Scott Schwebke
The Orange County Register
Jeff Dart’s recurring nightmare envelops him like a wildfire typically striking just before the first rays of sunlight peek through the gray blinds of his darkened bedroom in Tustin.
In the paralyzing dream that leaves his heart racing, the decorated 23-year veteran of the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District is behind the wheel of a parked fire engine while his supervisor, Capt. Jesse Martinez, is screaming at him.
“It’s like I am stuck in mud,” Dart said in a phone interview. “It’s like the gas pedal is rubber and the fire engine isn’t moving.”
Firefighters instinctively rush to the aid of the injured and those in harm’s way, especially if they see an emergency unfolding. “We took an oath to protect the citizens of San Bernardino,” said Dart, who as an engineer is responsible for maintaining and operating fire engines. “If we see smoke, we don’t wait to be called by dispatchers.”
It’s exactly that duty that’s tormenting Dart. He can’t reconcile his role in carrying out an order from Martinez on Sept. 14, 2020, to leave the scene of a car crash his crew witnessed from an I-15 overpass that injured two motorists.
“I’m disappointed in myself in not doing what was right,” Dart said. “I’m second guessing myself and am constantly wondering if I am a weaker person than I thought I was.”
Rocky relationship and a ruse
The relationship between Dart and Martinez was already strained prior to the crash.
Dart had complained for weeks to Martinez, who is divorced, that he shouldn’t be bringing the women he was dating to fire Station 79 in Fontana to watch TV, bring in meals and participate in impromptu ridealongs.
Specifically, Dart feared contracting COVID-19 from the visitors, who were often unmasked, and then passing the virus onto his 13-year-old daughter, who has a compromised immune system due to a medical condition.
“Capt. Martinez treated the fire station like the Playboy Mansion,” Dart said. “I started documenting his bad behavior.”
Dart recalled that hours before the car crash incident, Martinez had criticized him, threatening to write him up for performing poorly and said he would be required to complete a driving exercise later that afternoon on an I-15 overpass..
Around 5 p.m. Dart, Martinez and firefighter Gil Cruz got into the station’s new Medic Engine 79 and ambled onto Coyote Canyon Road past an American flag that snapped in the light breeze atop a tall pole that stood sentinel outside the fire station. Dart drove less than a half-mile and parked the engine on the I-15 Duncan Canyon overpass above the northbound lane.
It was only then that Martinez explained the training exercise was a ruse and the crew was there to waive flags as a funeral procession carrying the body of U.S. Army Sgt. Tyler Shelton of Apple Valley, killed in a Black Hawk training crash off San Clemente Island, passed underneath.
Defying orders
Martinez also disclosed that fire district Battalion Chief Mike O’Bier had expressly told him not to attend the procession because the event organizer didn’t follow proper procedures in arranging for Engine 79’s participation, Dart said.
In a two-hour recorded interview on Oct. 7, 2020, with fire district human resources representative Chrysanthemum Nguyen and Battalion Chief Bryant O’Hara, Dart outlined his allegations of dereliction of duty against Martinez — and his frustration.
“He put me through all that stress (of preparing for a training exercise) and used me to defy a direct order from Chief O’Bier,” he said in the recording obtained by the Southern California News Group.
Last week, Dart received a letter from the fire district indicating it had completed its investigation into his allegations, but he hasn’t been told whether Martinez was disciplined. Martinez, reached by phone, declined to comment.
The San Bernardino County Fire District is taking Dart’s allegations seriously, spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said Thursday, Aug. 5.
“The District is aware of the incident and has conducted an objective and thorough investigation and this administrative matter has been addressed with all involved parties. Due to privacy reasons, we are not at liberty to comment on personnel issues,” she said in a statement.
Engine 79’s crew had only only been on the overpass for about 10 minutes when the procession that included numerous motorcycles, cars and a hearse approached. Suddenly, the firefighters saw a crash on the highway below.
The crash occurred when a woman in the procession driving an Acura was unable to stop for slowing traffic and struck the rear of a Chevrolet driven by a male, according to the California Highway Patrol. Both motorists were taken to a local hospital for minor injuries. Their identities were not released by the CHP.
Martinez seemed panicked by the crash, later saying he may have been responsible because the injured woman, who was the mother of his former fianceé, was distracted after spotting him on the overpass, Dart recalled.
Fleeing the scene
“As soon as the crash happened, Capt. Martinez had a look like we have to go,” Dart told the Southern California News Group.
While Engine 79 was leaving, a pregnant woman who had been watching the procession with her family ran into the street and flagged the fire truck down to tell the crew those hurt in the crash needed help.
But Martinez insisted that the engine head immediately back to the fire station, said Dart, who was torn over whether to follow the captain’s unusual order or disobey it and drive to the crash location.
Ultimately, Martinez had Dart park at the corner of Beech and Cherry avenues, less than a half-mile from the I-15 on-ramp and just south of the collision.
Dispatch records show dispatchers first received a report of the crash from eyewitnesses at 5:29 p.m. and, four minutes later, sent fire units from Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga to look for the collision. However, firefighters were unable to locate it because dispatchers had been given an incorrect location.
Dart found it agonizing to sit in the fire truck listening to emergency radio traffic and not knowing if anyone had been seriously injured.
“It was so frustrating,” Dart said in the human resources interview. “I don’t know what he (Martinez) was doing (or) thinking..... because he knew he was in trouble. He knew he was in a place he shouldn’t have been.”
For a full 13 minutes, Engine 79 remained idle even though its crew was the closest to the crash. Finally, at 5:42 p.m., Martinez signed on to the call, telling dispatchers he would look for the crash while pretending to be unaware of its location, Dart said.
Despite the lengthy delay, Engine 79 was the first emergency vehicle to arrive at the crash site. The crew helped place the injured in ambulances.
Later that night, Martinez received a phone call from O’Bier, who had seen on social media that a large number of emergency responders were at various locations along the procession route. He apologized for not sending Engine 79, according to Dart.
Unlawful order
It appears Martinez’s order to leave the crash location was unlawful, said Gary Ludwig, chief of the Champaign, Illinois, Fire Department and past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
“Some orders are unlawful since they are a direct contradiction to the sworn oath a firefighter takes, department policies and procedures or even, in some places, a local or state law,” he said in an email. “Obviously, the captain made numerous errors in judgment, starting with the decision to take the truck to the funeral in direct contradiction of an order received from the battalion chief.”
The day after the human resources interview, Dart transferred from Station 79 to another station in Upland to avoid retaliation from Martinez. Then, on June 1, he requested emergency leave after suffering a panic attack when San Bernardino fire stations were placed on lockdown after a firefighter shot and killed a fellow firefighter in Los Angeles County
Dart hasn’t been back to work since and awaits a decision on a workers’ compensation claim for stress-related symptoms He continues to beat himself up for not having the courage to stand up to Martinez.
“I want redemption,” he said. “I want to get past my guilt.”
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