Leadership flareup: Stanislaus Consolidated chief vents frustrations during McHenry fire

Things are always somewhat chaotic in a blaze, and Thursday’s fires near Modesto tested the mutual aid agreements among agencies in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.

Emergency officials said they were impressed with the coordinated response to the wind-driven fire north of Modesto, and structure fires in the Beard industrial tract and at Johansen High School, all of which occurred Thursday.

But there was a personal flareup in the command post on McHenry Avenue, where officials coordinated the response of fire and police units to the blaze that threatened homes along McHenry, Hogue Road and the Del Rio community. Starting on the north side of the Stanislaus River and jumping to the south side, the McHenry fire destroyed five structures and prompted the evacuation of homes.

Randall Bradley, chief of the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District, acknowledged he became upset with other officials about the coordination and command functions.

“The fire was blowing into my jurisdiction, and I wanted to make sure the fire was put out as quickly as possible,” Bradley said Friday.

Bradley said a Consolidated engine unit responded to assist the Salida Fire Protection District on a report of a person who suffered smoke inhalation at a home. The firefighters became cut off without support, the chief said.

Bradley said he arrived an hour and 20 minutes after the initial calls when it appeared the fire would cross into his district. “It all concerned me, and when I got (to the command post) I started asking questions,” Bradley said. “My questions were not received very well.

“When it comes to the safety of citizens in the district, sometimes my manners are trumped by my passion,” he said.

Escalon Fire District Chief Rick Mello was in charge of the incident north of Modesto before the command responsibility shifted to Salida Fire Chief Dale Skiles, who also is assistant director of county emergency services. Mello and Skiles did not return calls to discuss Bradley’s conduct or his concerns.

Bradley was chief of the Modesto Regional Fire Authority for about nine months before accepting the job with Stanislaus Consolidated in April 2014. He worked with Skiles at MRFA, and Bradley’s performance with MRFA came under board scrutiny in late 2013. MRFA was dissolved last year, causing the Modesto, county and Salida fire agencies to become independent again.

Modesto Fire Chief Sean Slamon said he thought the individual agencies responded well to the fast-moving fire Thursday. Slamon said he was not aware of a conflict at the command post.

“We had law enforcement at the command center so we can have face-to-face communication to address what the needs are for evacuations, traffic control and scene control,” Slamon said. “Overall, I am happy with how things went. The fact we had only one injury and no firefighters injured. We were very fortunate.”

Slamon said Thursday’s fires were a real-world test of the shared resources, dropped-boundary agreements that followed the demise of MRFA. He said the Modesto, Ceres and Stanislaus Consolidated departments have trained to send the closest units to incidents within each other’s boundaries. And here’s how it worked Thursday.

Five engines, staff personnel and firefighters from Modesto were dispatched to assist with the afternoon blaze north of Modesto. Two hours later, four engines and 12 firefighters were deployed from Modesto to assist Consolidated with a structure fire in the Beard industrial tract. At one point, an engine from Turlock covered a Stanislaus Consolidated station and was later sent to the McHenry fire, Slamon said.

Thursday morning, about 30 firefighters from Modesto, supported by units from Stanislaus Consolidated and Ceres, responded to a fire in the computer lab at Johansen High. The fire caused an estimated $500,000 in damage to the structure and computer equipment.

Slamon said emergency responses are never perfect, and agencies review action reports to learn from every incident.

Sheriff’s personnel from Riverbank assisted with evacuations and traffic control to protect the public from the McHenry fire. Judging from dispatch communications heard on scanners, there was confusion about which roads to close.

A sergeant said there was no trouble with dispatch communication, but deputies were not able to talk directly with the California Highway Patrol. Deputies going to shut down roads found that CHP officers were already there; other roads that deputies thought would be affected did not need to be closed, he said.

Sheriff Adam Christianson said he received no reports of problems with communication or operation of the Stanislaus 911 dispatch center. He said he was not aware of any friction at the command center.

Terry Withrow, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said he heard there was a conflict at the command center but did not have enough details to comment. Withrow, who represents the Salida area, said there was no reason for a fire district official to get upset with peers during an emergency.

Modesto Councilman Dave Lopez said that Bradley had personal conflicts with other staff members when he was chief of MRFA. “I am not real surprised,” said Lopez, who served on the MRFA board. “It is probably the reason that led to his separation from MRFA. There were personal conflicts with deputy chiefs and assistants.”

Bradley said he is frustrated that Consolidated and Salida do not have a dropped-boundary pact. He felt his district’s agreements with Modesto and Ceres provided for a seamless response to incidents Thursday.

Bradley said the failure of a special assessment for the Salida Fire Protection District last week will make it tougher to quickly respond to the Del Rio area. The Salida district had planned to use the extra revenue to staff its station on Ladd Road near Del Rio, but parcel owners rejected the measure by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin.

Based in Riverbank, Stanislaus Consolidated protects a broad area stretching east of McHenry Avenue and Modesto.

“We have stations that are closer to their response area than they are and that was a problem,” Bradley said. “It’s frustrating we can’t have a seamless response system, where the closest resources are dispatched.”

Bradley said the Consolidated firefighters who were cut off Thursday used good discipline and awareness to get out of a dangerous situation without injury. He said in dealing with other officials on the McHenry fire, “I could have had a better bedside manner, absolutely. I will continue to work on that piece.”

This story was originally published June 20, 2015 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Leadership flareup: Stanislaus Consolidated chief vents frustrations during McHenry fire."