Seattle fire inspector's misdeeds not unique, records reveal

Lt. Milt Footer, the Seattle fire inspector who resigned last week amid an ethics scandal, isn't the only employee of the city Fire Marshal's Office who was punished for misconduct in the past year.

Another Fire Marshal's Office employee OK'd safety permits for ships he didn't inspect. And a lieutenant in the office admitted to stealing $400 from a Fire Department bank account but says he paid it back, according to city disciplinary records.

But those two employees faced a harsher punishment from their superiors than did Footer, even though an ethics probe found that Footer had abused his position by demanding free backstage passes to a Hannah Montana concert and had failed to bill Qwest Field for nearly $200,000 in fire services.

The Footer case also raised questions about the leadership of Fire Chief Gregory Dean, who rejected calls to punish or transfer Footer, instead giving him only "formal counseling."

A high-ranking Fire Department officer, Jim Woodbury, has accused Dean of demoting him in retaliation for filing a whistle-blower complaint about Footer.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' office rejected the retaliation complaint after an investigation by a private attorney. But Nickels on Wednesday reprimanded Dean for failing to adequately punish Footer's misconduct.

A Seattle Times review of firefighter disciplinary records from January 2008 forward points to mostly minor misdeeds in the 1,100-person Seattle Fire Department.

In all, 23 firefighters received official reprimands, mostly for failing to report for a scheduled shift or for minor accidents. One received a one-shift suspension for failing to show up for work twice within a year. Another 47 firefighters received "formal counseling" — the same penalty that Dean gave Footer — for minor offenses such as lost equipment.

But a few more serious problems were reported within the Fire Marshal's Office, where two firefighters have been suspended for misconduct since the start of 2008. The office is responsible for fire-safety inspections and arson investigations.

In one of those cases, Woodbury — as he did in the Footer scandal — clashed with Dean over what he viewed as lax punishment.

Poor performance

That dispute came in the case of Charles Hawkins, a 25-year department veteran and a former head of the firefighters union, who was suspended one day for signing safety permits for ships he didn't actually inspect.

Hawkins also was faulted for falling asleep at meetings, failing to wear his uniform and using city vehicles for personal errands. Supervisors also suspected him of dishonesty in tracking his hours and whereabouts, records show.

While Hawkins had performed well for much of his career, according to his personnel file, supervisors were suspicious of his work in early 2008, so they spied on him.

On March 26, 2008, Lt. Steve Crothers secretly watched Hawkins during a scheduled inspection at a fishing ship on Salmon Bay. After arriving 45 minutes late, Hawkins talked to a ship crew member, who showed him paperwork indicating a marine chemist consultant had checked out the ship.

Hawkins signed a city permit for "hot work" — activities such as welding or blowtorching that raise fire risks — without going below deck to verify that conditions were safe and that fire extinguishers and water hoses were in place, Crothers reported.

At visits to two other vessels the same day, Hawkins also appeared to give out permits without proper inspections.

When questioned by Crothers later, Hawkins at first claimed he'd gone below deck to inspect the Salmon Bay ship. He later admitted that was false, according to Crothers.

Glitch in training

Hawkins said he and other inspectors had been taught in training that it was OK to rely on the word of a marine chemist in issuing a permit. Although that was not Fire Department policy, Crothers found that some other inspectors shared Hawkins' belief.

Crothers recommended a three-day suspension, citing the improper inspections as well as Hawkins' "deceit" when confronted. Fire Marshal Kenneth Tipler agreed.

Woodbury, then a deputy chief and assistant fire marshal, pushed for a two-week suspension. He wrote that Hawkins had "placed people at risk" and "raised questions of liability for the city."

But Dean settled on a one-day suspension for Hawkins, plus a "performance improvement plan" requiring him to meet all job expectations.

In an interview, Hawkins said he accepted responsibility for his actions, but added: "I performed all of my inspections based off the training that I received.

"Anybody that knows me knows that I would never put the public in harm's way," he said.

"Liberated" money

Another firefighter in the Fire Marshal's Office got a two-day suspension in January after admitting he took department money for personal use.

Lt. Keith Wyatt oversaw the department's cadet program, which gives youths a chance to learn about firefighting through tours, training and ride-alongs on emergency calls.

Wyatt, an alarm-testing officer in the marshal's office, was seeking a transfer to arson investigator, a position that requires a Police Department background check.

During an interview with a Seattle police officer in September, Wyatt volunteered that he had "liberated" $400 from the cadet bank account earlier that year. He said he took the money because his divorce left him unable to pay the security deposit on an apartment. Wyatt made $110,000 in 2008.

Wyatt said he spent $664.29 paying back the cadet fund through deposits and buying supplies. He provided canceled checks and cash-register receipts to support his claim.

Chiefs rule out charge

Dean talked with then-Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, according to a November police report. Because Wyatt paid the money back and the amount involved would be a misdemeanor theft, the two chiefs agreed Dean would handle the incident and no charges would be filed.

"The fact that Lt. Wyatt self-disclosed the misuse of funds leads me to believe that he is genuinely remorseful," concluded then-Fire Marshal Tipler, who retired in March.

In addition to imposing a two-day suspension, Dean removed Wyatt — a 29-year department veteran — from control of the cadet funds. He did not get the investigator position he was seeking.

In a letter to the chief, Wyatt said he would work on making up for his offense "until the day I retire from the department."

Wyatt declined to be interviewed for this story.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com