New Discipline Policy for Texas Responders Involved in Preventable Crashes

Dec. 19--The Austin Fire Department this year has seen a spike in crashes involving fire vehicles that has led the agency to enact a new disciplinary system, which has rankled the firefighters union and has already led to more than 20 suspensions in recent months.

Over the past six years, the department has averaged 54 crashes a year involving fire equipment and vehicles. This year, the department has had 99 crashes. Fire officials have not determined why more collisions have occurred. But they are now collecting crash data, including weather conditions and asking whether the driver was unfamiliar with the vehicle.

The Fire Department says the disciplinary matrix enacted in September is paying off with a 50 percent drop in preventable crashes since it started. But the union said that the count is flawed and that the reactive policy change has led morale to plummet among Fire Department rank and file.

All of the punishments have been relatively light: suspensions and docking three to eight hours of pay, according to disciplinary memos reviewed by the American-Statesman. They might not hit firefighters' billfolds hard, but the resulting disciplinary memos remain in their personnel file for the rest of their career and could hinder their chances of being promoted.

"Punishing somebody for an accident and throwing it out in the media makes it look like this person is a terrible person who did a terrible thing," Austin fire union President Bob Nicks said. "It's not appropriate. It destroys morale. It's very shortsighted and shows an operational disconnect."

A special order from Chief of Staff Tom Dodds obtained by the Statesman showed that leadership at the Fire Department enacted the discipline matrix Sept. 1, in part to streamline the review process for crashes and to establish consistency. In practice, it resulted in the rapid suspension of numerous firefighters.

Since Sept. 16, 23 firefighters have been suspended for their involvement in preventable vehicle crashes. In one case, a fire engine's cab door was left open and hit the wall of a fire station as a fire specialist backed the vehicle into the building. In another, a firefighter drove an engine over a wheel chock, causing damage.

The suspensions are a public humiliation for firefighters who Nicks said would be better served with more training.

The latest penalties came down last week when Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr suspended four firefighters, including a lieutenant who was supervising a fire engine when its driver hit a curb and retaining wall, causing damage to the vehicle. Kerr suspended Lt. Greg Pope three hours for the incident.

A Fire Department spokeswoman said that under the policy, the rate of preventable collisions has dropped 50 percent since Oct. 1. Crashes this year have cost the Department $86,994.76.

The marked rise in crashes is the result of better reporting, Nicks said. Dodds' special order notes that the department launched an electronic data collection tool that is allowing the Risk Management Division to collect information on fleet crashes.

The Fire Department disputes Nicks' characterization, stating that the changes have not led to any overcounting of crashes.

"Collisions under current policy would have been counted previously," fire spokeswoman Michelle Tanzola said. "The key factor is damage; when damage is done, that's when it gets reported."

An examination of 73 crashes from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1 showed that the department had determined that 49 -- about 67 percent -- were preventable. Some crashes resulted in vehicles being taken off the streets for months, which could slow response times, Dodds wrote.

The target of the policy is zero crashes involving Austin Fire Department vehicles. But Dodds said an added benefit is a reduction in hours spent on the full disciplinary process.

Nicks said it is a new standard that leads to pressure being placed on firefighters to accept the prescribed punishment instead of undertaking the full process, which includes investigative interviews with fellow firefighters and their chain of command.

To avoid that embarrassment, many accept the punishment, Nicks said.

"It's stupid," he said.

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