WPBFD History

no cost to the occupant. Since eighty percent of all fire deaths occur in homes that do not have working smoke detectors, the program was expected to save lives. Lieutenant Kevin Carter was named Firefighter of the Year for the department in 1990. Carter had joined the department in 1972 and was one of the original fifteen medics assigned to the E.M.S. Division. As a CPR in- structor since 1977, he had trained more than 2,000 peo- ple in this life saving technique. Carter had given untold hours of his off-duty time in such endeavors during his career. He had been named Employee of the Month by the city in April and also honored by the Kiwanis Club for his outstanding service to the community. Two other West Palm Beach firefighters had re- ceived awards from civic organizations earlier in the year. Chris Brown had been named Firefighter of the Year by the American Legion Post 12 for his "dedication to the children of the community." As a CPR instructor, Brown taught both adult and pediatric CPR, and pediatric ad- vanced life support to many health care professionals. He was also active in the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Good Samaritan Hospital's Pediatric Center of Excel- lence, and served as Chairman of the Pediatric Pre- hospital Forum Committee. Brown's leadership in the annual MDA drive helped raise $4,600 for that organiza- tion in 1990. William "Bill" Serey had been selected Firefighter of the Year by the VFW Post 2007. Like Carter, Serey had been one of the department's first medics and CPR instructor. He was also instrumental in establishing the fire department's C.I.S.D. team and the statewide Fire- fighter's Olympics. He had been a Big Brother to a fa- therless child in the Big Brother/Big Sister program. The city had launched another nationwide search for a new chief. Only Widing and Chief of EMS Robert Boike had applied from within the department. The proc- ess was slow, but in November the city announced that Robert B. Rehr would take over the fire department on December 3. He had been selected from seventy-five ap- plicants. Chief Rehr came to West Palm Beach with a lot of experience. He joined the City of Miami Fire Depart- ment in 1964 and served as driver/engineer, lieutenant, captain, chief fire officer, division chief, and fire marshal. After retiring from Miami, he was hired as an assistant chief on the Delray Beach Fire Department in 1988. The forty-nine-year-old veteran would have a starting salary of $65,000 a year, and in light of the events of the past year, would earn every penny of it. He was the first fire chief in West Palm Beach who did not come from the ranks of the department. The new chief had numerous problems to deal with. Interim Chief Widing had been hesitant to make any major changes until a new chief was selected. The

ees' personnel files are kept in City Hall; recruit firefighter candidates from high schools; de- velop an ongoing physical fitness program for firefighters; educate employees on how to file discrimination and harassment complaints, pro- hibit supervisors from dating employees; abol- ish a 1986 policy permitting employees to use city computers for recreation; create a security system for medical records and supplies; and create a category on performance forms to evaluate employees' attitudes toward members of other races and the opposite sex. Somewhere along the line the committee seemed to have lost track of what it was to investigate, or, perhaps it was as many firefighters had told them in the first place, there was no discrimination or sexual harassment in the fire department. After more than six months of interviews and $16,000 to pay for a court reporter, no action was taken against any fire department employee. No one was de- moted or transferred. No one received so much as a letter in their personnel file about inappropriate conduct. The committee had, in effect, found nothing. Committee member Willa Fearrington said, "I have been impressed with the quality of the firefighters." Some committee members did charge city staff members with lying and ignoring requests for information during the investigation. The investigation had caused more harm than good for the dedicated men and women of the department. Even some of the minority and female firefighters found the questions asked by the committee to be leading and picayune. Many were now able to understand how some- one accused of a crime can be tried by the media. The city commission, city manager, and other city officials turned their heads after the report was submitted. No one gave any consolation to the firefighters who had been wrongly accused. But the firefighters had kept their heads high and performed their duties as usual for the citi- zens of West Palm Beach, and in the end it was a proud moment for the department, whether anyone else realized it or not. Chief Russell M. Reese, the original target of the anonymous letter back in January, died in October of 1990. His health problems finally caught-up with him. He was taken to his final resting place on a West Palm Beach fire truck. Trying to return to a more normal routine, the depart- ment launched a new campaign in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week. The Smoke Detector Giveaway Pro- gram allowed residents of the city to have free detectors, donated by local individuals and civic organizations, in- stalled in their homes by firefighters. In the first year more than two hundred units were installed in homes at

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