Morgan McKenzie
Greeley Tribune, Colo.
EVANS, Colo. — The Evans Fire Protection District terminated former Evans Fire Chief Nick Siemens after an investigation revealed staff reported a damaging management style and lack of performance.
A personnel file recently received by the Greeley Tribune via an open records request includes termination records regarding Siemens’ departure, which was preceded by complaints from staff throughout the district, according to the records.
The district board fired Siemens during a special meeting on Dec. 16 after he served in the role for more than six months. Board President Mary Achziger, Vice President David James, Secretary Marty Schanwolf, Treasurer Tricia Watson and Director Tim Naylor voted unanimously for Siemens’ termination.
His termination became effective on Jan. 1. At the time, Evans Fire Protection District business manager Sharon Bowles said she was unable to release information regarding the decision.
Records showed that many staff members sent Achziger and other board members complaints about Siemens before the investigation into his leadership. One letter from a handful of firefighters stated:
“This letter is being written to express growing concerns from the firefighters about the direction that the District is headed. The morale around the station has been declining and without intervention is going to become detrimental to the future of the District. The team-based and supportive environment that has been fostered is disintegrating because of poor communication, lack of trust and respect and division.”
As a result, the board hired a personal committee to investigate five letters of concern regarding Siemens and interviewed nine members of the district on the matter. Afterward, the committee created a report and recommendations file, which found that the concerns were expressed in writing by 90% of the membership.
When analyzing the interviews, several trends emerged, according to the file:
- Siemens’ communication style and practices were not fitting with the district’s culture;
- Siemens exhibited a lack of transparency and consistency in decision-making;
- The culture became one of fear and distrust that interfered with the membership’s abilities to perform the duties in their positions;
- Members felt unsafe and insecure in their positions.
Additionally, the committee asked Siemens to provide a written response to the claims for the chance to either dispute or verify the concerns, but the committee found his response seemed to “substantiate” the staff’s concerns.
The report highlighted two main concerns stemming from Siemens: damaging management style and lack of performance.
Damaging management
Many staff members reported personnel issues and performances had been discussed by Siemens without members’ knowledge or presence as an attempt to gain information. One redacted source said their credibility was demeaned and challenged by Siemens to other members, according to the report.
Fire district staff felt excluded in decision-making and repeatedly requested involvement. The absence of other members’ input had led to the misperception of practices several times.
In Siemens’ interview, he said: "...I have observed that Chief Pristera appears to have had a communication style where every member of every rank knew everything that was happening in the district. My communication style is slightly different. I believe that firefighters should have a ground-level view of what is happening in the organization, the captains should have a 1,000-foot view of the organization and the fire chief should have a 10,000-foot view of the district.”
On multiple occasions, Siemens reportedly eavesdropped on conversations at the station, which resulted in members taking to communicating over text. Examples of alleged eavesdropping include:
- Siemens was found in a corner of his office with the lights off and listening to what was being discussed in the meeting room.
- Many members reported hearing the door open while they were upstairs, but no one came up the stairs and they instead found Siemens lurking on the stairs, believed to be listening to them.
- He was found standing in the training room near the door to the hallway, unseen in a corner and suspected to be listening to what was being said in the offices.
In addition, members described Siemens as exhibiting “knee-jerk” reactions, as he seemed to appear paranoid that members were sabotaging his efforts, according to the report.
Poor management also entailed instances of untruths, according to members. For instance, Siemens requested information from members and claimed the board requested the information, but the board reported that to be untrue.
Furthermore, Siemens allegedly created a harmful environment for employees by lying about members complaining about each other. The report detailed allegations he made several intimidating comments to members, stating things such as, “Oh, you still work here? Well, we’ll have to change that.”
Overall staff described his communication as “inconsistent, incomplete and oftentimes disrespectful or rude.” The communication issue had been addressed several times by members, but Siemens never made efforts to fix the problem.
Lack of performance
The fire chief job description states: “Takes the role of an incident commander or as the District’s representative ... during major incidents.” However, members reported Siemens failed to comply with this role, according to the report.
During a fatal structure fire, Siemens let others take on the role of incident commander, while he handed out water bottles. Despite being asked to do so, he failed to take any action to relieve the on-duty crews or schedule critical incident debriefing for them after the incident.
A member reported he also attempted to make contact with Siemens several times by radio and phone during a large structure fire, but the chief never responded and allegedly turned off his communication devices.
In the past, Siemens even admitted to members that he was not comfortable with acting as incident command, the report said. His staff said he never took on the role in his six-plus months as chief.
One member shared that Siemens, before his termination, was still unable to use the dispatch technology and could not receive reports without help.
Siemens created, “a work environment that lacks trust, creates fear and will result in a mass exodus of employees if not remedied,” according to the report.
During Siemens’ final address to the board, he denied the “vague and incomplete charges” against him.
“For the past six-plus months I have poured my heart and soul into this fire district to make it a better place, and the board has already determined they intend to terminate my employment based on the comments of members who are not happy with growth and change,” Siemens said in his final address. “I assure you; some would not have been happy had we remained stagnant, either.”
Fire Marshal Joe DeSalvo immediately replaced the former chief after the December board meeting as interim fire chief.
Siemens received paid leave until his termination, according to the meeting minutes. During the following business day after the meeting, he received instructions on cleaning out his office. He was also required to share the passwords to any devices he had and the district’s YouTube channel with Bowles.
DeSalvo will remain in the interim chief role while the board reviews the recruitment process and the timeline for hiring a full-time chief, according to Bowles. The process is expected to be completed in several months.
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