Lee Bonorden

Austin Daily Herald

The fate of Austin Fire Chief Dan Wilson no longer remains uncertain after an alleged misuse of a fire truck earlier this year.

After a lengthy closed-doors meeting of the Austin Fire Civil Service Comm-ission Friday afternoon, a statement was issued saying the fire chief will not be reprimanded for a June 29 incident.

In the statement, the commission said its investigation concluded Wilson's actions were "inappropriate," but "did not warrant imposition of disciplined upon Chief Wilson."

The fire chief was accused of driving a city-owned fire truck June 29 to take a bride and her groom from the church where they were married to the site of their reception, both within the Austin city limits.

Fire trucks also have been used to visit children's birthday parties, to adjust flags on poles and perform other non-fire emergency tasks.

The city has no policy, concerning use of its fire apparatus.

John Beckman, attorney for the city, wrote the statement after the nearly two-hour closed-meeting Friday afternoon.

As of Saturday afternoon, Wilson had not seen the statement and said, "I have no comment."

The fire chief did acknowledge 2nd Ward council member Jeanne Poppe, chairperson of the council's fire committee, has called for a policy on use of city-owned fire apparatus to be developed. Wilson said he is willing to "sit down with the fire commanders and develop a policy."

James Cavanaugh, chairman of the fire civil service commission, declined comment Saturday, saying "The statement speaks for itself."

Cavanaugh did say the commission, including members Ken Howe and Steve Booher, did reconvene in open session after discussing the personnel matter behind closed doors "as required by law."

With Tricia Wiechmann's, acting as a secretary for the commission, and Beckman's assistance, the statement was drafted and approved later Friday night.

In other action Friday afternoon, the commission members reviewed the list of eligible applicants for on-call, part-time paid firefighter positions.

The current list has 22 names, according to the fire chief. However, he also said two have indicated they will resign.

Wilson told the commission members, 24 was the "ideal" number of part-time firefighters needed to supplement the full-time ranks of firefighters.

He also said one of the most important criteria for the part-timers was their ability to respond from their home or place of work to a fire emergency within the allowed 10 minutes.

One-by-one, the commission members reviewed the possible names of part-timer firefighters. When they were finished, a list of seven possibilities was made and the commission's secretary, Tricia Wiechmann, a city human resources specialist, was instructed to contact the candidates to see if they were interested in assuming the positions in the Austin Fire Department.

In a related matter, commission member Howe announced current city firefighters had questioned the city's 10-minute response time restriction.

Wilson said all firefighters, both full- and part-time, were advised of the restriction when they were hired.

Mattice said the 10-minute restriction isn't currently being "enforced."

Cavanaugh said the commission has three options.

"We can enforce it, fix it or eliminate it," he said.

Mattice said he favored changing it. According to the firefighters' union president, 20 minutes may be excessive, but "15 minutes may be realistic."

Two current firefighters are apparently in violation of the rule. One lives in Rose Creek and the other lives along Mower County No. 25 or 11 minutes from the fire station in Austin.

The fire chief said the original rule established in the 1970s was that all firefighters had to live within the Austin city limits. "Then, in 1989 it was changed and a time limit put on everyone. It's 10 minutes for the part-time firefighters, 15 minutes for the full-time firefighters," he said.

Paul Behn, a veteran full-time firefighter, asked the commission why they are allowing two current firefighters to "break the law" by living outside the 10-minute limit.

Cavanaugh said it is a function of the time limit to ensure enough people can respond to a fire emergency.

Mattice formally asked the commission to consider a motion to change the time limit rule, but no commission member agreed and the discussion ended.

Roxana Orellana and Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2214 or 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:newsroom@austindailyherald.com