Hawaii County Fire Department operations in West Hawaii are not being jeopardized by recent turmoil in the office that resulted in two battalion chiefs being put on paid leave, a top-ranking Fire Department official said this week.
Assistant Chief Glen Honda, who returned West Hawaii Today’s phone calls seeking to speak with Fire Chief Darren Rosario, said he couldn’t discuss the ongoing investigation into the issue.
But he assured the newspaper that the West Hawaii positions are being staffed.
“We have tasked quality personnel to take care of those positions,” Honda said. “I would understand how the public might have concerns about operations.”
Rosario, a 25-year veteran of the department, has been fire chief since September 2011.
Battalion Chiefs Steve Loyola and Ty Medeiros were suspended in November. Loyola told a Honolulu television station they were suspended for criticizing how Rosario was running the department.
Medeiros spoke to the county Fire Commission at its Dec. 1 meeting, according to the minutes.
“He stated that he was there to speak on two letters he sent to the commission for the evaluation of the fire chief,” the minutes said.
The commission, which later conducted an annual evaluation of the chief in a closed-door session, denied Medeiros’ request to be allowed to speak in private about the chief.
“The commission does not have authority over administrative matters of the Fire Department,” the minutes said Deputy Corporation Counsel Craig Masuda advised the commission. “The written complaint he filed with the commission is not within the commission’s jurisdiction. His complaint should go to the Chief, then the Mayor, then the Merit Appeals Board.”
The Merit Appeals Board next meets April 15. Its agenda has not yet been posted.
County Human Resources Director Sharon Toriano said any complaints, if they reach the stage of the board, will be publicly on the agenda. She confirmed that the two firefighters remain employed by the county, but declined to discuss any ongoing investigation.
Kailua-Kona resident Edwin Whitlock, a retired police officer from the mainland and a volunteer firefighter, is concerned about recent events. He was contacted by the newspaper after writing a letter to the editor.
“I am concerned by both the allegations and the manner in which Rosario has responded,” Whitlock said. “Rosario is not only squandering department resources and wasting tax dollars, but compromising his own integrity because his actions are clearly retaliatory.”
Attempts to reach Loyola and Medeiros were unsuccessful this week. But Loyola, a 24-year employee of the department, told Hawaii News Now TV News on March 19 that morale is at an all-time low, and 25 people have quit the department over the past three years.
“He surrounds himself with a bunch of people that can’t do the job, in my opinion, and it’s dangerous,” Loyola told Hawaii News Now.
When asked if the West Hawaii station is fully staffed, Honda replied, “In regards to those two positions, West Hawaii is fully staffed. Those positions are being covered.”