State of West Virginia

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Building 1, Suite W-400
1900 Kanawha Blvd., East
Charleston, West Virginia 25305
Telephone: (304) 558-2930
Facsimile: (304) 558-6221

JEFF S. SANDY, CFE, CAMS THOMAS L. KIRK

CABINET SECRETARY DEPUTY SECRETARY

Date: Friday, July 19, 2019

To: Stephen T. Williams, Mayor of Huntington West Virginia

From: Jeff S. Sandy, Cabinet Secretary, CFE, CAMS

Re: City of Huntington Fire Department

Background

Mayor Williams contacted Secretary Sandy concerning long term issues with the
operation of the cities fire department. His desire was to have DMAPS conduct a
outside review to include but not limited to the following:

1. Failure to maintain a boat called “Marine One”

2. Failure to maintain fluid levels in a “Engine Truck”
3. Management relations between the Chief and Firefighters that are strained.

DMAPS established a team for this review consisting of:

• Brian Jones, President of the West Virginia Associations of Professional Fire

Fighters
• Elaine Harris, Union Representative of Communication Workers of America
• Ken Tyree, West Virginia State Fire Marshal
• Thom Kirk, Deputy Secretary and General Counsel of DMAPS
• Jennifer Wilson, DMAPS Assistant General Counsel
• Jeff Sandy, Cabinet Secretary DMAPS

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 Preface

It is important to note that although there have been management relations issues; the
daily successes of the department have been tremendous.

As President Jones eloquently stated, “day in and day out the Huntington Fire
Department answers calls and perform their duties at the highest level”.

• The Team concurs with President Jones.

Secondly, Chief Rader and Local Union President Canifax advised the Team that are
both extremely committed to the safety of the Huntington Firefighter and the citizens of
Huntington.

• The Team concurs with Chief Rader and Local Union President Canifax.

Results of Review

The review showed that the improper maintenance of the cities fire fighting equipment
could not be assigned to one individual. A series of failures led to the improper
maintenance. It is of the review team’s opinion these series of failures were the result
of the following:

Issue One and Two

• The “Policy and Procedures” of the City of Huntington Fire Department is

outdated and fails to address who is responsible to oversee the maintenance of
the assets of the department.
• The “Policy and Procedures” of the City of Huntington Fire Department fails to
address a command structure that delegates duties from the Chief to the newest
member.

Recommendations

• Adopt a modern comprehensive “Policy and Procedures”.

• President Jones and Marshal Tyree have offered their services to help the city
introduce new the “Policy and Procedures”.

Issue Three

Management relations between the current and past Chief’s and Firefighters have
been strained and have been an issue for many years.

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 Recommendations

• The current command structure is a flat line with the Chief responsible to address
all the department leaders with no intermediaries. Therefore, the departments
success depends on 100% of the involvement of the Chief.
• The City of Hamden Connecticut for example has a population of 60K and uses
the below command structure. The Team is only using the below command
structure for illustrative purposes.
• No matter what command structure the fire department uses the Chief needs to
empower the upper management of the department, and by doing so, the upper
management will be required to take ownership and be held accountable for the
actions of themselves and their subordinates.

• Marshal Tyree and supported by President Jones and Union Representative

Harris recommends the fire department conduct the below questionnaire.

Staff Interview Questionnaire

1. What is your Department’s Goals and Objectives?

2. Does your Department have a Strategic Plan?
3. What’s the Budget of the Fire Department?
4. Does your Department have Standard Operating Procedures? Does it include an
Organizational Chart?
5. Are all policies within the department fully implemented/followed?
6. Do the SOPs include detailed Job Descriptions for each rank/position within the
Department?
7. Do the SOPs include Administrative, Operations, Equipment Maintenance, and
Financial Management?
8. Does your Department have an established Apparatus/Equipment Maintenance and
Replacement program?
9. Who has the responsibility for the execution of the program?
10. Does your Department have an established Physical Facilities Maintenance
program?
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 11. Does your Department have good communications with your local government
management?
12. Do you have good communication between the fire service leadership and the
remaining rank and file of the department?
13. Has the department shared or ensured that the local governance understands the
department’s mission and goals?
14. Does the Department have a good Chain-of-Command structure to ensure all
personnel have the appropriate responsibilities and an execution of such
responsibilities?
15. Are there adequate positions within the department to ensure the Department
operates sufficiently? If not, what positions should be established to achieve an
efficient and fully operational department?
16. Who administers the budget within the Department?
17. What types of incentives are enjoyed within the Department; ex. Uniform Allowance;
College Incentive?
18. What types of required training is available for the rank of Captain and above?
19. Is the training adequate for each of these ranks?
20. Would you support additional training requirements for each of the said ranks?
21. What type of training do you feel is needed for the success of your Department?
22. Are there any continuing education requirements for the ranks of Captain and above?
23. Please list all positive aspects (Strengths) of the Department?
24. Are there things within the Department that need improvement (Weaknesses)?

• The Team recommends that a “Pier Review Team” comprised by Marshal Tyree,
President Jones, and other respected professional firefighters conduct a review
of the department and make recommendation to the Mayor. Marshal Tyree and
President Jones are willing to jointly chair that team.

Conclusion

The Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety is committed to assist all West
Virginia municipalities for the safety and security of all West Virginia citizens. If you
have any questions, please call Secretary Sandy 24/7 at 304-615-6667.

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