EVERETT, Wash. — Three firefighters were reprimanded after transporting a homeless and allegedly intoxicated man from city sidewalk in a fire engine man and leaving the man under a bridge in a nearby town.
The Herald Net reported that the Everett, Wash. firefighters, who are also trained as EMTs or paramedics, were dispatched July 1 to help the man who was drunk and lying on a sidewalk. Firefighters said they had dealt with the man more than 100 times in the past. A fire captain decided to drive the man to a nearby town in the fire engine and left him underneath a bridge with two bottles of water on an 83-degree day.
The firefighters told the man, Kirk Spencer, 51, not to come back to town and to “get off the sauce,” according to the report. On their department logs, the firefighters reported that no patient had been treated or transported.
By the next evening, rumors about how the call was handled reached the fire chief. An internal investigation was initiated to determine whether the patient had been abandoned.
Normally, according to the report, crews called for an intoxicated homeless person conduct a basic medical evaluation and transport the person to the hospital if needed, assuming the patient does not refuse treatment and transport.
During the investigation the firefighters said they had wanted to move Spencer out of the sun, away from alcohol, traffic and the public eye.
After the investigation was completed, the fire captain got a letter of reprimand and the other two firefighters received a warning. Fire department officials didn’t think their actions were criminal, because they “believed the person was not a patient,” according to the report.
“They made a mistake that day,” Fire Chief Murray Gordon said. “I believe we’ve handled (the investigation) appropriately from the very beginning. The message is clear that’s not a level of conduct that we will in any way condone and we’re going to move forward.”
Dr. Ron Brown, a physician who oversees paramedic programs throughout the county, said moving patients in a fire engine, rather than an ambulance, is a discouraged practice.
The Everett Fire Department’s disciplinary practices have come under repeated scrutiny in recent years, in particular involving firefighters accused of misconduct, according to the report. Last year, a former division chief was demoted after being accused of stalking two women, among numerous other troubles on and off the job.
A letter to all fire department staff explains the transport of Spencer was unacceptable.
“Your decisions and actions should be guided by the principle of doing what is in the best interest of the patient, the public, the department and the city,” the letter said. “A good measuring stick for these types of decisions is how they might look on the front page of the paper.”
On Monday, the firefighters union filed a grievance. According to the union, the fire department violated policies in leveling the discipline. They said the fire captain’s letter of reprimand should be removed from his file and he “should be made whole,” the grievance states.
Union President Paul Gagnon issued this statement: “We have developed personal relationships with many of these citizens to ensure their safety and the community’s safety. We will continue to work with local law enforcement and city officials to ensure every consideration to improve public safety for every citizen is our top priority.”