The employment of Charles Krimmert, fire chief of Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) since 2017, was terminated at a special meeting of commissioners held on Zoom on Thursday, July 14.

Much of the meeting was held in a closed, executive session, attended by the board and the district’s attorney, Eric Quinn.

After the board’s conclusion of an almost hour-long executive session, Commissioner John Simonds presented a motion, seconded by Commissioner Pam King, to immediately terminate Krimmert’s employment, without cause. The motion stipulated that as per the terms of Krimmert’s contract, he would receive severance pay amounting to six months of his current salary — a cost of approximately $85,000 to the district.

Additionally, the motion called for Matt Vinci, who was recently hired as VIFR’s assistant chief, to immediately assume the position of interim chief for the district.

After a short discussion during which many of the commissioners expressed the difficulty of the decision they faced and also praised Krimmert’s fiscal management of the district and some other aspects of his work, the commissioners voted on the motion to fire him without cause, with Chair Candy McCullough casting the only no vote.

Commissioner Brigitte Schran-Brown, who along with commissioners Camile Staczek, Pam King and John Simonds voted to end Krimmert’s employment, echoed sentiments of a Beachcomber commentary she authored with Staczek that appeared in the newspaper’s July 14 edition.

“I’m grateful for the work he did, but I also feel like I need to listen to the voices within the fire district and within the community,” she said.

Decision followed investigation

The decision to terminate Krimmert’s employment came after attorney Quinn was directed by the board, on June 29, to conduct an investigation into Krimmert’s performance. Also on June 29, Krimmert was placed on a two-week paid leave from his job.

The investigation stemmed from a letter, sent by the four firefighter captains serving Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) to the board on June 27, describing their extreme dissatisfaction with Krimmert’s leadership and unequivocally stating that they believed he was not the right person for the job of chief of VIFR. The Beachcomber obtained the letter from a knowledgeable source who is not affiliated with the district.

In the letter, the captains described serious and ongoing workplace issues, some stemming from Krimmert’s volatile temper, and said his conduct had created an “us vs. them” relationship between the administration and front-line workers.

The letter, the captains said, represented the “culmination of years of frustration, and ultimately, the agonizing realization that we no longer have a choice as to whether or not to address our concerns with [the commissioners] directly.”

As a result of the complaint, an investigation was conducted by Quinn, the district’s attorney. The investigation, according to sources both inside and outside of the district, involved extensive interviews with numerous current and former employees, commissioners and others associated with the district.

Candy McCullough, chair of the board, said in a phone call that she did not know if Quinn’s report would be released to the public and that the commissioners had not yet decided on the process of officially hiring a new chief for the district.

She also said she said thought that it would be a good idea for the commissioners to hold a public meeting to listen to community members’ concerns as the district moves forward after the decision to terminate Krimmert.

Echoing comments she made at the board meeting, McCullough also reiterated that she vehemently disagreed with the board’s decision, saying she believed the captains had stepped outside the district’s chain of command by addressing their complaint to the board instead of their superior officer, Assistant Chief Matt Vinci.

Interim Chief Matt Vinci

Vinci, now interim chief of VIFR, was hired in early June to replace Robert Larsen, the district’s former assistant chief.

Prior to being hired by VIFR, Vinci had a long career both as a firefighter/EMT and in leadership roles with the International Association of Fire Firefighters (IAFF), where he served as chief of staff and the director of education, training and human relations.

Reached by phone for comment, Vinci first thanked Chief Krimmert for his years of service to the district.

At the present time, he said, the members of the district will remain strong and have pulled together as one team.

“Our members will continue to focus on providing the highest level of service to residents, visitors and businesses on Vashon,” he said.

Vinci said he would also advocate for public meetings to be held, both to hear from the public and also communicate his intention to work with commissioners to develop a strategic plan for the district.

“I think it is important to be open, transparent, and to listen to the public, not only in this time, but as we build a future plan to deliver service,” he said.

He offered reassurance that VIFR’s members “stand well-trained and ready to respond to the needs of Vashon Island, and that is my job as a leader to make sure they have the resources we need. It’s a tough time for the district, but we’re going to get through it while continuing to deliver excellent service to the island.”

Vinci also said that he had not yet been given direction from the board as to what their process would be in determining the hire of a new chief, but that he was “absolutely interested in leading Vashon Island Fire & Rescue.”

Krimmert’s tenure

Krimmert had served as Vashon’s fire chief since January 2017, when he was chosen from a field of candidates identified in a national search conducted by the board.

A long-time islander, Krimmert assumed his role with more than 16 years of experience as a firefighter, EMT and volunteer officer with VIFR. Additionally, his resume included more than 30 years of experience in business, having served as a senior associate vice-president/senior project manager for a Seattle architecture firm where he managed multi-million dollar projects with teams of up to 35 architects.

During his tenure, Krimmert was credited by McCullough, former board members and others in the community for restoring financial solvency to the department.

In 2017, less than a year after Krimmert’s hiring, the district won voter approval of a measure that increased its property-tax levy revenues by about 85 percent in 2018.

The measure also authorized commissioners to increase the levy up to an additional 6 percent in each of the subsequent five years. Without such voter approval, the limit is 1 percent.

In response to the news of the commissioners’ decision, Rick Wallace, manager of VashonBePrepared’s Emergency Operations Center, praised Krimmert for his work as incident commander to the Vashon’s pandemic response teams.

“Charlie .. gave us thoughtful guidance at every step of the way,” said Wallace. “Just one example, early in our activation, [was that] he ordered public distribution of our internal Emergency Operations Center Situation Reports and they became the foundation of our extremely successful public health education effort. Thousands got vital information on food relief, vaccinations, and everything we did. That’s one big reason for our low infection rate compared to the mainland.”

In his work with VashonBePrepared, Wallace said Krimmert had also “consoled us during the exhausting hard times. He cheered us on when we needed cheering on. He made us feel appreciated.”

Vaccination controversy

Krimmert 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.

The news traveled beyond Vashon, as other news outlets including The Seattle Times wrote coverage and editorialized on the chief’s choice. Islanders also weighed in in public comments at commissioner meetings, as well as social media posts and letters to the editor of The Beachcomber, with the majority expressing strong opposition to Krimmert’s stance.

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.

Krimmert also received a written reprimand from the board in September of 2021 for violating “VIFR policy and code of conduct for his discourteous treatment of a citizen on July 21, 2021.”

According to Andy Johnson, who at the time served as chair of the board of commissioners, the incident stemmed from “unintended consequences” of Krimmert’s efforts to help a mentally ill islander.”