CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A detailed review of findings in a recent inspection which shut down the Chesapeake Volunteer Fire Department in Kanawha County noted a host of problems which will need to be fixed.
During a special meeting of the State Fire Commission Tuesday, State Fire Marshal Ken Tyree and his staff laid out the various deficiencies they found in their most recent inspection of the Chesapeake VFD. Inspectors determined the problems were so severe they immediately closed the fire department until further notice.
“I made the decision I felt like I had to make to keep the members of the department and members of the public safe because of the lack of maintenance on things,” Tyree told the commission.
The inspection June 11 found problems with record keeping and a lack of annual inspections on equipment. According to the Fire Marshal’s staff, the department was unable to produce articles of incorporation or a copy of by-laws of the department.
Two members of the fire department did not have firefighter certifications or could not produce proof of those certifications. Four members of the department were missing haz-mat certification. A dozen members had no proof of training in CPR or First Aid. Tyree said the Chief and a Lieutenant of the Department were unable to produce proof of fire officer training certifications during the inspection.
The bigger concern for Tyree and his staff was a lack of inspection and maintenance on equipment. The detailed report presented to the state Fire Commission found several apparatus records were missing. There was no record of testing of self-contained breathing apparatus, pump tests, or host tests. The last inspection records on those items was 2015. Fire inspectors say they are required to be tested once a year.
The apparatus inspections were extremely concerning with problems in all of the units in the Chesapeake department’s fleet. The fleet included two utility trucks, two engines, and two tankers A third engine was out of service and had been in the shop for six months.
According to inspectors, the most troubling findings were a lack of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus on some of the trucks. Others had SCBAs which were out of date and no spare cylinders. There were problems with the pump on one of the engines and it wouldn’t work. Officials say the pump on the other worked, but sounded “very rough”. Other issues included inoperable lights and in one case a siren wasn’t working.
Inspector David Blaylock told Commissioners the only response from the department came a day later from the Chief Stephen “PJ” Johnson.
“The following Monday after we shut them down, I got a call from their board president. He said they were wanting to get on and get everything fixed. I do think they are wanting to take care of the problem,” Blaylock said.
Commission Chairman Grant Gunnoe, a former Charleston fire chief, noted a long relationship with Johnson and his father who is also a member of the Chesapeake department. He said in his past dealings the Johnson’s and the department had developed a good reputation for mutually aiding any other department’s who needed help.
“I don’t know if they have financial issues or what exactly their issue is, but obviously they’ve got some work to do,” Gunnoe said.
The Fire Marshal has given the VFD a period of time to correct the problems and then call for a follow-up inspection. During the meantime the nearest fire departments on either side of the Chesapeake territory, the Marmet and East Bank VFDs will handle their calls. Officials said during their period of suspension there had been no calls for the department which answers about 80 calls a year, most of which are with tanker service to other Kanawha County fire departments.