Idyllwild Fire Protection District Board of Commissioners / Finance Committee

Incidents of accusations: • According to a paramedic reserve (PR), he was doing paperwork in the IFPD break room when the Administrative Captain (ADCAP) told the PR to pose in a sleeping position on a recliner, so he could take his picture as if sleeping on the job. He led the PR to believe the picture was all a “joke.” The ADCAP then sent the picture to the PR’s full-time employer, Pechanga Fire Department (PFD). However, on a conference call with the ADCAP, the PR and the Chief at PFD, the ADCAP denied the “joke” and stated, “The PR begged me to lie to the Chief, so he would not get into trouble at the PFD.” The PR was then placed on disciplinary watch by the Chief at PFD as a result of the statements made by the IFPD ADCAP. • According to sworn testimony, the ADCAP has spread slanderous comments against a reserve firefighter (RF). The ADCAP accused this RF, of unethical behavior and posting pictures on Facebook wearing IFPD property while off duty. Sworn testimony from several firefighters stated these accusations are completely false. On the ADCAP‘s regular day off he contacted several firefighters and asked them to write statements indicating he had never spoken negatively about the RF. • While enroute to a call on October 8, 2012, an accident occurred between IFPD Truck 625 and IFPD ambulance 621. The driver of Truck 625 backed up hitting ambulance 621. There was no ground guide (safety procedure for backing up a vehicle) for Truck 625. The passenger in Truck 625 was the ADCAP when Truck 625 hit ambulance 621. The two ambulance personnel, an RF and a PR, had exited the vehicle and were at the back of the ambulance 621 with the swing doors open when they felt the impact on ambulance

Nonfeasance is a failure to act under an obligation to do so; a refusal (without sufficient excuse) to do that which it is your legal duty to do. The findings are as follows: • The Fire Chief signed an Idyllwild Fire Protection Employment Contract on July 18, 2012, with the Board. According to sworn testimony the Fire Chief was required to obtain his California Paramedic Certification within the first six months of employment. As of the dates of the Grand Jury investigations, the California Paramedic Certification had not been obtained. • The Grand Jury interviewed past and present firefighters with many of the same testimonies regarding the Fire Chief: “Lack of leadership” “Communication does not filter down” “Morale always a problem” “Weak Chief” “The Administrative Captain needs to be doing a lot less and the Chief needs to be doing a lot more” “Supervision is non-existent” • As previously reported in the Grand Jury 2013-2014 report titled “Idyllwild Fire Protection District,” the Administrative Captain has too many job responsibilities. Violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act

On March 18, 2014, three Board members and three members of the IFPD Finance Committee took a trip to Cal-Fire / Riverside County Command Center located in Perris. The Board and Finance Committee members met at the Perris Command Center to discuss the dispatch agreement IFPD has with Riverside County. The trip/meeting of the Board and Finance Committee constituted a quorum. The meeting was neither publically noticed nor open to the public, as required by the Ralph M. Brown Act. According to sworn testimony the Board and Finance Committee members were in violation of the following section of the Ralph M. Brown Act: 54956, which states in part… Twenty-four hour notice must be provided to members of legislative body and media outlets including brief general description of matters to be considered or discussed. Past Riverside County Grand Jury reports have found violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act by the Board.