Former St. Lucie County Fire Chief Jeff Lee is speaking out after the fire board terminated his contract Wednesday, ending his tenure after months of turmoil surrounding a hazing investigation and growing criticism of district leadership.<\/p>\n
Lee did not attend Wednesday\u2019s heated fire board meeting, where commissioners voted to terminate him without cause.<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement to WPTV Investigative Reporter Kate Hussey following the vote, Lee pointed to his previous comments highlighting increases in staffing, pay and benefits he fought for during his time leading the district.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the 2023\u20132026 period, these efforts included approximately 19% average pay-plan growth, an increase of approximately 100 uniformed personnel, and improved minimum engine staffing from two to three firefighters,\u201d the Fire District wrote in a statement October 9. \u201cThe District also expanded employee benefits, increased retirement-health contributions, and invested in additional training opportunities, equipment, and facilities to better support personnel in carrying out their responsibilities.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really all I have to say,\u201d Lee told Hussey Thursday. <\/p>\n Lee\u2019s termination marks the latest fallout from a controversy that began after videos surfaced<\/a> showing probationary firefighters being shocked with a modified bug zapper. A third-party investigator concluded the conduct amounted to hazing.<\/p>\n Three veteran firefighters were fired following the investigation, prompting significant public backlash<\/a> from firefighters, their families and community members who argued the punishment went too far.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only have they lost their jobs, but they lost their reputation,\u201d one speaker told the board Wednesday.<\/p>\n Others said the controversy had damaged confidence in the district.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to restore faith in this fire district,\u201d another speaker said.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s departure also follows an overwhelming union vote of no confidence<\/a> in district leadership.<\/p>\n St Lucie County Commissioner and Fire Board Member, Jamie Fowler, said the decision to remove Lee was not based solely on the vote of no confidence. <\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s gotten very messy,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about one single decision that he\u2019s made. It\u2019s about bringing peace and calm and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee had already signaled that his time as chief could be nearing an end. In an Oct. 15 letter to the board, Lee wrote that \u201cthe position of fire chief requires confidence\u201d and raised the possibility of a mutually agreeable retirement and leadership transition.<\/p>\n Deputy Chief Paul Langel has now been appointed interim fire chief as the district searches for Lee\u2019s permanent replacement.<\/p>\n Langel inherits a department facing questions about morale, trust and what some speakers Wednesday described as a broader \u201cculture problem.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t think there is a culture problem,\u201d Langel said. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to do the due diligence and I\u2019m going to evaluate whether that\u2019s visiting fire stations, one-on-one conversations with employees, group settings to get the vibe, what\u2019s going on out there, where are we at as an organization, and then once I receive all that, process it, I\u2019ll correct the course and move this district forward.\u201d <\/p>\n The board is now confronting several major issues left unresolved by Lee\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n Commissioners plan to hire a headhunter to conduct a search for a permanent chief inside and outside the district. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure we have a very talented pool right here, but we\u2019ll see how it plays out,\u201d said Fowler. <\/p>\n The district and firefighters union are also expected to continue discussions over the possible reinstatement of the three firefighters fired following the hazing investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited to see if we can just come back together and collectively work together,\u201d union representative Ryan Sapp said.<\/p>\n At the same time, the board is moving forward with an outside law firm<\/a> to overhaul the district\u2019s complaint policies after a heated Sept. 30<\/a> meeting identified what board members called \u201ca significant gap\u201d in existing policy. <\/p>\n Commissioner James Clasby has also called for reconsidering the terms offered in the next fire chief\u2019s contract, as Lee\u2019s existing contract could leave taxpayers responsible for more than $350,000 in severance following his termination.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the consequences of firing somebody with those terms,\u201d Clasby said. \u201cThe next chief \u2014 I\u2019m going to be fighting very hard does not get those terms, and I think that could lead to more accountability.\u201d <\/p>\n For the four board members who supported Lee\u2019s removal, Wednesday\u2019s vote represented an attempt to turn the page after months of controversy.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a large desire to have a change in leadership,\u201d Clasby said, \u201cand we delivered that today.\u201d<\/p>\n But Lee\u2019s departure does not end the larger fight over the district\u2019s future. Commissioners must now determine who will permanently lead the agency, whether the terminated firefighters will return and whether new leadership can rebuild trust among firefighters and the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former St. Lucie County Fire Chief Jeff Lee is speaking out after the fire board terminated his contract…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-440602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}