the report states.

"Firefighters who consistently scored high in promotion testing but were never advanced stopped testing for promotion," the report states.

Three lawsuits claiming harassment and a hostile work environment have been filed during Conroy's tenure as fire chief. One was dropped due to "procedural deficiency." Two of the cases were settled out of court, one for $280,000 and the other for between $300,000 and $400,000, the report states.

Among its recommendations, the Grand Jury said that the next fire chief should be someone from outside the Davis Fire Department who has no ties to the union. Conroy plans to retire from the department within two years, the report states.

The fire department, which has three stations in the city, has 54 people on staff, including nine captains, 36 firefighters, and three division chiefs. Each station is staffed with one captain and at least three firefighters on a 24-hour shift.

The department, which had a budget of $9.4 million in 2006/2007, was investigated by the Grand Jury last year, but the Grand Jury's term expired before the investigation could be completed.

Read the complete Yolo County Grand Jury 2007/2008 report.

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