Robert Creal said Saturday he will not be Flagler Beach’s Acting Fire Chief after all.
“I notified City Manager Bruce Campbell this morning that I have decided not to accept the acting fire chief position,” Creal wrote in an email Saturday evening. “I had a health problem last night and decided it was in my best interest to not fill the position. I will remain active with the FBFD Fire Police Unit.”
Creal, a volunteer with the department and a fire chief for 26 years in the city until his retirement in 2002, had briefly accepted to be the volunteer acting fire chief Thursday, to fill in for Bobby Pace, who was formally and criminally charged with obstruction of justice Thursday following accusations of destruction of evidence. Pace himself was the temporary fill-in for Martin Roberts, the previous fire chief, whom City Manager Bruce Campbell fired, along with other firefighters, after accusations that Roberts had responded to a fire call after drinking alcohol at last year’s department Christmas party. Roberts was fired on administrative, not criminal, charges.
Creal’s appointment was rife with controversy from the start, however. Creal had retired 11 years ago after he had himself been the subject of a city police investigation prompted by allegations of marijuana use (to which Creal admitted) and other issues involving the alcohol consumption by minors in Creal’s presence. City commissioners and Campbell were not concerned by those issues. Campbell said he was not aware of them, and had not checked Creal’s record, and commissioners who were aware of them said the matters were too distant.
But then emerged the more current and serious issue of Creal’s certification as a firefighter. Creal said he has his certification, dating back to 1975, but he had not produced it to Campbell at the time of the appointment, and the state agency in charge of certifying and keeping the records of firefighters’ certification has no record of Creal having any certification. Absent that certification, no firefighter is allowed in the “hot zone” of a fire emergency, let alone allowed to command a fire emergency, as Creal would have had to do as chief.
“It was admirable for Robbie to go along and step up to the plate and he was doing it for the sake of the department and wasn’t expecting to be paid, and I hand that to him,” Campbell said, but health matters can’t be argued with, the city manager said. In a Facebook message, Creal Sunday morning cited “stress” as the reason for his withdrawal. Campbell said Creal’s sugar spiked to dangerous levels on Friday.
Creal’s decision to withdraw from the position means that the city will be left without a chief–acting or otherwise.
“We’re not going to have per se an active chief,” Campbell said Sunday morning.
The manager said he will assume administrative leadership of the department (including scheduling and coordination with the county), while three current firefighters–David Kennedy, Stephen Cox and Michael “Dusty” Snyder–will be shift commanders, assuming responsibility of each day’s eight-hour shift. “These guys are capable, certified, and I’ve got their paperwork,” he said, reading off their certification numbers, some of those certifications being as recent as last week. “They’re perfectly capable of commanding a fire,” Campbell said of the three paid firefighters now in the rotation of command. (The three are not paramedics, as was previously reported, but Emergency Medical Technicians. Flagler Beach does not have paramedics, for which it relies on the county.)
It’s not clear yet how they will manage to do so with required time off, or who will be in their place when they cannot be. But Campbell said mutual aid agreements with the county will likely be the route at that point. That’s when a nearby agency assumes responsibilities for a sister-agency that has manpower issues.
“This all came about yesterday late afternoon,” Campbell said. “I plan to put it out in writing tomorrow morning, announcing the Robbie situation and what we’re going to do in the meantime.” He stressed that the city will be safe, and that the mutual-aid arrangements with neighboring agencies will keep it so.
The county has been offering to assume all sorts of responsibilities for the troubled Flagler Beach Fire Department, from lending some of its manpower to taking over parts of the department’s responsibilities, or all of them, saving the city money and trouble. But a majority of city commissioners have been adamantly opposed.
City Commissioner Marshal Shupe is also a volunteer firefighter. He spends much of his time at the department–and advocates for it from his commission seat.
Campbell said he is “absolutely” confident he can handle the administrative matters at the fire department on top of his current duties as manager. “This isn’t going to be forever,” he said, as the city commission on Aug. 8 will approve a new salary schedule for reorganized fire and police departments, following which new positions of captains and lieutenants in both departments will be internally posted, then externally posted if internal candidates aren’t enough to fill the positions.
concerned says
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THE DISFUNCTION CONTINUES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous says
What a circus and a joke! Campbell needs to go. Really…leaving people with very little experience is command??? Unbelievable…but let’s fire all the ones with more experience for way lesser charges than Pace. You just can’t make this shit up!!
just a thought says
When does the leadership in this City say “enough”? Now the City Manager say the Fire Department that has been rife with problems for years can operate without any direct leadership and/or supervision. Just because he say “the city will be safe” doesn’t mean he is right.
