Firefighters Union Chief Is Suspended : Westminster: Fire chief cites ‘unsubstantiated comments’ linking man’s death in a fire last week to budget cuts.

Fire Chief John T. DeMonaco Jr. said Tuesday that he has suspended the firefighters union officer who charged last week that Fire Department budget cuts may have caused the death of a mentally disabled man during a recent fire in a board and care facility.

Mike Garrison, a director of the Westminster Firefighters Local 2425, was suspended for making “unsubstantiated statements” about the Jan. 27 fire that killed Mark D. York, 34, while the findings of an investigation were still unknown.

DeMonaco announced Garrison’s suspension at a Tuesday press conference on the steps of City Hall, where about two dozen firefighters--some accompanied by their spouses and children--showed up with placards that urged city officials to support public safety.

But Mayor Charles V. Smith, who joined DeMonaco and Councilwoman Charmayne S. Bohman at the press conference, reserved his support for the embattled fire chief, who is caught between his disgruntled firefighters and City Hall.

“We’re determined that the Fire Department be run by the fire chief, not the firefighters union,” the mayor said.

Garrison became the second union official to be suspended in the dispute between city officials and the firefighters union over changes at the Fire Department forced by a million-dollar budget cut in July.

The union president, Paul Gilbrook, has been suspended with pay since Dec. 28 and now faces termination after investigators said they found that he has improperly claimed sick leave and drove a fire engine with a suspended driver’s license last year.

A hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. today at City Hall to determine if Gilbrook should be fired. He has maintained that he has done nothing wrong.

“I saw it coming,” said Garrison, a captain and 19-year veteran of the Fire Department, of his suspension. “If you speak the truth, and abide by the Constitution, this council will fire you.”

“It’s a dictatorship,” said Gilbrook. “If you say your piece, you’re fired.”

DeMonaco said that Garrison behaved unprofessionally when he said during a press conference last week that York’s death could have been avoided if city officials had not put a firetruck out of service and cut personnel at Station 2 at 15061 Moran St., which was closest to the fire.

“Such statements . . . could cost the city thousands of dollars in legal fees,” DeMonaco said.

*

Garrison and Gilbrook watched the press conference from a sidewalk about 100 yards away from City Hall because of a policy that prohibits suspended employees on city property.

Gilbrook said that council members are retaliating for a recall drive supported by the firefighters.

The recall targets Smith, Bohman, Craig Schweisinger and Tony Lam, who voted for the $1-million budget cut. Recall proponents have until Feb. 19 to gather 7,000 signatures to force a recall election.

City officials said that the budget cuts were made to streamline the department and control overtime costs, which rose to more than $1 million for fiscal year 1992-93 alone. The Orange County district attorney is investigating allegations by city officials that the spiraling cost of overtime may be attributed to fraud.

Details of the investigation have not been released, but Alan C. Davis, who represents the firefighters, said Tuesday that the district attorney’s office has not questioned any firefighter about the allegations.

DeMonaco said preliminary investigation by the state fire marshal’s office and his department’s chief investigator, Don Herr, has indicated that York, whose body was found in a bathroom on the bottom floor of the board-and-care home on Candlewood Street, died of smoke inhalation.

He said homicide and foul play have been ruled out. The fire may have been caused by someone using a lighter or matches that ignited clothing or paper, he said.

Quoting from a report from the responding firefighters, DeMonaco said that the fire was so intense by the time firefighters arrived that no one could have survived.

“No one could survive the intense fire, heat and smoke . . . without protective gear,” said Capt. Mark Benedetti, who led the four-man crew that was first on the scene.

DeMonaco said that refutes Garrison’s assertion that additional equipment and people could have saved York.

But Garrison maintained that city officials have placed public safety in jeopardy.

“If you go from three pieces of equipment to one, and from eight people to four, it doesn’t take a kindergarten education to see there’s a reduction,” Garrison said.

Station 2 used to have a three-person fire engine crew, a three-person firetruck and two firefighter-paramedics who operated a medic van. It now has a four-person fire engine crew and a city ambulance operated by two employees of a private firm.

City officials said the firetruck, which uses a 100-foot ladder, was not necessary because it is designed to fight fires in high-rise buildings, and the tallest building in the area is only three stories.

By removing the firetruck from service, Smith said, the city is now able to provide full paramedic services in each of the areas served by the three fire stations.

Smith said that about 80% of the calls to the Fire Department are medical emergencies. Westminster is also a member of Central Net, a regional force that can respond to fires and medical emergencies.

Meanwhile, Felix Pesigan, 45, who operated the board-and-care home where York died, said Tuesday that three other disabled adults who lived in the house are now staying in a Garden Grove board-and-care home also operated by Pesigan and his sister.

“They are doing fine,” said Pesigan. “They are settling in OK and are glad that they are still together.”

Times Staff Writer Greg Hernandez contributed to this story.