SOUTH OGDEN, Utah — A deputy fire chief was temporarily placed on administrative leave after citing broken air conditioning as a safety threat to firefighters on-duty.
Chief Rick Rasmussen said that for the last seven years the air conditioning frequently doesn’t work, making the station too hot to sleep in.
“When you have sleep deprivation you can’t think well, your motor skills are having problems,” Rasmussen said. “We want our firefighters to go home at the end of shift. We want our citizens to be safe.”
Rasmussen reported the issue to city council members after not receiving the response he wanted from city administrators; he threatened to house firefighters at a hotel.
According to KUTV, Rasmussen’s actions are what caused him to be placed on leave and written up for insubordination.
“I’m under internal investigation,” Rasmussen said, for speaking to the media June 15.
In an official letter from the city’s assistant manager Doug Gailey, Rasmussen could potentially be terminated for contacting the media “about a perceived workplace condition grievance.”
However, Rasmussen claims his concern is not a grievance, but a matter of safety.
“It’s about my firefighters and EMTs,” he said. “It’s about them going home safely in the morning.”
Gailey confirmed that an investigation is taking place, but that it is not the same thing as discipline.
“The investigation is really set up to find out what happened. Was there a policy violation? And then just compare the two and take appropriate action,” Gailey said.
Rasmussen continues to work during the investigation, and hopes it will lead to a permanent fix regarding inadequate air conditioning.