Anonymous says
COUNTY TAKEOVER!
Anonymous says
Regardless of the opinions of the Flagler Beach Commission……..they county will take this Mickey Mouse Fire Department over!
Karma says
You let two guys go that would have been capable of stepping up and taking care of this “NOW” dysfunctional department. KARMA!
SSDD says
Well since when did David Kennedy become a paramedic. Nice of Campbell to provide these guys with promotions without the training. Hell, everybody’s got everybody snowballed there. Why doesn’t e everyone just talk about the elephant in the room and Campbell have his “Do” boy Commissioner/Chief Shupe put in his resignation as a Commissioner and become the Chief of the FD full time? Hell, he’s already the City’s fire inspector. Bruce, make sure he’s got certs first though. Oh and by the way, Creal didn’t retire in 2002. He retired in 2003. After he cut a deal with the city when the investigation was completed and he FAILED a drug test. So the deal was he would resign in August of 2002, but he could use his 6 months of sick and vacation time to get him to his retirement date in March of 2003. I remember that shake up back then just like this one. Witch hunt… But failure of Campbell to realize this and say it doesn’t matter, look at his personnel record. Pretty sure the city is required to maintain it for 50 years from termination. Again, “double standard” allowing a pot smoking FAILED a drug test with the city’s ZERO tolerance policy and placed him in charge, but fired 2 people who did nothing wrong off the clock except take a sip on city property. Failure as a city manager.
Robert Lewis says
This is an embarrassment to the community. The drama has gone on long enough. The line has been drawn when the city manager has chosen to put the community in the hands of unqualified leadership. It is terrible situation that continues to escalade in Flagler Beach. The inmates have taken control of the asylum.
As the editor pointed out, those selected to be in charge barely have the qualifications to meet the demands. On paper they just meet qualifications, but in reality they do not have the experience administratively or tactical experence. I am sure these firefighters are great guys, however they may be a little wet behind the ears to assume this responsibility. This is not a joke, this is putting the lives of the residents of Flagler Beach at risk. If something happens are these young individuals going to put their future at risk and assume the liability if they cause harm?
Enough is enough ! The City Manager needs to reevaluate the decision and employ a truly qualified professional to run this department like it should be run. Put an end to the circus and restore dignity to this department.
The actions that have gone on since January are an embarrassment to the community. Those involved have brought shame to their city, their department and the firefighting profession. I for one am deeply disappointed in all those involved.
Shame on Bruce Campbell!
Shame on Robert Pace!
Shame on Martin Roberts!
Shame on Shane Wood!
Shame on Jacob Bissonnette !
Shame on Robbie Creal!
Shame on the rest of them for the repeated disgraceful headlines!!
The community expects better from their firefighters!!
Biz owner says
Personally I think the City Manager is unqualified leadership. This is what happens when a small group of vocal residents and politicians are complicit in placing a friend in a key role.
New blood, not from Flagler Beach is needed in the City Manager position. Not a cronie that continues the tradition of the good ol boys and quid pro quo.
Truth of the matter says
The problem here lies not with the city manager , but rather with an arrogant / dysfunctional commission. After all, one seated commissioner is a regular around the station, and is himself a volunteer firefighter wearing two hats ?
Another made a recent statement stating that it is “my fire department”,and yet another got far to cozy with the previous employees working for Chief Martin. They the commission seem not to understand that running this city is not about who you are friends with ? Much of this buddy stuff, gave those employees a kind of false confidence, a confidence which ultimately resulted in the firings,
That very same confidence sent fire department employees traveling the states in search of new fire trucks, doing so without even getting permission from the city manager or the commission. This combined with additional violations of city rules, brought about the firings and chaos we have recently experienced, not the city manager.
fubar says
The city manager has been pulling the string for a while now!! Bobby pace is up there every day getting the do boy list from chief Campbell for months now . the real certified chief and assistant chief got the railroad shaft fireing for what????? something that they should of got a repramand over not fired and the guy that is charged now with a criminal offence got three day off with pay after he admitted doing it months before the state charged him and campbell said i no nothing about this !!!!! now you reap what you soe!!!!
