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New Clearwater fire chief pledges to bring visibility, higher morale

 
Clearwater Fire & Rescue Chief Scott Ehlers, center, and his son, Dawson, visit with Lt. Matt Daerr at Station No. 48 on Tuesday.
Clearwater Fire & Rescue Chief Scott Ehlers, center, and his son, Dawson, visit with Lt. Matt Daerr at Station No. 48 on Tuesday.
Published Oct. 19, 2016

CLEARWATER — With Clearwater Fire & Rescue already owning a reputation as being one of the more efficient departments in the bay area, newly appointed Chief Scott Ehlers will be tasked with turning around the more cultural, and very public, issues of staff misconduct and low morale.

There will be no major new initiatives, no drastic policy impacts and no tactical changes, said Ehlers, 54, who was promoted from Clearwater emergency manager and sworn in as chief Monday.

Instead, his priority will be making regular visits to each of the eight stations and 200 employees to give a tone of accountability and support, something he said was missing under the last administration.

Former Chief Robert Weiss announced in April he was stepping down after five years of leading the department.

"I like to be very visible," Ehlers said. "The men and women out there, they are the ones doing the job every day at a phenomenal level. My job is to support them."

When selecting Ehlers from a pool of 70 candidates, City Manager Bill Horne said he valued Ehlers' friendly rapport with the fire union and positive leadership style.

As the department's emergency manager since 2014, Ehlers worked with the firefighters on the ground but was not part of the union, making him an insider — but not really. More of a "fly on the wall," Horne said.

"This is a very good fire department, it's primary mission is emergency medical services and fire suppression. So you're not going to get any radical changes no matter who we get in there from a department that is considered one of the best, if not the best, in the area," Horne said. "It's fine tuning around the edges … because the department's image, in my opinion, is not the best in the community."

This week, the city is installing surveillance cameras in the hallways of fire stations to discourage bad behavior, which was a recommendation from human resources after the latest sexual misconduct case among fire employees.

Lt. William Fry and fire medic Tiffany Seabolt in February were given 30-day and 15-day unpaid suspensions, respectively, after the city investigated allegations they were having an inappropriate sexual relationship on duty.

In September 2014, then-Lt. Stephen Coward resigned after admitting to having sex with two women inside Fire Station 51, along with watching pornography on his phone while on duty.

Former Fire Chief Jamie Geer was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for sexually abusing a teenager for nearly a decade, with at least one assault made while on duty.

Most recently, Assistant Chief Ron Gemsheim resigned Feb. 29, one week after he was charged in the theft of a 5-hour Energy drink from a 7-Eleven while on duty.

It's been a record of negative headlines not seen in any other public safety department in the region, but Ehlers said the scrutiny is not necessarily warranted.

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"With any business, any department, any agency, there's going to be some instances of misconduct," he said. "Here it probably got misrepresented to a higher level then what was really occurring."

Sean Becker, president of Clearwater Fire Fighters Association, the local union, has previously said there is no culture problem within the department but that employee morale was low due a lack of support from the previous administration. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Depending on room in the budget, Ehlers said he will also explore adding a professional standards officer to look at complaints and the disciplinary process.

In response to suggestions from the Center for Public Safety Excellence during Clearwater's reaccreditation process this year, he plans to add another engine unit on Clearwater Beach. City Clerk Rosemarie Call said Ehlers' chief salary has not been finalized, but he most recently earned $88,000 a year.

Before joining Clearwater Fire & Rescue, Ehlers worked for 30 years for Tampa Fire Rescue, climbing the ranks from fire recruit to assistant chief of operations.

He grew up in a small New York farm town and both his father and grandfather served as volunteer fire chiefs. He joined the military at 17 and spent four years at MacDill Air Force Base before becoming a firefighter in Tampa.

Over his career, Ehlers worked recovery efforts in Jackson County, Miss., during Hurricane Katrina; the Ybor City fire of 2000 that burned two city blocks and destroyed $40 million of property; and every hurricane in the area since the mid 1980s.

Ehlers said his whole 30-year career has been building to this move, and the goal now is to look forward.

"It's every kid's dream to be the fire chief," Ehlers said. "To see the dedicated and devoted men and women here, it's an extreme honor to be their leader."

Staff researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Contact Tracey McManus at tmcmanus@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4151. Follow @TroMcManus.