‘No confidence’ in Central County Fire Chief Bruce Barron

In June, 85% of the Teamsters 856 Central County Firefighters Union members voted no confidence in Barron’s ability to lead, asking for his immediate removal. The notice was delivered to Lisa Goldman, Burlingame’s city manager and the Central County Fire Department’s chief administrative officer. Shortly after, Barron announced his retirement in October. He has been chief since 2019. But the union members are saying it’s not good enough and want him out immediately.

Goldman, responding on behalf of Barron, said the concerns were brought forward by the union in February as written grievances and the department agreed to investigate the issues through its process. But the union asked to put the review on hold while the labor agreement was negotiated, she said in an email.

“It would be inappropriate for the department or the chief to comment on specific grievances or claims outside of the grievance process,” Goldman said in the email Friday, July 20.

However, a statement from CCFD Union, calling for the investigation into Barron’s alleged gross misconduct, led members to be subjected to further acts of retaliation, according to the release.

Capt. Marc Symkowik, an acting battalion chief, said removing the chief is needed to change the culture within the organization.

“We are trying to build a better organization, where people are free to speak without repercussions, where we can serve the district, to the highest level,” Symkowik said.

He heard Barron allegedly used derogatory language against Peggy Shomaker, the union secretary, and Ryan Klarich, firefighter and union leader.

“We want to build a culture where everyone can feel free to contribute in an open and honest manner to the organization without fear of repercussions,” Symkowik said.

Shomaker claimed that during a promotional interview process, Barron released a statement through his administration stating someone received the job before interviewing all the candidates.

“We are just dealing with sham-interviews, questionable promotional processes and it’s been this way for a long time. If you actively do things off-duty like golf, or go to school with certain individuals that are already in the command staff level or already have an outside of work relationship and are willing to be a ‘yes man’ and never ask questions, you get promoted,” Shomaker said. “But if you are somebody who shows leadership skills, asks questions, comes up with ideas, wants to collaborate but it doesn’t work for their vision, they will retaliate against you, talk poorly of you and will not allow you to have opportunities.”

Klarich is concerned the department is spread too thin and it affects service calls. Too often, multiple engines are put out of service, often simultaneously, for tasks like fire inspections and training. It affects service response calls and other nearby organizations like San Bruno and San Mateo fire departments often pick up the slack, Klarich said.

“It troubles me, I have issues when people die, I should have been in my station and maybe that person doesn’t die, it weighs on me,” Klarich said.

The CCFD is a joint powers authority that serves around 65,000 residents in Burlingame, Millbrae and Hillsborough. Its services include fire, emergency medical services, wildland fire response and specialty rescue services.

The department staffs only three firefighters per fire engine when the National Fire Protection Association recommends four person staffing per engine as the standard practice, according to a presentation facilitated by Barron to the Burlingame City Council in July.

A report administered by an outside consultant found Station 36 is in poor condition along with multiple other stations, all of which are an average of 54 years old. Results of the report showed that four of the seven stations were rated to be in fair condition and three were rated poor condition. And the administration facility at Station 36 is considered inadequate and not intended for modern administrative work. All the station facilities are owned by the cities of Burlingame, Hillsborough and Millbrae, according to a presentation.

After the department asked the department’s Board of Directors to put a hold on its investigation in February, it is now asking to reopen the investigation. However, Goldman said the union is not allowing sufficient time for this to occur.

“We are grateful for the 32 years of service from Chief Barron with the city of Burlingame and Central County Fire,” she said. “We wish him well on the next chapter of his life after his well-earned retirement this October.”