By Nick Moffitt
Clinton Herald
CLINTON, Iowa — A recent report showing nearly 2,000 improperly issued fire certifications in Iowa will have little effect on the Clinton Fire Department.
Clinton Fire Chief Mike Brown said only four members of the Clinton Fire Department will have to take any of the retest options. Three of those are entry-level firefighters and one is an engineer with the CFD.
While the testing is not required by the state for firefighters, Brown called the testing important for the department and the CFD does require local firefighters to complete training through the organization.
“Just so that everyone is clear, the certificate testing program is very important to us at CFD. The firefighter one and two certifications, as well as the Hazardous Material Operations are required within one year of employment,” Brown said in a memo to Clinton City Administrator Matt Brooke.
A release from the Fire Service Training Bureau said that an investigation into the “irregularities in the documentation of the scoring of exams” has been taking place since April 2016.
The review found that 2,278 of 9,231 certifications between 2012 and 2016 were found to have been issued in error and will need to be retaken. Brown said the FSTB has indicated they will offer the retesting at no charge to the department.
The FSTB said in the future there will be additional checks and balances in the testing and scoring process. In the release, it stated third-party scoring will now be used for all exams and more oversight to the accreditation program has been added.
One of those involved with the scoring issues, John McPhee, was charged with felonious misconduct in office, a class D felony, and tampering with records, an aggravated misdemeanor. McPhee was previously placed on administrative leave in April 2016.
Brown said it is fortunate that it doesn’t have a huge effect on the department.
“It showed our guys are pretty darn smart,” he said.
Going forward though, Brown said in the memo, the department will continue to get certification through the bureau and consider it an asset.
“The Fire Service Training Bureau has been a tremendous asset to us over the years. We certainly feel bad for them in this time of conflict, and will do whatever we can to help them through it,” Brown said.
Copyright 2017 the Clinton Herald