BLR Fire Chief under investigation following complaint to Ontario Fire Marshal

The Brudenell Lyndoch and Raglan (BLR) Fire Chief is currently on paid leave after several allegations of misconduct have been levied against him since September by local resident Mike McCloskey. McCloskey has given The Current a copy of his complaint and other supporting documents.

The allegations, which include three separate alcohol related violations, one professional misconduct violation, and one accusation of wilful endangerment of personnel under the Fire Chief’s command, were sent to the Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) on September 30. OFM is an oversight body whose mandate under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act includes investigating and making recommendations to councils in such cases.

Jordan Genrick (inset facebook photo), who has served as the BLR Fire Chief for less than two years, is accused of allowing alcohol inside the fire department vehicles, allowing the consumption of alcohol during sanctioned training events, consuming alcohol with a member of the public while in control of a fire department vehicle, and consuming alcohol while operating his fire department vehicle.

Genrick is also accused of using his authority to engage in a scheme to victimize a member of the public by allowing the entire BLR fire fleet to be deployed to a residence unnecessarily. He is accused of doing this in order to ensure the maximum cost recovery penalty for the individual responsible for the fire. His motivation is said to be that Genrick wanted to purchase a trailer from that resident for a significantly reduced price but the owner refused.

Normally, McCloskey says, an incident of this nature would result in the involvement of just one fire truck. Ordering all vehicles to engage on this call was a red flag to him as he is familiar with fire department procedures. What concerned him in particular was that if Genrick did send the entire fleet to a benign call, he might have risked the lives of his crew and members of the public by sending them to an emergency call needlessly.

The OFM referred the complaint to BLR Council who in turn requested Bruce Beakley, Director of Human Resources for the County of Renfrew, to carry out the investigation. The Current spoke to Mayor Sheldon Keller on October 31 who confirmed that Genrick had been placed on “a non-disciplinary administrative paid leave while the matter is being investigated.”

Photo mybarrysbaynow.com