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Allegations have been made that a large group of volunteers were very
recently forced to resign from ECFR. Disturbingly, it appears as if
ECFR personnel initiated unsolicited contact
with the volunteers' employer to express "concerns" for the safety
and well-being of these volunteers. This led to a mass exodus of
capable and qualified volunteers. |
"I am not into politics, I just want to serve the community while I am here. What I am sharing with you are just the facts and so that's why I'm sharing them with you--because some things have happened that are not right and some of the other volunteers suggested I share this information with you and administrator Gilley." said the young man across from me with whom I had spoken over the telephone the day before.. "It's not right what they have done, and hopefully by letting the policy makers and the administrator know about this-- the issue can be fixed for the next group of volunteers." he said.
This young man, who asked to remain anonymous, will be leaving Pensacola this month. He has been here over the last 11 months in training. While here, his goal was to serve the community during his down-time as a volunteer firefighter with ECFR. "Not only was I able to become certified between April of 2019 and September of 2019--I was able to get dozens of my counterparts to sign up to volunteer as well." he stated. "I really enjoyed running calls with ECFR--let me be clear about that." he stated emphatically.
Beginning in September, upon his certification, he began to volunteer at Station 7 in Ferry Pass. He was running calls and really enjoyed the opportunity to serve in this capacity while here. "My family is out of state so instead of just going home each day after work, I wanted to do something for the community and becoming a volunteer firefighter was a great fit" he explained.
But this great situation came to a screeching halt in early January.
"Something changed and me and all the guys I recruited to serve with me were told we had to resign."
I asked, rhetorically, why?
Why in the world would ECFR try to push dozens of young, physically able and motivated volunteers to resign? Why would they do this when we see on TV, in the PNJ, and online the trope of "we don't have enough volunteers" and "volunteers are not reliable?"
Then the young man went on to detail some cringeworthy anecdotes about the way he saw volunteers treated as the relationship soured between the paid firefighters and the volunteers.
"We would walk into (station 7) and be like 'hello gentlemen' and the career firemen that were there would not even look at us, they wouldn't even acknowledge our presence--maybe they might grunt-but they would not even look up at us." he stated. "It got to a point where we didn't feel welcome or appreciated. At one point, I was told I could not drive one of the vehicles, even though I had become fully qualified and was permitted to do so. A supervisor with ECFR heard me on the radio and called down to the station to say 'you can't drive that vehicle.' My volunteer chief went to bat for me, and they had it out over the phone. It was pretty shocking and by the time they got it figured out and that I was entitled to drive this vehicle--I just wanted to go home for the day at that point."
"Several volunteers put in for transfers to other stations, but these requests were flatly denied." he stated.
"I watched other volunteers, ones that are fully certified, be told they could not ride on trucks with the career crews." he said.
Eventually, many of the men that had volunteered did resign--but this particular young man would not. That's where the story gets particularly concerning to me. "Personnel from ECFR called my employer and my boss's boss to include the safety officer and expressed concern for my 'safety' if I continued to volunteer for the county on my 'free time.'" he stated. Then, I saw some of the same men who pushed out all my volunteers get on the news and say 'we are short on personnel'--which is total BS." he stated.
"I did not just do this without any thought at all---I had permission to do this from my direct supervisor. But the fact that they called a higher-up to suggest me and my peers not volunteer--that was just too much to let slide-so that's why we are talking, that's what I want you to know before I leave. I'm not in a position to challenge the higher-ups that are my bosses--but someone should find out why ECFR called them--I mean--riding a motorcycle to work is more dangerous. Scuba diving is more dangerous. There are a lot of things that are a lot more dangerous that me and my peers do."
"Will you look into this and fix it for the next group of volunteers?" He asked me as we finished lunch.
Yes is the answer to that question.
Janice Gilley has been made aware of this incident, she has met and spoken to this individual, and she has engaged appropriate staff to launch an investigation into this matter.
Coming up in part II--other serious allegations of mistreatment of volunteers and a total curtailment of training opportunities that are preventing able and willing volunteers from earning certification to volunteer with ECFR. All of this will be explored in depth, and we will get to the bottom of this.
