Report paints a sordid picture of former fire chief

The allegations brought against former Anderson Fire Chief Joe Piccinini by members of his own department have finally been made public, thanks in no small part to a lawsuit brought by the Record Searchlight under the California Public Records Act.

Shasta County Superior Court Judge Monica Marlow also deserves a round of applause for upholding the public's right to know and ordering the release of that report, which the Anderson Fire Protection District's board of directors had been advised to keep confidential by their attorney Michael Fitzpatrick.

The Record Searchlight has posted on-line a 41-page executive summary or "Report of the Internal Administrative Investigation" conducted by Neil J. Purcell, Jr., formerly Anderson's police chief, now retired and living in Big Sky, Mont.

Members of the public who desire the other 900-plus pages of interview transcripts can, for $5, purchase a CD from the Anderson Fire Protection District with Purcell's entire report, a report that ultimately cost the district's rate-payers more than $41,000 not including the newspaper's attorney fees, should they be awarded.

As detailed on page A-1 of this newspaper and on our Web site, initial reviews of the 41-page summary report and the interview transcripts paint a sordid picture of the internal operations of Anderson's fire department where a Fire Chief was apparently able to get embarrassingly drunk in uniform, berated or sexually harassed his male and female subordinates, regularly sprinkled his speech with profanities and used district property for personal use including viewing pornographic Web sites on his work computers.

Throughout his 10.5-hour interview by Purcell, Piccinini repeatedly proclaimed his own innocence and denied most of the allegations, proclaiming that things were just done differently in Tulsa, Okla., where he had worked previously.

If the allegations contained in Purcell's internal investigation are found to be true - and based on Mr. Purcell's track record with the Anderson and Laguna Beach police departments I am confident they will prove to be so - then since October of 2007, when Piccinini was hired as Fire Chief to supervise 28 paid or volunteer fire fighting personnel, life at the Anderson Fire Protection District would have been pure hell.

A sexually-charged atmosphere where foul language, abusive behavior, questionable ethics and heavy drinking were not only tolerated but exhibited by the fire chief on a regular basis is no place I would feel comfortable working, nor would I want my 21-year-old son or my 19-year-old daughter around such people regardless of what the job paid either monetarily or in public recognition.

However, since Piccinini was granted immunity by Purcell prior to his interview, there is some debate as to whether any information gathered in the report can ever be used in any criminal proceedings against the former chief, who resigned July 1 to find a job with another fire agency in another California town.