Fed Up! says
Anonymous said it best. this really is a joke and I’ll awake from this bad dream at some point, right? Oh wait…NO….Campbell is still in charge and is now leading an administrative department as well as “I don’t know”ing his way around all things unpleasant. What is the common denominator to Flagler Beach’s troubles? Campbell….aka Cannot Address Management Problems But (for) Lamebrain Licentiousness!!!
Don't buy from bailed out says
The latest (of many) issues here in FB cause me to ponder our future. This place is a mess !!! City manager – in command of the FD ? Great guy – bright – but knows what about the fire service ?
Soon no Police chief — currently no Fire chief – who’s left in the professionaly trained ranks of these critical, experience necessary, leadership jobs ? A 2nd LT in the military doe not become a General in days, weeks,months or years – consistent, posative results over time elevate them to that level!
Doubt the State would agree that ANYONE with their certification completed 1 week ago is capable of putting the lives of fellow fire fighters in harms way when no other certafied officer, with front line experience, is on scene. recipe for disaster !!
FB commis. get off your high (you pick the def. of HIGH) horse and go to the county for help before something really bad happens.’
Karma says
They let two guys go that would have been capable of stepping up and taking care of this “NOW” dysfunctional department. KARMA!
Rick Belhumeur says
You’ve got to be kidding me. The Flagler Beach Fire Department is busted down to three full time firefighter-paramedics with very little experience but the commission wants to remain “Fiercely Independent” and not even entertain getting some help from the county. The ISO rating of the Flagler Beach Fire Department is lower than it could be because of personnel structure. All these personnel problems certainly don’t help. Even if the city posted openings for firefighters, I doubt that any experienced firefighters would want to join the circus in town.
FB Insider says
Medical problem due to stress? Stressed about having to pee in a cup maybe. Awesome, now the department is run by three guys with collectively 13 years COMBINED service with the department; one with less than 3 years in the fire service! Does everyone feel safe yet?!
Just saying.... says
So the city manager is going to be running the fire department now?!?! Ok Mr Campbell, I have a question for you, are these firefighter paramedics that you have all this paperwork on going to be able to legally perform ALS care in an emergency? Or should we still expect the same BLS care we currently receive, but with less man power? I am not knocking the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday, I am just tired of the wishy washy stuff and want to know if we are going to receive the care we deserve and pay for!!! I understand that they are certified paramedics but are legally able to perform the ALS care that most people think of when they hear the word paramedic? I am tired of the ‘he said-she said’ BS, I want facts now, and want to be able to know that it is worth it to keep the city’s fire department running as is….
Facts says
@Anonymous.. First off those three guys DO have expierence. 3 years, 5 years, and 8 years. They all have their FIRE OFFICER certificate. They have also fought many fires within this county. The ones who were fired may have been there for a long time but did not do anything with it. They did not even have their fire officer cert. They made a bad decision and were fired for it. The County Fire Dept just promoted a Lieutenant who had only ONE YEAR ON THE JOB!!! And County the County take over??? Hahaha they can’t even man their stations out west or even keep employees
FB Insider says
Facts:
Let’s state some REAL facts according to http://www.fbfire.org:
Kennedy – hired in 2009 with a year in California prior = 5 years experience
Cox – hired in 2011 with 4 years prior = 6 years experience
Snyder – hired in 2010 with no previous experience = 3 years experience
TOTAL COMBINED: 14 years
Furthermore, Assistant Chief Wood has all of his Fire Officer classes done and only needs to take the state exam, and also holds a Fire Science degree from Keiser.
Firefighter Bissonnette has nearly all the required classes completed and is pending state exam as well.
