Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) Fire Chief Charles Krimmert has been placed on paid administrative leave for two weeks, effective June 30, pending an investigation to be conducted regarding a personnel matter.

The decision by VIFR’s board of commissioners took place after the end of a closed executive session, also attended by the district’s legal counsel, Eric Quinn, at the regular commissioner’s meeting on Wednesday, June 29.

The meeting was held on Zoom, with participants from the public excluded from the executive session, but allowed back in as it was repeatedly extended. The closed session, initially set for 30 minutes but extended four times, lasted almost two hours.

After the meeting was reopened to the public, the only business conducted was a motion made by Commissioner John Simonds and seconded by Brigitte Schran Brown. The motion, in its entirety, proposed that “the fire board place Chief Krimmert on paid administrative leave from June 30 to July 14, pending further investigation.”

The motion passed by a four-to-one vote, with Candy McCullough, the board’s chairperson, casting the only nay vote.

After the vote, commissioner Camille Staczek moved for the meeting to be adjourned and that another meeting be scheduled to address other items on the board’s agenda for the night. That motion passed by unanimous vote, prompting a member of the public in attendance, Ron Smothermon, to express his disappointment that more information had not been forthcoming about the decision to place Krimmert on leave and conduct an investigation.

“You dropped that big bombshell, and then the meeting is over, without any public discussion,” he said.

In a phone call with The Beachcomber on Thursday, June 30, McCullough offered an apology to any members of the public in attendance at the meeting but declined to comment on the commissioners’ decision to place Krimmert on leave, or provide details about the department’s pending investigation, including who would conduct it.

Following protocol, she said, the district’s assistant chief, Matt Vinci, would lead VIFR during Krimmert’s two-week leave.

The Beachcomber also reached out to Krimmert by phone on Friday and left a message, asking for comment on the situation. The call, as of late Friday afternoon, had not been returned.

Vinci, who was recently hired by commissioners after a national search for an assistant chief, began his work with VIFR on June 1. Previously, he had served in leadership roles within the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) headquarters in Washington, D.C. His career also includes 20 years of service working as a caption/Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with the City of South Burlington, Vermont, Fire Department.

In a phone interview with The Beachcomber, Vinci declined to comment on the investigation of Krimmert but said that islanders could expect VIFR’s operations to be smooth during the time of the fire chief’s leave and throughout the upcoming July Fourth holiday weekend — typically a busy time for the department.

He said that he had just participated in a planning meeting with the district’s fire captains and that VIFR staff members were well prepared to serve island residents and visitors alike during the holiday and beyond.

“We have very well-trained crews and members who will continue to provide a high level of service, skills and preparedness,” Vinci said. “We just stay focused on our jobs and commitments as we go through this period of time in the district.”

Regarding safety over the Fourth of July weekend, Vinci urged islanders to enjoy the weekend, to be careful to not mix alcohol with recreations, and “leave the fireworks to fireworks professionals.”

Should islanders need services from the fire district, he said, “we are here to be able to respond.”

Krimmert, who has served as Vashon’s fire chief since 2017, made news on Vashon and beyond in the fall of 2021 when he initially stated he would not comply with Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID vaccination mandate for firefighters and EMTs, proposing instead that the board change his job description to eliminate a requirement for him to serve as an EMT in the district.

As weeks passed, the deadline for the mandate loomed and commissioners voted to not change his job description, Krimmert changed course and announced he had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Also, in September of 2021, Krimmert received a written reprimand from the board of commissioners for his violation of “VIFR policy and code of conduct for his discourteous treatment of a citizen on July 20, 2021.”

The board chair at the time, Andy Johnson, told The Beachcomber that incident that provoked the reprimand was complicated.

“Chief Krimmert had been doing his best to try to help a mentally ill islander, and that turned out to have unintended consequences, and it turned into a confrontation in the lobby of the fire station,” he said.