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Charleston's Training Chief Quits; Cites Hostile Work Environment
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CHARLESTON - The Post and Courier reports that the chief in charge of training for the Charleston Fire Department has unexpectedly resigned from his position.
Battalion Chief Jimmy Ghi submitted his resignation Wednesday providing a 10-page list of grievances citing harassment and mis-treatment from the Fire Chief down. Friday will be Ghi's last day with the department.
Stating that Chief Tom Carr had allowed a hostile environment to grow worse, leading Ghi to decide to resign immediately. Public Information Officer Mark Ruppel stated that Chief Carr has spent the past month evaluating the department, making changes and trying to find an appropriate role for Ghi prior to his resignation.
Ghi reports that based on hearsay within the department, and comments from firefighters about his personality, Carr had threatened to fire him. Chief Carr also reportedly made an offer to place Ghi in the field overseeing firefighters, but this offer was later rescinded.
Battalion Chief Jimmy Ghi was hired in March of 2008 by former Chief Rusty Thomas. Ghi brought with him 26 years of experience from the Fairfax County Fire Department in Virginia as a battalion chief and field training officer. Thomas described Ghi as the best of 57 applicants and was part of establishing a safe environment the department needed after the tragic Sofa Super Store fire.
The Post and Courier continues, stating that when Ghi started work in Charleston he discovered resistance and apathy from fire officers and he tried to address deficiencies noted by the Sofa Store expert panel. Ghi believed these hurdles would go away when Carr became Chief in October, 2008. Carr's priorities and reported mixed messages, says Ghi, caused him to change training plans several times. Ghi also says he was called out for training schedule problems: too much at some times, other times not enough.
Ghi was still able to grow the department training program from an eight-day course to an intensive 20-week schedule, in accordance with federal and state standards. Ghi admits that one fault of his own was taking on a class of 50 recruits in 2010. His staff was unable to have enough instructors and some recruits began to complain about gaps in their training.
Post and Courier reports that Carr finds Ghi's resignation "unexpected" and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.
Related
CHARLESTON - The Post and Courier reports that the chief in charge of training for the Charleston Fire Department has unexpectedly resigned from his position.
WCIV-TV Video Interview with Chief Ghi:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Charleston Training Chief Resigns
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Charleston Training Chief Resigns
Battalion Chief Jimmy Ghi submitted his resignation Wednesday providing a 10-page list of grievances citing harassment and mis-treatment from the Fire Chief down. Friday will be Ghi's last day with the department.
Stating that Chief Tom Carr had allowed a hostile environment to grow worse, leading Ghi to decide to resign immediately. Public Information Officer Mark Ruppel stated that Chief Carr has spent the past month evaluating the department, making changes and trying to find an appropriate role for Ghi prior to his resignation.
Ghi reports that based on hearsay within the department, and comments from firefighters about his personality, Carr had threatened to fire him. Chief Carr also reportedly made an offer to place Ghi in the field overseeing firefighters, but this offer was later rescinded.
Battalion Chief Jimmy Ghi was hired in March of 2008 by former Chief Rusty Thomas. Ghi brought with him 26 years of experience from the Fairfax County Fire Department in Virginia as a battalion chief and field training officer. Thomas described Ghi as the best of 57 applicants and was part of establishing a safe environment the department needed after the tragic Sofa Super Store fire.
The Post and Courier continues, stating that when Ghi started work in Charleston he discovered resistance and apathy from fire officers and he tried to address deficiencies noted by the Sofa Store expert panel. Ghi believed these hurdles would go away when Carr became Chief in October, 2008. Carr's priorities and reported mixed messages, says Ghi, caused him to change training plans several times. Ghi also says he was called out for training schedule problems: too much at some times, other times not enough.
Ghi was still able to grow the department training program from an eight-day course to an intensive 20-week schedule, in accordance with federal and state standards. Ghi admits that one fault of his own was taking on a class of 50 recruits in 2010. His staff was unable to have enough instructors and some recruits began to complain about gaps in their training.
Post and Courier reports that Carr finds Ghi's resignation "unexpected" and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jason Smith on
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WOW,That's crazy!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Michael Paschal on
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Recruits complained.?. Send them home.
