Opinion ID: 2264014
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Removal Of Peterson's Firefighting Qualifications

Text: In May 2005 Peterson responded to a fire emergency in Homer known as Fire 072. While Peterson claims that his actions at this fire were the result of following direct orders, Matt James, the incident commander at Fire 072, submitted a negative evaluation of Peterson's performance. James's evaluation identified several areas where Peterson's performance did not meet expectations, including Peterson's knowledge of the job, his attitude, his ability to make decisions under stress, his ability to work safely by understanding the fuel type, and his willingness to immediately follow orders. According to James's report, Peterson's failure to properly extinguish a portion of the fire caused the fire to jump[] the line behind the nozzle and destroy some booster line and one-inch fire hose. Following the Fire 072 incident, the area forester for the Kenai-Kodiak region, James Peterson (no relation to Allen Peterson), reviewed the circumstances surrounding the fire. Based on the reports of Al Peterson's conduct at the 072 fire, in particular, his lack of situational awareness, failure to respond appropriately to the changing fire conditions, and his failure to follow the instructions of the Incident Commander, James Peterson suspended two of Allen Peterson's firefighting qualifications and returned him to trainee status for those positions. Peterson requested review of this decision, but both Regional Fire Management Officer John See and Chief of Fire and Aviation Lynn Wilcock upheld the removal of these qualifications. At about the same time in 2006, Wilcock reviewed Peterson's overall participation in the fire management program and concluded that Peterson represented a potential liability to the program. After considering reports of Peterson's behavior, Wilcock identified three examples of problematic conduct leading to his decision: Peterson's actions at Fire 072, an incident at a 2004 fire that resulted in property damage and a complaint about Peterson's people skills, and a 2006 office incident where Peterson reportedly had a violent and unprofessional outburst. Peterson's firefighting qualifications for participation in the fire management program were withdrawn following this review.