Fire district board OKs outside review.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

CRESWELL - The South Lane Fire District Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to hire outside investigators to review the district's finances and a report by Chief Dan Olsen that blamed destruction of a $290,000 fire pumper last summer on "negligent and possibly reckless" actions by north battalion chief Paul Furrer.

Furrer has hired an attorney to dispute Olsen's findings and the recommendation that he be disciplined for his decisions and actions at the Aug. 18 Short Mountain Fire. Though insurance will replace the destroyed firetruck, Olsen considered the incident an extremely serious one, calling the escape of Furrer and an engineer/paramedic after the vehicle became stuck off-road and engulfed in the fire "a near miss."

His report also proved incendiary among many Creswell area firefighters and residents, in part because he labeled firefighters in the north battalion as "at times, reckless in their operations at emergency scenes."

Olsen has apologized for the embarrassment caused by the report, which he said he never intended for public release. It came to public light after another firefighter quoted from it during a public meeting.

Some employees, community members and fire officials in nearby districts have publicly supported Olsen, hired from Marion County to run the newly merged district after a long career as a chief and fire marshal in Oregon and Washington. His supporters include the South Lane firefighters union and the president of the district's south battalion volunteers.

Bur critics have charged that Olsen, who was not at the Short Mountain scene, should have sought an outside investigation of the incident by a wildland fire expert. He contended that he consulted such experts before drawing his conclusions, but opponents have criticized those consultations as e-mail exchanges with longtime friends in the firefighting profession.

The controversy spurred brief circulation of a secession petition in Creswell, where some firefighters and community residents already had charged that the needs and concerns of Creswell residents were getting short shrift in the Cottage Grove-based department.

Board chairman Steve Allen said a series of resolutions approved Wednesday night were drafted by a board subcommittee and legal counsel Ken Jones to "respond to a variety of concerns raised by district employees and community members ... This is a stepping off point to try to get to the bottom of these issues."

One resolution directs Jones to hire an outside expert to review Olsen's investigation of the Short Mountain Fire and determine whether his conclusions concerning Furrer were justified.

Another authorizes Jones to spend up to $5,000 on an audit of the district's financial practices and reports, after critics questioned the accuracy of the district's financial software and reports and leveled accusations that the district was paying late fees on some bills.

Some on the board balked at spending that much money, but board member Don Williams said a thorough, outside probe is the only way to put to rest "all the rumors and questions" and "clear the chief to where he can do his job."

"I want to know if the chief has done his job or if it is impossible for anyone to do this job," Williams said.

The board also voted to form a subcommittee to review concerns raised by Creswell area residents.

"We want to review all the problems which have an impact on the district's ability to function as a cohesive unit," Allen said.