PRESCOTT VALLEY (AZFamily) — Firefighters in Yavapai County are expressing anger with Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority Chief Scott Freitag, who has been accused of bullying and harassment, inadequate staffing and failing to address and mitigate the risk of firefighter cancer.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, a union representing more than 350,000 firefighters and emergency personnel in North America, voted unanimously at its annual convention to censure Freitag.
More than 2,500 delegates condemned the chief’s actions.
Freitag said he was hurt by the decision and claimed he was not given a chance to defend himself.
“I did not see this coming,” Freitag said. “I had no opportunity to refute any of the charges or allegations made against me at any point.”
Freitag has been accused of failing to update cancer prevention techniques, sending fire engines to scenes with fewer than the recommended four personnel, and creating a hostile work environment where rank-and-file members feared retaliation.
“Every cancer preventative measure that we can take within our funding structure at older stations, we are undertaking those projects,” Freitag said. “I have never heard of claims of hostile bullying, harassing behavior by me to any of our members.”
Freitag mentioned one hostile work environment claim that’s still pending.
“It was filed against the battalion chief, however I was named as part of it. That investigation is concluding. We fully expect that I will be exonerated of all charges in that document which were minimal if you look at what the submittal said,” he said.
Freitag added that staffing challenges are not unique to his agency but are a nationwide issue.
“If the basis for censure is that our agency cannot provide four-person engine companies 24/7, 365 days a year, then nearly every fire chief across the country should be up for censure for the same thing,” Freitag said.
Freitag said he has had no other complaints in the decade he has served as fire chief.
However, Don Jongewaard, president of the Professional Firefighters of Arizona, the local chapter of the IAFF, said Freitag has faced three hostile work environment claims and received a cease-and-desist letter from the IAFF and the Professional Firefighters of Arizona.
Jongewaard accused Freitag of systematically destroying the department’s morale and ruling with an iron fist.
“He has had a doubling of the budget and has not added a fire station or an increase in the line personnel that respond to the emergencies,” Jongewaard said. “He has instead used that money to get a 60% salary hike for himself, up to $200,000 per year.”
Freitag denied these claims, stating that staffing issues are caused by a lack of available applicants and that the budget is used for cancer prevention and additional resources.
Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority said it would review the information and address any concerns arising from the censure.
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Publish date : 2024-08-30 18:17:00
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