Having a “Fire Officer Cert” doesn’t automatically qualify an individual to run a fire department. It merely is geared towards making an effective engine/truck company leader. Some info on the classes required:
1. FFP 2720 Company Officer Leadership
2.FFP 1810 Firefighting Tactics I
3.FFP 2811 Firefighting Tactics II
4.FFP 1740 Fire Service Course Delivery
5.FFP 1505 Fire Prevention Practices
6. FFP 1540 Private Fire Protection Systems I
7. FFP 2120 Building Construction
Plus the following 16-hr courses (or equivalent)
1. I-200 Basic Incident Management
2. I-300 Intermediate Incident Management
3. Anti-Terrorism
These classes prepare an individual to be able to lead a single apparatus, not a department. Typically most department will require 5 or more years with the agency to even TEST for a promotion. These guys fell into it because they city was left with no choice.
Anonymous says
Guess what FACTS? I am a certified Firefighter 2, Fire Officer 1 & 2, Fire Service Instructor Level 2, Hazmat Technician, Nationally Registered EMT, US Forestry Service ‘Red Card” certified, and hold Anti-Terrorism certificates from the Dept of Defense, with over 17 years of experience in the fire service. I have served as a Fire Police Officer, Firefighter / EMT, Driver / Engineer, and a Lieutenant with four different Fire Departments in three different states, one of those positions in a major fire department in North Carolina. The state of Florida refuses to recognize my certifications since they are not from Florida, but through IFSAC (International Fire Service Accreditation Congress).
As for the county manning stations out west, might I remind you that Station 71 in St. Johns Park used to be a fully volunteer station. With the economy in shambles, it is hard for volunteers to leave work to respond to calls. Columbia County (near Lake City, FL) maintains their paid stations with 2 Firefighter / EMTs on each engine company with Volunteers in reserve to assist them. Flagler County could just as easily do the same thing, by simply adding an additional alarm tone to each call to ensure adequate manpower is available.
Also, just to enlighten you on another shiny piece of information FACTS, I was part of the Flagler Beach Fire Department years ago. Shane Wood knew all too well about everything Robbie Creal was doing, and he said nothing back then either! And if you think that the Christmas Party was the first time someone from that department responded to a fire call in a city vehicle or fire apparatus after having consumed alcohol…….you are sadly mistaken! There are tons of people who were on the department back during those times that can fill you in on call in Korona where they left a party at the Chief Creal’s house and went to the station, came back from the call, walked back to the Chief’s house, and thought their cars were all stolen the next morning! (their cars were all at the station). These guys ran a structure fire, and could not remember the call until they played the tape the next day! Creal also used to allow Explorers to respond to calls in the engines with him…..WITH LESS THAN ZERO TRAINING!!! So many people have resigned from that Mickey Mouse Fire Department due to the political in-fighting over the years, as well as the lack of proper training for the volunteers, and the other outright stupidity that this City Manager as well as past City Managers have allowed to continue.
The sooner the County takes this modern rendition of Monty Python’s Flying Circus over the better. Only then can the residents of Flagler Beach be considered safe.
And in reference to James’ comment further down about 98% of those who comment on this either do not live in Failure Beach or did not grow up here in Flagler County……..I graduated from FPC my friend, and while I was with the Failure Beach Fire Department we had a radio to let the bridge keeper on the old draw bridge know we were coming. I remember when PC Pkwy did not even have an exit……you had to get off at SR100 and go up Old Kings or drive down to Belle Terre. Oh yeah, and the scorch marks under the old overpass at 95 & 100……yeah, those were from one of the old pumpers FB had. Shift it right and you got a nice flame thrower shooting out the exhaust! Just so you know buddy…..some of us actually do know what we are talking about on here. Some of us just choose not to advertise how much we actually know!
Anonymous says
I do hold a Firefighter 1 certification from Florida, but since my training was documented after leaving the state years ago……..the state considers it expired. In order to obtain a Florida Firefighter Certification, I would have to go through the entire training program all over again from the beginning. For the volume and type of calls that Failure Beach handles each year…..any Volunteer Lieutenant with Firefighter 1 and Fire Officer 1 certifications is more than capable of running the scene. The more intense scenes, such as the condo fire a few years ago, would require an incident commander with the experience of a multi-staging command system. 95% of their call volume concerns medical calls and / or minor vehicle crashes. So unless something major and catastrophic occurred……The Three Blind Mice should have no problems handling the scene!
