Union Blames Budget Cutbacks for Fire Death : Labor: A Westminster fire captain says reduced staffing has compromised public safety. City officials assail his claim.

Officials of the beleaguered Westminster firefighters union charged Friday that the City Council’s decision to cut the Fire Department budget some months ago has compromised public safety and contributed to the fire-related death of a mentally disabled man two days ago.

“This tragedy is the direct result of the mayor and council placing politics above the safety of the people,” Capt. Mike Garrison, director of the Westminster Firefighters Assn., said during a news conference at Fire Station No. 2, in the heart of Little Saigon.

Mark D. York, 33, died early Thursday evening as flames engulfed the rear of Christian Residential Care, a board-and-care home on Candlewood Street. His body was found in a bathroom on the bottom floor of the two-story structure.

The bold charge about York’s death brought a swift rebuke Friday from City Council members, including two who are targets of a recall drive backed by city firefighters. They said the firefighters are using the York case to argue their point even though it has yet to be determined whether there was any chance York could have been rescued.

“I find it somewhat disturbing that the union can reach this type of conclusion when the investigation by the state fire marshal has not been concluded,” said Councilman Craig Schweisinger, who faces a recall drive because he voted to cut the fire service budget. “It’s apparent this union official would stoop to anything to maintain their money and power grab in the city,” he added.

Westminster Battalion Chief Chief Glen Hines said the state fire marshal is investigating the fire because the building was a state-licensed facility. Any conclusion about York’s death or the cause of the fire is premature, he said.

Garrison said during the conference that staff cuts at the station nearest Christian Residential Care meant that there were not enough firefighters to conduct an adequate search of the building immediately after they arrived.

Holding up two melted fire helmets and face masks, he said that the first team was driven back by intense heat because there was no second crew to punch holes in the roof and vent the heat from the burning interior.

“It is the professional opinion of not only the Westminster Firefighters Executive Board but the on-scene battalion chief that had Station 2’s (second engine) . . . been in service, this fatality would not have happened,” Garrison said.

One of two fire engines previously stationed at the firehouse was removed from service after city officials--concerned over excessive overtime costs--ordered spending cuts.

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Friday’s assertions about the tragedy represent some of the strongest public statements firefighters have made in a bitter ongoing dispute with the City Council over staffing and over whether department personnel improperly billed the city for inordinate amounts of overtime.

Firefighters say the city and new Fire Chief John T. DeMonaco Jr. are simply out to break their union. City leaders contend that the Fire Department has been poorly managed for years.

Several months ago, the City Council asked the Orange County district attorney’s office to look into whether firefighters and their superiors improperly collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime pay. An investigation of that matter is under way.

Garrison predicted Friday that the district attorney will not find any evidence that firefighters improperly claimed overtime pay or engaged in any broad scheme to defraud the city.

Suspicions about fraud were raised last month when city auditors disclosed that about $1 million in overtime was paid in fiscal year 1991-92 (the overtime budget had been set at about $710,000).

The audits indicated that some firefighters, some of them high-ranking, had been collecting $20,000 to $40,000 a year in overtime pay. City officials say they suspect that some firefighters were paid overtime for hours that were never worked and improperly collected cash for sick leave.

Union President Paul Gilbrook is facing termination proceedings after a city investigation indicated he collected money for sick leave he had used and had driven a fire engine when his driver’s license was suspended. Gilbrook has denied any wrongdoing.

In an effort to overhaul the department and reduce overtime, the City Council passed a reorganization plan last summer that took one ladder truck out of service at Station 2, eliminated six firefighter positions, and made use of floaters to reduce overtime.

After the plan went into effect, a recall drive was launched against Mayor Charles Smith and council members Schweisinger, Charmayne Bohman and Tony Lam. About 7,000 signatures are needed to qualify the recall for the ballot.

Representatives of the firefighters association, which represents everyone on the 63-member department except the chief, say they back the recall movement because the council’s efforts to streamline the fire service have seriously jeopardized public safety. They say the council’s failure to hire enough firefighters to fill all shifts has led to a need for overtime.

Staffing had been reduced from 20 firefighters on duty at any one time to 16, a 20% reduction, Garrison said. Overall, the firefighter ratio in Westminster is 0.63 per 1,000 residents. The National Fire Protection Assn. recommends one firefighter per 1,000 residents.

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Garrison also charged Friday that the cutbacks were little more than retaliation against the Fire Department because its members supported Joy Neugebauer for mayor instead of Smith. He quoted Schweisinger as having told firefighters: “Joy lost. Chuck won. Chuck is anti-fire, and you people are going to pay.”

“No matter what they tell you, the City Council is reducing fire protection in the community,” Garrison said. “The people are going to pay the ultimate cost.”

Schweisinger has denied ever making such a statement about Smith.

Councilman Frank Fry said the decision to eliminate the fire truck from Station 2 was “primarily a money matter” that was made after Fire Department officials, including the fire chief, assured the council that public safety would not be compromised.

Schweisinger said the union’s assertions about York’s death and public safety are irresponsible and show a lack of concern for taxpayers and for the possibility of exposing the city to “tremendous liability” before all the facts are known.

These charges are being leveled merely to “distract the people from the criminal investigation of the Fire Department, and to take the heat off the firefighters union for a while,” Bohman said.

Late Friday, Capt. Craig Campbell, the department’s spokesman, said that an autopsy showed that York’s death was caused by smoke inhalation and said that “the fire started on his bed.” He said investigators “have ruled out foul play or arson and determined that it was an accident.”