John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Fire Protection District Board of Directors closed a gender discrimination complaint and discussed Chief Rick Dirr’s Performance Improvement Plan completion process during a regular online meeting on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The Board also discussed the new Tender Pump, a new employee handbook and narcotics handling.

According to a Board statement regarding the Gender Discrimination Investigation Outcome, in November of 2020, CPS received a complaint of gender discrimination from one of the members. The board requested that CPS follow up that complaint and investigate it. 

The primary complaint was for discriminatory harassment based on sex or gender. “This is a serious allegation that can result in liability concerns for the district. The District responded appropriately by engaging an outside consultant to perform a neutral third-party investigation of the allegations.”

The investigator concluded that the allegations of sex or gender discrimination were unfounded and no policy violation was evident from the conduct. “The investigator did note a few areas in which the District’s policies and overall management approach could be improved, which warrants further consideration by the board.”

The complaint primarily related to comments made on scene of the Alpine Drive call, in July 2020. The comments were made between two parties during the transfer of care of a patient.

Party One was handing initial care of the patient and was handing off care to Party Two. Party  Two alleged that Party One openly questioned professional credentials and the ability to provide the requisite standard of care at the scene, and that the comments were motivated by the gender of Party Two.

The investigator interviewed five individuals during the investigation, and based on the interviews, the investigator concluded that the statements were made but there  was no evidence to suggest that they were based on sex or gender. In addition, the investigator concluded no intent to be hostile or harass but a legitimate professional basis for the questions being asked.

Based on the investigator’s review of the primary complaint and corresponding District policies, the investigator has made a number of recommendations to assist the District in updating or revising its policies. The major proposal is for the District to engage in a collaborative development process between the Board and membership to review and revise the District Handbook. 

The investigator pointed to a few areas that could use clarification within the District’s policies and for the District to review its complaint procedure and protocol. The investigator suggested a review and possible revision or clarification of the specific complaint procedures and the identification of timelines to review complaints. 

Finally, the investigator recommended the consideration of the District arranging for diversity, equity and inclusion training focusing on sex and gender for all District members. Along with the recommendation for training, the investigator also recommended a review of the personnel policies to ensure all apply equitably and uniformly across all possible member groups and circumstances.

The Board accepted the findings of the investigation and considered the matter closed. The Board is already in the process of revising the policy manual, is looking for clarification and formalization of the after-activity review process and will investigate the recommendation for diversity and equity training with the District’s HR provider.

The Board briefly discussed a Retaliation Complaint Investigation and said interviews were conducted last week.

Board Chair Iain Irwin-Powell introduced discussion of the employee policy handbook. 

He met with CPS on a new handbook with a $6,400 estimate. If done internally, it would probably cost as much in time and effort. From a legal perspective, it is very wise to have an employee handbook. 

Board Members recommended a total rewrite to meet all the current standards and asked if they can get a price from someone else. Irwin-Powell said he can get a couple of bids. The Board said to get three bids.

During his report, Fire Chief Rick Dirr thanked the Board for funding the new tender vehicle. They had a road trip to scenic Nevada to pick up the truck, and it is loaded with hoses and everything needed. They picked up the new tender in Nevada from Fire Trucks Unlimited and went through a series of acceptance tests & inspections.

The Board discussed the status of the ambulance at Station 2 on Ridge Road, which had been placed in reserve status last year. After discussion between the board and the Chief, the board decided 4-1 to return the ambulance to service in a limited capacity and as a reserve vehicle should it be required. 

The Board also discussed and agreed on replacing the on-board narcotics safes in all of the ambulances to improve tracking of who accesses the narcotics and improve the District’s DEA compliance.

The Board conducted a Special Executive Session to discuss personnel issues related to Chief Dirr’s Performance Improvement Plan completion process. After the executive session, the Board made this statement and passed the motion unanimously.

“The board in a special executive session discussed how to close out the formal PIP monitoring period for Chief Dirr. They discussed who should conduct the closeout and how that would be achieved.

“The Board made the motion to use CPS to conduct an anonymous survey of staff and selected volunteers who have interacted with the Chief during the PIP monitoring period. The survey results will be collated and presented to the board by CPS and the Board will then hold a special executive session to discuss the outcome of the PIP monitoring period. The Chief will have the opportunity to review the questions but will not see either the survey results or the reports from CPS.”

The next meeting of the Nederland Fire District Board of Directors will be on May 19, 2021, at 7 p.m. For more information go to https://www.nfpd.org/.

(Originally published in the April 29, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)