Beach Citizen says
Use the name “FACTS” very sparingly…
Fact: only ONE of the Flagler Beach guys has their Fire Officer certificate…not 3
Fact: experience is more like 2.5 years, 5 years, and 6 years
Fact: the County lieutenant you refer to is a friend of mine and was promoted after two years with the county and 4 years as a volunteer elsewhere.
Fact: the station out west you refer to is in Espanola and is manned full time by two (sometimes three) PARAMEDICS
Fact: as long as Flagler Beach Fire remains a BLS department, they employ ZERO paramedics…having a paramedic certification at a BLS department is COMPLETELY MEANINGLESS
NortonSmitty says
This is the most chicken-shit excuse for a scandal I have ever heard. The court sends a guy to do community service at a Fire Station where as usual the Firemen stand around 29 and 3/4ths days a month just looking for something to fix, clean, polish or whatever between fire calls. So when they can’t find anything for the guy to do, they send him home early and sign his sheet, not his fault. Happens every day across the whole country. And this is the best thing you lame-assed disgruntled bastards got to stir up since your asses got kicked down the road? And FlaglerLive why do you alloow them to push this tripe on this site? You all need to move on and get a life. There is more important shit out there that needs attention.
Magicone says
Flagler Beach Fire Department and all the things going on would make a great reality TV program.
Dudley Doright says
This is better than watching Honey Boo Boo! You can’t make this crap up. Failure Beach, it’s city commissioner’s and city manager are clueless. And, to even think about appointing Creal, while dismissing his past use of marijuana and other poor leadership issues, tells me a lot about the ineptness of the city manager and city commissioner’s. It is time for rescue and only the county can do it. Have you public officials in Failure Beach have no shame? Your citizens are at risk!
Johnny says
Can I be Chief…Can I wear the Fire Helmet and get to ride in a real Fire Truck and run the siren ? Can I, can I, please. please…pretty please..
Johnny
John Smith says
So now how is Campbell going to run the FD that is the question? You have 3 FFs that have 13 years between them of experience and a whole bunch of Volunteer kids that have just got out of fire school hum what deal the people of Flagler Beach are getting. So let me ask this and how active can Commish Shupe be before he is in a conflict of interest as they are not suppose to be having anything to do with a Dept. as the City Charter says. Shupe should have no say either as where is his Certs before he starts his new job as undercover chief.
The problems in this city to this extent since January have done nothing but show just what a joke Campbell is by trying to do things that is in the corporate way of doing it not city government The City Commission needs to step up and do there elected job and oust Campbell. Oh and Shupe should be CENSORED for his activities with the FD.
Gia says
The county should take over. They’ll be much better off.
Regina says
I have nown Rob Creal for as long as I have been in flagler County (almost 37year)
My father and brothers were with him during these yaers, I have great rescept for a man that tells you right up front the he does not want the the job of cheif again. I have always respected this department they have some of the best personal . to this day I still would have Flagler beach Fire Department Be the one sent out verses any county unit ……..
James says
The thing is, 98 percent of you that comment on these articles don’t even live in Flagler Beach or at the very least didnt grow up here. You have no pride in our small town and you let these commissioners come in and destroy everything from our streets to our police and fire departments.
Kevin says
The City Manager has turned this into a joke. This department can not survive with the current manager and I would expect the county or state to come in and take over the department
tax payer says
Ok its just plain ridiculous now, why has the county not taken over our mess yet what exactly are we trying to prove here there is no need for any more embarrassment to the city. Just make sure the firefighters in the position don’t loose their jobs and let the county run things. what is the big deal??? geez.
tax payer says
Campbell needs to push this County consolidation before he is out and looking for a new job….
Kevin says
Cambell needs to go and ===
John Smith says
So, looks like Rob Creal pulled off the biggest hoax of all. No certs at the state level. Being a paid chief for the city for what 12 or 13 years? No one checked? Can he legally be on a fire scene now? Oh not in hot zone. Means not running scenes. Can he drive city equipment without a new drug test? Especially the ladder truck. Guess not if you are giving up firefighter status to be a fire police. State pension board can check his fire certs right? Maybe they need to do some checking to see if fraud was done? Too funny. This just gets better and better. Of course taking the interim chief scared him straight. New physical, new drug test? Lets now see where this drama goes. Well done, Robbie Creal. well done. Well done City of Flagler Beach, well done again.
