By Juan Montoya
And we thought the sloppy (and potentially criminal) administration at the Brownsville Fire Department had ended when indicted former Chief Carlos Elizondo was fired.
Well, guess again.
On Dec. 31, the permits from the state for the department to operate its EMS ambulances expired and no one noticed. We have confirmed that this act escaped Chief Jarrett Sheldon, the hand-picked replacement that former city manager Charlie Cabler appointed to succeed Elizondo.
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Since Dec. 31, the city's ambulances have been operating under an emergency extension while they take the steps to make them operate legally. The Texas EMS Act requires a valid operation permit for all EMS ambulances under the Texas Health and Safety Code administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The extension if for the month of January only. It's illegal to be driving the ambulance without an original license, and all the ambulances' licenses are expired.
Sources say Sheldon and Asst. Chief Sam Ortega gave the order to put the ambulances in service regardless if they don't have the required original license posted on every ambulance. Theoretically, every emergency they go to is in violation of the Texas Department of Health and Human Services rule.
Sheldon, if you'll remember, was one of Elizondo's deputy fire chiefs. The other was Ernie Estrada, a firefighter who was catapulted to the rank of deputy chief over other more experienced and qualified officers because he happened to be Cabler's paella-cooking buddy and was said to be doing construction work on Charlie's house in partial payment for the promotion and resulting salary increase.
Elizondo was named as being partially responsible for steering ambulance transfers to a private ambulance company as well as Estrada. Being the other deputy chief, Sheldon had to know what was happening and turned a blind eye to the alleged wrongdoing that took money from the city to funnel it to the private company with links to Elizondo.
Now there is no one to blame for this latest fiasco but Sheldon and perhaps Asst. Chief Ortega. Will there be some accountability in this demanded by the city commission?
Brownsville being what it is, we may never see a resolution to this matter and keep plodding on to mediocrity.
But one thing we will soon have to account for is a homeowner's pending lawsuit on a fire that destroyed the home Tuesday night at 1005 Milpa Verde. Everything the family living there had was lost in the fire and community fundraisers have been gathering funds to try to help them recover.
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Tragic as that may be, we have learned that the residence did not have to burn down if firefighters – and Sheldon was there personally when it reignited – would have performed their due diligence.
From what we have been told, the initial call to the fire department was for a car on fire, which the firefighters doused and then, thinking it was doused, left the scene.
They were called back a second time when a hotspot missed by the fire crew reignited and set the garage on fire. The firefighters returned and doused those flames. The reigniting of the fire brouoght out the top guns of the department, Sheldon included, and the fire was put out.
Or so they thought.
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Apparently Sheldon and his boys missed yet another hotspot and this time the fire spread to the home. When the firefighters were called to the scene the third time, they found the home fully engulfed. It was a total loss.
We have heard that the homeowner is already seeking legal representation to sue the City of Brownsville over the loss of her house.
From a negligence standpoint, it should be a slam dunk for whichever legal eagle gets the case. And with the fire chief being present at the scene when the garage caught on fire, it points to the state of leadership (or lack thereof) at the long-suffering fire department.
If you wish to donate to the Cavazos family, the number to call is (956) 667-3871.
And just where does the buck stop here? Is it time for a quick fix at the top again?
And we thought the sloppy (and potentially criminal) administration at the Brownsville Fire Department had ended when indicted former Chief Carlos Elizondo was fired.
Well, guess again.
On Dec. 31, the permits from the state for the department to operate its EMS ambulances expired and no one noticed. We have confirmed that this act escaped Chief Jarrett Sheldon, the hand-picked replacement that former city manager Charlie Cabler appointed to succeed Elizondo.
Since Dec. 31, the city's ambulances have been operating under an emergency extension while they take the steps to make them operate legally. The Texas EMS Act requires a valid operation permit for all EMS ambulances under the Texas Health and Safety Code administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The extension if for the month of January only. It's illegal to be driving the ambulance without an original license, and all the ambulances' licenses are expired.Sources say Sheldon and Asst. Chief Sam Ortega gave the order to put the ambulances in service regardless if they don't have the required original license posted on every ambulance. Theoretically, every emergency they go to is in violation of the Texas Department of Health and Human Services rule.
Sheldon, if you'll remember, was one of Elizondo's deputy fire chiefs. The other was Ernie Estrada, a firefighter who was catapulted to the rank of deputy chief over other more experienced and qualified officers because he happened to be Cabler's paella-cooking buddy and was said to be doing construction work on Charlie's house in partial payment for the promotion and resulting salary increase.
Elizondo was named as being partially responsible for steering ambulance transfers to a private ambulance company as well as Estrada. Being the other deputy chief, Sheldon had to know what was happening and turned a blind eye to the alleged wrongdoing that took money from the city to funnel it to the private company with links to Elizondo.
Now there is no one to blame for this latest fiasco but Sheldon and perhaps Asst. Chief Ortega. Will there be some accountability in this demanded by the city commission?
Brownsville being what it is, we may never see a resolution to this matter and keep plodding on to mediocrity.
But one thing we will soon have to account for is a homeowner's pending lawsuit on a fire that destroyed the home Tuesday night at 1005 Milpa Verde. Everything the family living there had was lost in the fire and community fundraisers have been gathering funds to try to help them recover.
Tragic as that may be, we have learned that the residence did not have to burn down if firefighters – and Sheldon was there personally when it reignited – would have performed their due diligence.From what we have been told, the initial call to the fire department was for a car on fire, which the firefighters doused and then, thinking it was doused, left the scene.
They were called back a second time when a hotspot missed by the fire crew reignited and set the garage on fire. The firefighters returned and doused those flames. The reigniting of the fire brouoght out the top guns of the department, Sheldon included, and the fire was put out.
Or so they thought.
We have heard that the homeowner is already seeking legal representation to sue the City of Brownsville over the loss of her house.
From a negligence standpoint, it should be a slam dunk for whichever legal eagle gets the case. And with the fire chief being present at the scene when the garage caught on fire, it points to the state of leadership (or lack thereof) at the long-suffering fire department.
If you wish to donate to the Cavazos family, the number to call is (956) 667-3871.
And just where does the buck stop here? Is it time for a quick fix at the top again?