Florida Captain Reprimanded for Charleston Tribute

[PVFD233 68]

Florida Captain Reprimanded for Charleston Tribute

THOMAS LAKE

St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

Updated: 07-23-2007 10:30:15 AM

He drove all night and by dawn he had reached the old city where nine fellow firefighters died in a tower of flame.

Outside the warehouse in Charleston, S.C., as the smell of smoke lingered, they were building a shrine to the dead.

Capt. David Garofalo works for Pasco County Fire Rescue, and he had come to pay tribute. He took a department-issued polo shirt from his duffel bag and scrawled a message in black.

"God bless you "

And he walked away, leaving his shirt by the fresh-cut flowers.

Garofalo hoped his superiors would appreciate the gesture.

Instead he got a reprimand.

"Equipment is not theirs to give away," acting Assistant Chief Mike Ciccarello told the St. Petersburg Times on Friday. "They need to know that."

The polo shirt is gray, with Garofalo's name embroidered in gold. Its retail value is $23.95. The agency bought him five of them to wear at work. Suddenly he had just four.

Garofalo is 30 years old. After nearly 10 years with the department, he has only one prior disciplinary action in his personnel file: counseling, for denting the bumper of a fire truck. He did not initiate contact with the Times for this story. He says he loves the department and doesn't want to make it look bad.

He gave away the shirt June 22, four days after America's worst loss of firefighters since Sept. 11. He says he meant to replace it with his own cash. But he didn't do it right away. A week passed. Word got around. A few days later, his boss told him he was under investigation.

The problem, Ciccarello said, is that Garofalo didn't immediately tell an administrator what he had done.

"The department would have been more than happy to work with him if he had called us," Ciccarello said.

In his colleague's defense, Capt. Kenneth Urbuteit, a union steward, said the administration made something out of nothing.

"It wasn't like he went up there and left a fire engine," he said.

But to Ciccarello, that's irrelevant. "It could have been a dollar. It doesn't matter. It's not his to give away."

The shirt's cost is less than one-tenth of the $246.71 in gasoline the agency's honor guard billed the county for their trip to the same memorial service.

Garofalo and his fellow travelers, who are not part of the honor guard, paid for their own gas.

On Tuesday , Ciccarello gave Garofalo a "Written Verbal Caution" for the incident. The document will stay on file for a year and then be destroyed.

"It's really not a story," Ciccarello said.

Garofalo was afraid the outcome would be much worse. Because he was accused of a Class 3 offense, he thought he might be fired.

And so, despite his embarrassment, he e-mailed the fire chief in Charleston, asking him to send the shirt back.

By then the memorabilia was stored in a station in Charleston, according to Pam Blevins, the chief's secretary. A firefighter had to sift through it, find Garofalo's shirt and send it to headquarters. From there, Blevins put it in an envelope and mailed it to Garofalo. It arrived Friday.

"That's just kind of petty," Blevins said of the investigation.

In the meantime, Garofalo called the shirt vendor, DesignLab, whose headquarters happen to be in South Carolina, to place an order. But when he explained the situation, the company sent him two free shirts.

Now he has seven gray polo shirts.

He will soon have six.

He said he plans to mail the original shirt back to Charleston, along with a check: some for the dead firefighters' families, and some to cover postage for the needless shipment.

One of his five department-issued shirts still has the tag on it. He gets by on a rotation of three.

Edited July 24, 2007 by SPFC56-233

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

Are you kidding for $24 they are complaining What is this world coming too. This is why I hate people. You would think that an FD would be happy that their DEPT would show such respect for fallen comrades.

[RescueKujo 130]

Talk about micro managing. While I understand that it was an issued shirt, are they trying to tell us after this Captain wore this shirt on duty multiple times the county will recycle it?? Give me a break!!

[DMM8240 2]

You have got to be kidding me.

It must be nice to have the staffing and time to waste on investigating a firefighter for that.

[trauma74 111]

I know that was are not supposed to use curse words on here, so I will apologize a head of time. This deserves a "WHAT THE F***???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and a "ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME???!!"

Sorry Seth. Had to get that off my chest. I will take the appropriate lashings from you!

[firecapt32 282]

I fully understand the need for dicipline inthe fire service but there has to be some common sense used.

In the ten year's that he has worked has he gotten shirts every year? does he have to turn ion the old ones to get new ones??

Hey I still have a box of old shirts form the job and I am retired over 5 years--think they want them back?? yes they still fit!!

Edited July 24, 2007 by firecapt32

[Guest]

I learned something today. A $24.00 shirt is now department equipment. See until now I thought it was apparel. I was thinking the turnouts, boots, axes, apparatus, and hoses, that was all equipment. Wow guess I should inspect my departmental T's for damage before going to the firehouse from now on.

[JAD622 40]

If only the Brass was that devoted to real issues; like unsafe apparatus, deteriorating firehouses, not enough money for necessary equipment. You know......... the un-important stuff!! Incredible, but totally believable in this day and age.

[ex-commish 490]

Very petty. I guess someone needed brownie points.

[firemoose827 324]

That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of....the CHIEF should be investigated for stupidity, and making the entire dept look bad.

Why didnt they just ask him to pay for the damn shirt??.......instead of calling charleston and requesting they send it back?

I suddenly dont like other people so much any more.

[nycemt728 49]

You know what, shame on the chief for choosing to enforce the little rules at this time. I don't fault him for enforcing the rules, someone has to and technically he is correct. He is also abselutely wrong in choosing this time to enforce the rules. A simple reminder/warning upon return to the firehouse should and would have sufficed. After September 11th, everyone knows that shirts w/ written messages are a simple yet eloquent and accepted tribute.....what bothers me is that knowing this and seeing how the dept already sent reps, why didn't the higher ups think of this and solict the members for approval or provide the shirt for signatures/messages of condolences. Kudos to the shirt company for stepping up and providing 2 shirts, just wish the dept would have stepped up to fill that need before someone else had to!!!

[5slow 9]

Someone higher up obviously didn't like this guy... Sad story! Always be careful - The toes you step on today might be connected to a*# you'll have to kiss tomorrow.

[Guest]

Are you kidding for $24 they are complaining What is this world coming too. This is why I hate people. You would think that an FD would be happy that their DEPT would show such respect for fallen comrades.

They obviously Cant Understand Normal Thinking.

[irishfire2491 24]

SAD thats all I got to say

[DOC22 1]

Sounds like the typical bureaucratic municipal micromanagement, which I've seen a lot of.

[RWC130 594]

micromanagement

I 2nd that!

[JohnnyOV 2]

The department I volunteer for down in FL would have done the same thing too. Their feelings are that, if they bought and issued you your T-shirt, it's their property on loan to you. When I return home from school, I have to return all of my T-shirts otherwise I receive a bill from them in the mail.

Southern and northern department operate completely differently on almost every level. Guys down there tell me all the time that they wish they could operate and function with the same commodore and brotherhood we do. To most of them, they say it's just another job, not an honor and that the administration makes it feel that way.

[E58RET 24]

Definitely nit picking and an WHAT the!!!! situation,I to have T Shirts station uniforms etc.(that still fitafter 17 yrs) that I could send to that Chief if he wants them