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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The complexity of coming in from the outside (in a middle management role) is unique and for guys to say "complaints are unacceptable" probably have never been in that situation. You see coming in from the outside in normal circumstances is difficult at best, you have personalities that will automatically see you as an outsider, "we have done it this way forever" non-traditionalist, and that forms from our "in-house" promotional process mentality.
Now add in the super sofa tradgey, and being hired specifically to change attitutdes, culture, training techniques, and operational ways you have been doing your jobs for many years and you can see how the new guy can have the bullseye placed upon his chest.
Taking that job and the tasks involved have many complex dynamics to overcome for any success.
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I agree Mike but he stated he took on a 50 person recruit class and admitted that he didn't have enough trainers to keep the class proficient. Recruits do have the right to complain or critque a program, that is how us professional trainers make programs better for the future.
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That is about right for a lecture based delivery. On practical days with 30, I use 1-Lead instructor and 5-6 instructors to keep the span of control for students supervision to a minimum.
Maximizes learning.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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There's no doubt that there's more to this story than what's reported, however that aside, it's a sad state of affairs that an FD that has gone through the tragedy that they've gone through is resistant to change, etc....
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Permalink Reply by Vic Silverfish on
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They were complaining that there were not enough instructors and that their training was therefore incomplete. This is exactly the kind of thing they should complain about! We keep saying: "Safety, safety, safety!" and "Train like your life depends on it" but when the recruits take this to heart and point out gaps in their training they should just suck it up?
I respectfully disagree.
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Jim,
If I was the guy brought in on the heels of a tragedy like this one, I would think making friends would be the last thing on the list. I'd put a big 8x10 of each dead fire fighter on my wall and make sure I looked at them every day to remind myself why I was there. I'd maybe even put up a photo of their kids just to drive the point home. I'm not there so some career captain can coast his way to retirement. I'm there to make sure we stop making the same mistakes and to make sure no more 8x10 photos go on my wall.
The chief of the department should have backed this guy up. Instead he did the easy thing and is hoping no one else gets killed while he's in charge.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Schroeder on
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Vic,
You have hit the nail right on the head! The reason Chief Ghi was there in the first place, was to honor the fallen by ensuring that the mistakes that were made that killed them would never be done again, and also, be part of the change of the culture or mindset that was responsible for allowing those types of fire-ground actions to begin with.
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Permalink Reply by J Whaley on
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I will readily admit some bias - but I also have perspective that many do not.
While on another department in Charleston County I worked often with CFD. To say their department was cowboy would be putting it mildly. At times a total and blatant disregard for NFPA, OSHA, NIOSH, and safety and smart firefighting in general were common. Would you want to enter a structure fire with someone who only had eight days of formal training? Even the bat chiefs were known to drive their cruisers without seat belts. However I cannot single out CFD - other fire and law enforcement agencies in the area also behave similarly; this was part of my motivation to quit my department when a hazmat event could have gotten lots of us killed. It is a local, institutional attitude. It is also dangerous.
Yes, any outsider coming in would be heading uphill. With CFD that climb is nearly vertical.
My own opinion is that the only solution is a clean slate - purge the entire white-hat ranks and start over with outsiders who owe locals nothing. Yes, it's an extreme option, and it does temporarily diminish the local knowledge of the officer corps - but that can be learned, whereas changing the behavior of those in service now has proven to be impossible. It is painfully obvious that little has worked so far. The Good Old Boy network in Charleston is exceptionally engrained - and it has to be overcome to prevent further deaths.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Kidd on
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You have overlooked an important point here.... Chief Carr was also hired from outside CFD. He was the Chief of Montgomery County (MD) Fire Department before coming to Charleston. Chief Carr is a top shelf, world class Fire Chief, and a very decent guy. I don't know the details here, but I do know Chief Carr, and I know him to be one of the most honorable, knowledgeable and fair people to ever serve as Fire Chief.
So, without knowing any details, I can honestly say that if this guy can't get along with Chief Tom Carr, then he probably is better off seeking employment elsewhere. And more importantly, the CFD will most likely be better off as well. While he wasn't hired to make friends, he was hired to educate and mentor the folks at CFD, who deserve someone who understands that people don't learn when the instructor doesn't give them the utmost respect.
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