By Deborah Frazier
Rocky Mountain News
Copyright 2007 Denver Publishing Company
EVERGREEN, Colo. — Evergreen Fire Chief Joel Janov resigned Thursday, a day before volunteer firefighters planned to present petitions seeking his ouster.
Janov was unavailable for comment.
“He doesn’t want to be a distraction or a hindrance, so he voluntarily stepped down,” said Jim Licko of Webb Public Relations, the department’s communications consultant.
Janov has been at the center of a conflict between the department’s 85 volunteers and the district board over centralizing decision-making and limiting firefighters’ authority.
The volunteer firefighters, who put in up to 90 hours a month fighting fires and performing rescues, planned to present petitions today seeking Janov’s ouster.
“He saw this coming or the board saw it coming,” said Charles Neppell, a former Evergreen volunteer firefighter who was suspended with three others for speaking to the media about the internal turmoil.
The department’s officers were unavailable for comment.
The volunteer firefighters had twice elected Janov as a volunteer chief, but balked when he was hired to fill the new paid position starting Jan. 1, 2006.
Neppell said firefighters developed qualifications for a chief, but the board ignored the recommendations that called for extensive command experience, firefighting credentials and a degree in fire science or administration.
Janov didn’t have any of those qualifications and in late 2006, the firefighters gave him a “no confidence” vote.
The board responded in December by asking Janov to resign, which he did. But he remained on the job until a replacement could be found.
As of Thursday, the qualifications for the job still hadn’t been determined and the position had not been advertised, said Charles Dykeman, a member of the Evergreen Fire Protection District Board.
Both Neppell and Licko said the conflicts and Janov’s resignation would not jeopardize fire and rescue operations in Evergreen.
“Fire/rescue will carry on as if nothing happened,” Neppell said.
Photo, Joel Janov oversaw 85 volunteer firefighters for the district.