By Ron Menchaca and Glenn Smith
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Charleston Fire Department on Friday released a list of nearly 50 firefighters who were abruptly reassigned this week, prompting fresh criticism that some moves are payback for those who called for change in the wake of the deadly Sofa Super Store blaze.
Names had been trickling out all week, but the city refused to release the list until Friday, when The Post and Courier challenged the withholding of the public document.
The latest criticism comes as a City Council committee is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the flurry of promotions and transfers approved by Fire Chief Rusty Thomas in the waning weeks of his tenure. Thomas announced his retirement May 14, the day before a consulting panel issued a scathing report on the department’s handling of the sofa store fire.
Some city firefighters saw the report as confirmation of concerns they had raised about Thomas’ leadership and the outdated firefighting tactics he and his commanders employed at the June 18 blaze that killed nine city firefighters.
The list of transfers includes several firefighters who have been quoted in the newspaper or featured in local television news interviews talking about safety concerns, the need for a new chief and other issues.
Union members accounted for at least half of the front-line firefighters who were shuffled around with no change in rank. Many of those being moved must not only change stations but shifts as well, requiring them to rearrange their lives around new work schedules.
‘Fair process’
Mayor Joe Riley and department officials have said the process was fair and professional and that the personnel changes had been in the works for several months. They say the transfers were done for no other reason than to ensure all shifts and stations have equal coverage.
 At a time when we need unity, this is not the time to be breaking up families.  | ||
| — Retired Capt. Ricky Koger IAFF Local member | ||
But with the first anniversary of the tragedy right around the corner, some firefighters say the last thing they need is to be uprooted from their stations and pulled away from their closest colleagues.
“Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does,” said Assistant Engineer Bryan Bolick, who was transferred from a West Ashley station to a downtown assignment. “Morale is at all-time low right now.”
The close-knit station houses have provided firefighters a place to grieve and openly express their feelings to people who they know will understand their pain. Many fought side-by-side during the blaze and relied heavily on one another for support in the months that followed.
“At a time when we need unity, this is not the time to be breaking up families,” said retired Capt. Ricky Koger, a vocal member of the local firefighters union.
Aggressive firefighting tactics
Among those being transferred are two brothers whose father, St. Andrews Assistant Fire Chief David Glover, has been critical of Thomas’ leadership. Glover recently appeared on television to express his concerns about the city’s aggressive firefighting tactics. Glover, who has a total of three sons in the department, said he worries about their safety and that of his own men when they must work alongside Charleston firefighters at large blazes.
Glover said he is certain his sons were transferred in response to his comments. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Mark Ruppel, the Fire Department’s public information officer, said the promotions announced this week created staffing gaps that required numerous transfers that could not wait until after the hiring of a new fire chief. “It leaves a lot of holes. There were a lot of positions created, and these transfers were in the works for many months.”
Thomas and his interim successor, Assistant Chief Ronnie Classen, were not available for comment Friday. But the Fire Department issued a written statement reiterating that the transfers “were done with no retaliation or alternative reasons.”
City Councilman Timothy Mallard said he expects council’s Public Safety Committee to take a hard look Monday at the validity of these promotions and transfers because they “seem to be fishy.”
Scott Jainchill was among a handful of firefighters who met with Mayor Joe Riley at the Cannon Street station earlier this month and bluntly urged Riley to release a consultant’s report on the sofa store blaze. Jainchill is sure that’s why he is being moved to a station on James Island and a different shift.
“It’s just a slap in the face,” he said. “To get punished for speaking your mind is about as un-American as it gets.”
Copyright 2008, The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)