Diego Miller says
The days of small town Police and Fire departments are over. These small towns cannot afford the health care, the pensions or the training and new equipment needed to function.
Truth of the matter says
Taxpayer, The consolidation will not be pushed because the city commission does not wish to go there. Remember, the city manager works FOR and at the will of the commission, it is not the other way around. Once again, let me repeat, your commission is your problem, and Commissioner Shupe is a member of that department and some other commissioners are catering to a few against the best interest of many.
Amazed says
Wow so many firefighter experts in this post. What fire school did you guys graduate from again? Read the post again there is not just 3 firefighters left on duty. Those 3 are just assuming command of operations. And they all have experience in the fire service. A TOTAL of 20 YEARS EXPIERENCE. Don’t believe me? Pull their state file! The COUNTY JUST PROMOTED A LIEUTENANT WHO ONLY HAD ONE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE IN THE FIRE SERVICE!!!!! Get your facts straight before you naysayers ramble false misleading information.
FB Insider says
I say again:
Let’s state some REAL facts according to http://www.fbfire.org:
Kennedy – hired in 2009 with a year in California prior = 5 years experience
Cox – hired in 2011 with 4 years prior = 6 years experience
Snyder – hired in 2010 with no previous experience = 3 years experience
TOTAL COMBINED: 14 years
Anonymous says
My fire certifications are from IFSAC (International Fire Service Accreditation Congress), the National Fire Academy, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Management Institute, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Emergency Operations Training Academy, US Department of Forestry, and my BS in Fire Science is from Kaplan University.
Just having experience in the fire service does not mean you are able to command a fire scene. I have more experience than the three of them combined!!! I would like to know if any of those three would have the ability to make the decision to pull firefighters from a structure at risk of collapse while knowing there are civilians AND firefighters still trapped inside that will surely perish. From personal experience of having had to make this very decision 9 years ago, and knowing that you are sentencing one of your buddies to their death, this is NOT an easy choice to make. The part even worse than having to make that decision…….is telling your buddy’s family that he died in the line of duty.
RHN Flagler Beach says
In the 45 years I have lived in this town I have seen this happen over and over. Probably the most famous conflict was Stephen Derry vs Bub Robson. circa 1977. Bub WON! Derry was gone.
But back to today and the fire department. Yes, there were comon sense violations, some probably illegal, due to the fact that there was no, nor is there now, any monitoring entity/mechanism to keep the fire department on track.
Yes, Robbie Creel has all the knowledge, skills, ability, and experience to run the department BUT Mr Campbell, you awarded him the position without even checking his licensure/cerrtification or looking at his personell file. This created a great liability for the city as he was alledgedly accused of some of the same crimes of the staff you fired. Robbie, you made the right decision. It’s not worth it.
What are you going to do next Bruce? Go after Dan and the police department?
Now it is time for the citizens of Flagler Beach to call for a vote of confidence for Bruce Campbell. My vote, NAY!
Commissioners, You are all on notice…
Ray Barker says
I can see from the responses that I am not the only one who realizes that all of our problems started when Bruce Campbell was appointed City Manager. Before that time the only things that bothered our quiet little hamlet were turtles and beach erosion. Now we have become the laughing stock of the state and he is the one giving us a black eye. I know he is the darling of two Commissioner but accept that it was a mistake and right your wrong. Commissioners, I leave you with words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
An Orlando Firefighter says
I seriously can’t believe that brothers in the Fire Service are acting like this. If you are part of Flagler Beach STAY OFF THIS POST! If you are County, well I can’t tell you what to do but I advise it.
“A good Company Officer should obtain BOTH experience and education. One is no greater than the other.” – IFSTS Company Officer 4th edition.
Anonymous says
I was a member of this wretched department many years ago. Absolutely NOTHING has changed! I keep running into more and more people that were on the department with me (and were still members after I left)……and learn that they left for the same reasons!
