Turmoil at Flagler Beach Fire Department as 5 Firefighters, Including Deputy Chief and Morgan Rainey, Resign

The 12-member Flagler Beach Fire Department is in turmoil and first-year Fire Chief Stephen Cox’s leadership is under scrutiny.

Five of the department’s nine line firefighters have resigned in quick succession, including newly hired Deputy Fire Chief Jennifer Fiveash and storied 14-year veteran Morgan Rainey. A sixth firefighter–who has not resigned–filed a sharply critical complaint about Cox with human resources.

Resignation letters and the complaint point to Cox’s leadership, citing a lack of support and cohesion, intimidation, and concerns over “operational integrity and overall safety.”

Cox says that aside from overwork and low pay the firefighters are contending with, which he acknowledges, he was taken aback by the criticism, considers some of it inaccurate–though he had not yet reviewed all the documents when he was interviewed on Thursday–and not reflective of the totality of the department. He says he was aware that Fiveash had been looking to move out of state but was “completely surprised” by Rainey’s resignation.

City Manager Dale Martin is investigating the department’s work atmosphere and expects to have a more complete picture to share with city commissioners by early next week. “It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this but I look forward to working with members of the fire department and see how we move forward with this,” Martin said. “But public safety remains the number one focus.”

Cox is working with Flagler County Fire Rescue and the Palm Coast Fire Department to fill in for missing personnel when needed, ensuring that the three shifts of three-person crews continue uninterrupted.

Commissioners are aware of the turmoil and the investigation.

“On the surface, what is happening appears to be highly concerning,” City Commission Chair Eric Cooley said, awaiting the city manager’s report. “There is a lot of unpacking to do when it comes to these complex HR-style cases to make sure fully informed decisions can be made. I don’t have enough information, nor is it my place to micromanage employee issues so it would be improper to make a statement on an issue being actively worked on. I am confident the city manager will handle this appropriately and with a high sense of urgency.”

Commissioner R.J. Santore said he was surprised by the resignations, which “raise concerns that I want to understand before drawing conclusions.”

Two of the five resignations are coincidental and unrelated to the three others, Martin said. Carlos Paltronieri was a probationary employee hired in January, had disciplinary issues, and was given the option of resigning, which he exercised on April 13. Bruce Adams, the fire inspector, tendered his resignation on April 17 to take a job in a larger department in Osceola County, the county where his wife had also landed a job.

The other resignation letters and the complaint leave no doubt that the department’s internal cohesion had come undone.

“After careful consideration, I have determined that continuing in this role is not the right fit,” Fiveash wrote Cox on April 15. “This decision is based on professional differences in leadership approach, particularly regarding how I believe employees should be supported and served.” Fiveash credited the line staff but implied that they were not getting “consistent support from their administration in their day-to-day roles,” and suggested a lack of trust.

“There should also be cohesion at the administrative level built on trust, which I believe is critical to effectively leading and supporting the organization,” Fiveash wrote. “Given this misalignment, I believe it is in the best interest of both the department and myself to step away from the position.”

Fiveash’s resignation is not effective until May 8. She had earned $93,000 in fiscal year 2024 as a battalion chief in Palm Coast after gaining rapid promotions when Cox hired her last June. She was earning $99,000 as deputy chief. Her departure directly led to Trey Poeira’s and to Rainey’s, who paired her last day with Fiveash’s.

“With the recent resignation of Deputy Chief Jennifer Fiveash, I no longer feel that the workplace provides a safe or supportive environment,” Rainey wrote, submitting her April 16 letter of resignation to Liz Mathis, the HR director, not Cox. “Remaining under the current leadership, following the absence of Chief Fiveash, has raised serious concerns for me regarding both operational integrity and overall safety. This decision was not made lightly, but it is necessary.”

The day before she wrote her resignation letter, Rainey forwarded to Mathis the complaint filed by Kayla Mullen, who reported that after working a 48-hour shift, Cox directed that she should keep working for an undetermined number of hours past her scheduled shift’s end on April 14.

