By Richard Rainey
The Times-Picayune

NEW ORLEANS — When questions surfaced last fall that incident reports within the 3rd District Volunteer Fire Department had somehow been mishandled, Jefferson Parish administrators hoped the firefighters themselves could answer them.

When no official response had come by January, Jefferson Parish administrator Deano Bonano promptly quit his role there as a volunteer firefighter.

Bonano had been with the 3rd District about a year. He had no rank. He said he was not a member of the district's governing board. He was only a volunteer, a licensed firefighter. However, soon he would assume the more substantive role as a chief investigator of the allegations against department personnel.

"I resigned because of this upcoming investigation," Bonano said Monday. "That was to avoid any conflict of interest."

The Parish Council greenlighted the inquiry at its Feb. 27 meeting, after Parish President Aaron Broussard's administration received complaints from inside the department about allegedly doctored reports on fires. As chief administrative assistant for emergency services, Bonano has the duty of carrying out the administration's end of the inquiry. Parish Attorney Tom Wilkinson said last week that he would meet with Bonano to discuss how to proceed.

Parish officials said Monday they have no concerns with a former volunteer firefighter in the department having a role in the investigation of the 3rd District.

"Absolutely the parish president has complete confidence in Deano and the parish attorney . . . to do a completely fair investigation of this," said Bert Smith, the deputy chief administrative officer. He also said the administration would speak to any 3rd District leaders who had concerns about the inquiry.

The district, which includes neighborhoods in south Metairie and all of River Ridge, is a mostly volunteer force with only a handful of paid employees. It is governed by a board of voting members, and its daily incident reports are eventually sent to the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana, which sets fire insurance ratings statewide and audits local departments every five years.