ZERO quality of training. Unless there is a scheduled training session with the county, THERE IS NONE! Back during my tenure with the Flagler Beach FD, I was pulled off of the engine for a house fire call by another volunteer simply due to her seniority on the department. Forget the fact that she possessed NO certifications of any kind other than her massage therapy cert. from the community college class she took. NO first aid, NO cpr, NO basic fire grounds training, NO hazmat training, and to make matters worse……she was claustrophobic and could not operate or don an SCBA! This was how they ran things then, and apparently still do today!
The volunteers use the Monday drill night as a BS session! You only see these “Monday Night Firefighters” in the event of “The Big One”….you know…..the major house fire or 10-car pile up on the interstate……..but forget seeing them at a call for lifting assistance or automatic fire alarm at a house or business at 2:30 am to run the backup engine (career personnel run the main primary response engine).
There was a volunteer captain with FBFD who also worked for the county as a FireMedic. During his shifts with the county, he would add the county engine company to calls in Flagler Beach’s zone and assume the role of CAPTAIN upon arriving on scene. When I called him on this at a structure fire scene, he reminded me he was my captain and I needed to fall in line. I told him this was E-111’s scene, and NOT E-92’s. When his captain arrived on scene, I advised him of the situation and E-92 was placed on hydrant detail in support of E-111. I was subsequently written up by the volunteer captain for insubordination.
The in-fighting and bickering and outright unprofessional behavior of everyone on this department is nothing more than laughable! These clowns will throw you under the buss for whatever they can think of if you disagree with them or do not fall in line with the clique and how things are done the good ol’ way. The business meeting following the original suspension of Robbie Creal back in 2002 was nothing short of a slap in the face to a man who dedicated over 26 years of his life to this department. It was almost as if someone advised a certain FBPD officer (himself a former member of the fire dept. and close friend and member of the clique) about the presence of marijuana stems in Creal’s trash that night. At least two of the personnel who were terminated earlier this year were aware of and even present at some of these parties at Creal’s, one whom I personally witnessed smoking marijuana and drinking tequila along with everyone else. Hell, for that matter, one of them usually purchased or provided beer for these parties too!
There is an absolute void of any visible chain of command on this department, regardless if they have a chief or not. The city is so far up it’s own ass that they can barely breathe long enough to realize the longer they prevent the county from taking over this department…….the heavier the egg on their faces becomes!
In closing, I believe Commissioner Schupe needs to either excuse himself from any conversation or discussion or vote as to a county takeover of the fire department. A member of a fire department should not serve on a commission that can determine the fate of that very department. Either resign from the fire department or resign your Commission seat!
Jackie Mulligan says
Ray Barker, if you really believe that all of Flagler Beaches problem’s started with Bruce Campbell, you certainly have not been around here very long.
If you want to hear some real horror stories, ask some of the old timers, they will tell you stories that you might think are fiction, because they are so fantastic.
I have a few of my own, so if you think it started last year, you must be living as a shut in.
Jackie Mulligan
tom dooly says
I agree with you jackie and so does alot of other people who are tired of this dept. making us an eyesore. bruce is trying to “clean-up” that dept. that has been a problem for well over 20 years now because of the previous c.a.’s who did nothing to stop it. i say kudos to him for at least trying and the commissioners need to back him up.i say give bruce a chance to continue “CLEANING HOUSE”! anyone who thinks it’s ok to drink on the job or thinks it’s ok to drive after drinking is an idiot.This is no one’s fault except those who “finally” got caught.While he’s at it found out who isn’t “qualified” to do their job and get people in their that are qualified; with the economy i’m sure there are alot of people that would love to have a job now.sounds like it’s time for a drug/alcohol tests on all the employess including him and the commissioners every 30 days. what’s the saying in baseball? SWEEP,SWEEP,SWEEP! get out that broom and clean house! a little “spring cleaning” you might say?
White Lightning says
Regardless I am just fortunate to be working in the fire service everyone should be grateful for having a paid fire job. You could be driving limos instead or something.
An Orlando Firefighter says
@Anonymous … Not only are you embarrassing yourself you are embarrassing anyone affiliated with the Fire service. This site is viewed by many citizens in numerous cities and counties. By rambling off false information from your ignorance does a disservice to everyone. It would be wise of you to educate yourself on how the department is currently run and not base your view on the past. You will be pleased to see that it is run at a professional level. Please stop by any time to view any members certs or past experience.
