EDITORIAL: Ingalls right to dismiss fire chief

May 16, 2008 06:26 pm

— Police and fire chiefs must reflect integrity and sound thought 24 hours a day. Their judgment is under the scrutiny of the public and the politicians who are their employers.
In Ingalls, poor judgment resulted in the warranted dismissal of Joshua Benson as fire chief of the volunteer department.
Town council members had previously supplied Benson with a list of improvements for the department: Stop horseplay like the incident of a volunteer firefighter chasing his girlfriend around the station until she tripped and sprained an ankle. Stop people from hanging around the station.
Then, council members saw the photos on MySpace.com, photos of Benson’s girlfriend at the fire station posing suggestively with fire equipment. She was clad in firefighter gear, looking directly at the camera. Underneath her photos were captions that, too, were sexually suggestive.
Whether the photos were to be accessed only by Benson and friends is irrelevant. Such actions undercut the credibility of even a volunteer department, and shed a revealing light on the judgment of a chief who would use the firefighters’ facility and gear for such high jinx. Volunteers often have to work harder to legitimize their departments, and Benson harmed those efforts by pretending to be “one of the guys,” rather than a leader focused on the serious business of running the fire department.
The vote to dismiss Benson was 3-1. Councilwoman Cheryl Martin voted against firing Benson, saying she did not think the town had a legal right to fire the chief of a volunteer department. However, Benson was paid as chief, and the town had every right to evaluate the integrity of its chief and dismiss him.