Fire captain's penalty cheapens Pasco image

By TIMES EDITORIAL
Published July 24, 2007

Think of the unflattering image of Pasco County, Florida, that must exist in Charleston, S.C.

The historic Southern city continues to mourn for its Fire Department after a devastating June 18 furniture warehouse fire. Still, the department rummaged through the memorials from around the country for its nine deceased firefighters because it believed it had to help save the job of a 10th: Pasco Capt. David Garofalo.

Garofalo's impulsive gesture of leaving his department polo shirt as a memorial at the site of the deadly fire was understandable. Firefighters from as many as 800 departments in the United States and Canada came to pay respects and left behind flowers, shirts, pictures and other items to honor the deceased. Ten thousand people attended the memorial service that included a procession of 300 firefighting vehicles

No matter. Pasco County was more concerned with the $23.95 shirt purchased with public money. Hardly a federal offense, it still resulted in an internal investigation.

"That's kind of petty," correctly surmised Pam Blevins, secretary to the Charleston's chief.

Garofalo, a 10-year veteran, believed he could be terminated for the incident and asked the Charleston department to retrieve the shirt. It did so and Blevins sent it via the postal service. The vendor also donated two shirts to Garofalo when he attempted to make a replacement order.

So the firefighter facing scrutiny for only having four department-issued work shirts, now has seven. He said he will mail one back to Charleston.

Pasco County has a sometimes contentious relationship with its firefighters' union as evidenced by the recent public picketing over salary and benefit negotiations that have failed to result in a contract. It is the kind of relationship that allows for very little discretion in discipline and puts so-called verbal warnings in writing. Still, Pasco County could have handled this situation differently. More appropriately, it should have told Garofalo to replace the shirt and to not do it again unless he intended to finance his own wardrobe in the future.

Garofalo, incidentally, traveled at his own expense to support the Charleston department. The county's honor guard also attended the memorial service, but billed the public $246.71 in gasoline, or more than 10 times the cost of the shirt left as a keepsake.

So what would others think of the image of Pasco County?

Try cheap and insensitive.

[Last modified July 24, 2007, 06:34:33]