Anonymous says
@ An Orlando Firefighter —
Apparently from what I have been reading on here, it is currently run the same way as I remember it………possibly even worse! A Chief that responds to a call after drinking at a party, a volunteer Captain that drives the ladder truck along with another volunteer to the same call after drinking at the same party….an Ast. Chief and Firefighter who purchase ILLEGAL moonshine in the landing in front of the fire station from an off duty Sheriff’s Lieutenant, and then store and consume said moonshine INSIDE THE STATION……an Acting Chief who is being prosecuted for obstruction of justice after admitting he falsified government documents….. a former Chief who chooses not to accept the job due to “medical” reasons rather than have his certifications criticized…… and now you have a crew who ignored and violated NFPA 101 and OSHA 1910 to rescue a kitten 300 feet into a storm drain??? From what I read about their certifications on the Flagler Beach Fire Department’s website, NOBODY on this department is certified in confined space rescue…..meaning NONE OF THEM had the training to perform this rescue (which is obvious by Firefighter Walden’s decision to not use SCBA while inside a confined space). Anyone who has taken Confined Space Rescue knows that when the space you are entering is too small to fit in with full gear and SCBA, you simply push the SCBA in front of you while you make your way towards the victim (on in this case…..kitten). Confined Space Rescue and any other Technical Rescue training is not part of the Florida Minimum Standards certification (Firefighter 2), EMT or Paramedic certifications. These are specialized courses taught at the Florida State Fire College. Also, having a Paramedic certification on a Basic Life Support department is completely useless and pointless! A BLS station cannot carry required equipment necessary for Advanced Cardiac Life Support! They are only allowed to carry an Automated Electronic Defibrillator (AED) and do not have defibrillator paddles, they are not allowed to carry IV supplies as even basic saline is considered a drug and can only be administered by a paramedic or under the direction of a physician, and they are not permitted to carry the necessary medications and narcotics such as Epinephrine, Adrenaline,
Succhinylcholine, Morphine, etc…..and BLS personnel are not allowed to intubate a patient as it is considered an invasive procedure (as is the insertion of an IV needle). So the fact that some of these guys are ALS certified is pretty much a moot point unless a Flagler County Fire Services Rescue unit is right there with them in the trenches! I know for a fact that waiting for a rescue unit in Flagler County can take forever! I remember transporting a patient in Engine 111 at 2am due to the fact every rescue unit was busy…..and the dispatcher gave an ETA for a rescue unit of over an hour! This was back when Century still operated ambulances here in Flagler County…..and even their units were all busy!
Who are you kidding??? How in the world is this any different? How can you honestly consider this to be a professional level? This department would make any professional firefighter (either active or retired) ashamed to be associated with the fire service! If you ask any firefighter in Flagler County who is NOT a member of the Flagler Beach FD their thoughts on Flagler Beach’s department……after they finish laughing at the joke that is the Flagler Beach Fire Department…….their thoughts will be almost identical to mine! THIS DEPARTMENT IS THE BIGGEST JOKE ON THE PLANET!! It really is the Mickey Mouse Fire Department!
anonymous says
Orlando Firefighter…you can’t be serious…run at a professional level????? Shupe serving himself by making decisions as a commissioner? Campbell running things…where are his certs. I guess since you are one of his butt boys all is well. There isn’t even a qualified person in charge to command a serious scene if one should arise. Better hope county is available to save your asses. If lives weren’t at risk…this would be a very laughable situation! Cleaning up and painting doesn’t make a station better…hell, your chief is now on leave with criminal charges…give me a break!
Anonymous says
@ Orlando Firefighhter
I would love to stop by sometime and view the various certs of the members of your Mickey Mouse Fire Department. Keep in mind that the FEMA Independent Study courses are awareness level certs at best, meaning the firefighter can only assist from a safe distance outside the ‘HOT ZONE” and may not participate in any rescue mission or other fireground operation performed inside the hot zone under any circumstances. While filling up your file with all of these hundreds of certificates can appear quite impressive……the information contained within these courses is at best remedial. The only courses that are recognized by NFPA and OSHA for compliance are the ICS 100 and ICS 200, as well as the NIMS 700 series courses. The rest are just good detailed reads with a test at the end!