Another Yarnell area fire chief may lose his job

The Daily Courier is reporting that Central Yavapai Fire District Chief Paul Nies may lose his job. The newspaper said Chief Nies believes that his firing by the district’s Board of Directors may be inevitable.

Yavapai County is very large and includes Prescott, Arizona, as well as Yarnell and the site of the Yarnell Hill Fire which killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots on June 30. The Hotshot crew was part of the Prescott Fire Department.

Two other fire chiefs in the area are also gone or will be soon. Dan Fraijo, Chief of the Prescott Fire Department, is being forced out of his job by the City Manager.

Jim Koile, Chief of the Yarnell Fire Department announced his resignation October 8, two years after being selected for the position. He had been criticized for not spending a $15,000 grant in 2012 for removing flammable vegetation around homes in the community. And a few days before his resignation it was revealed that in 1974 he was convicted of manslaughter in the death of a 3-year old girl.

The Yarnell Hill Fire was initially evaluated by the Yarnell Hill Fire department but the suppression of the fire was the responsibility of the Arizona State Forestry Division.

Prescott Fire Chief forced out

Granite Mountain HotshotsThe chief of the Prescott Fire Department is being forced out of his job by the City Manager. Even though this happened three months after 19 members of the department lost their lives on the Yarnell Hill Fire, the reason for Fire Chief Dan Fraijo’s departure is unclear.

Prescott City Manager Craig McConnell told the Daily Courier that the Chief is leaving by “mutual agreement” effective November 15, but Chief Fraigo told the Courier and the Arizona Republic that the city asked him to leave.

The 70-year old Chief, formerly with the Phoenix Fire Department, was hired on an interim basis in May, 2012 and was named Fire Chief in February, 2013. His contract specified that either party could end his employment with 30 days’ notice.

The official report of the 19 fire fatalities of the Granite Mountain Hotshots found “no indication of negligence, reckless actions, or violations of policy of protocol” on the part of the firefighters.

 

Thanks go out to Gary