Mullen reported telling Cox that working beyond 48 hours could be a problem, since there was no state of emergency. “There isn’t a problem and there isn’t going to be a problem,” she said Cox told her, and when she said she’d document the issue, “Chief Cox’s tone got significantly louder and he presented himself as very angry, advising me that he ‘Will document it as well and will lay it all out on the City Manager’s desk as to why a truck needs to be in service and people need to be in the station.’ I felt very uncomfortable and intimidated by Chief Cox’s tone and the way he spoke to me. Chief Cox has never spoke[n] to me in that way before.”

Cox was aware of the complaint. “That incident occurred when we were running into a staffing issue,” he said. He disagrees that he lost his temper, and is working with HR. “In my belief, there was some wrongdoing on her behalf. Obviously, we’re looking into it,” the chief said. He was critical of anonymous complaints that have been disseminated on social media, the most pointed of which accuses him of having sat in his truck during a fire call.

Mullen is not quitting, and other remaining firefighters, Martin said, are committed to the city. Martin is investigating the exodus, interviewing each firefighter in turn. He does not expect any of the firefighters who resigned to reconsider.

Martin said from his findings, Adams’s wish to leave predated the current turmoil and have to do with professional advancement in a larger department. Two other firefighters have talked to him about low pay and health benefits, an issue Martin is prioritizing in budget discussions this year with the city commission.

This year, line firefighters’ salaries range between $48,000 and $59,600. Lt. Greg Evans is earning $59,761, Rainey was earning $73,710. The resignations will almost certainly help make Cox’s case, if he is still there to make it, for better pay, unless Martin’s findings uncover graver concerns that could potentially overshadow the pay matter, or give the commission cover to ignore it by blaming the resignations on Cox’s leadership.

“The two most concerning,” Martin said of the resignations, “were from Deputy Fire Chief Fiveash and Lt. Rainey. That appears to have more professional issues than the other ones did, so I’m kind of asking my way around and finding out what’s the basis for this, and learning from people.” He has called on Volusia County Fire Department Deputy Chief Megan Courtier, who had been a member of the oral board that recommended Cox’s hiring, to help with the investigation, particularly to determine why the professional relationship soured between Fiveash and Cox.

Asked if he had confidence in Cox, Martin said: “I think there’s still confidence there, but that’s part of the investigation. I need to find out what is part of the problem.” In other words: the city manager has not yet reached a conclusion on that score. Martin says his door is always open to staff across the city, but he had not, until now, heard from any firefighters having issues in the department.

Cox has also spoken with several of the firefighters and encouraged Martin to investigate. “We have to look at the big picture, look into it,” Cox said. “I’ve been working with the city and I encouraged them to look into it and we’ll go from there.”

He said there’d been an issue with Fiveash when the deputy fire chief “planned on shutting down the fire truck for a portion of the day, and I had to override that decision,” Cox said. “That’s why we have some staff working extra hours.” Reviewing the matters surrounding the exodus, he said that as he saw it, one firefighter brought up his leadership, another brought up departmental culture, but the common denominator is staffing issues. “We have not been fully staffed for a year, our team has been working around the clock for a year,” he said.

Cox appeared stunned by the sudden complaints. “If there were any issues of concern, I feel they should have been brought up” in previous weeks or months. “There is no documentation regarding that.” His first evaluation as fire chief last September, by Martin, gave him an overall rating of “exceeds expectations.”

“Chief Cox has introduced a renewed professionalism and enthusiasm to the City of Flagler Beach Fire Department,” Martin concluded in his evaluation. “The officers and firefighters are a small, close-knit cadre and deserve to be further recognized for their contributions to the quality of life in Flagler Beach.” Martin cited “enhanced professionalism and training” focused on safety, but noted continuing financial challenges, from pay to equipment to long-term building conditions.

Martin elevated Cox to chief 13 months ago after Cox spent 15 years making his way up from firefighter-paramedic to deputy chief under former Chief Bobby Pace.

In Cox’s last evaluation by Pace, he’d received an overall evaluation score of 3.56–“meets expectations.”