Apr 5, 2025 By Paul Paterra 3 min read

Washington City Council approved disciplinary measures Thursday against three firefighters, including firing two of them.

The motions were approved by each of the three members of council present at Thursday’s meeting, as well as Mayor JoJo Burges. Councilman Joe Pintola was not in attendance.

The motions call for the termination of two firefighters while a third received two weeks’ unpaid suspension and a 60-day period of overtime ineligibility. The motions took effect Friday.

Neither Burgess nor fire Chief Chris Richer would release details, including the names of the firefighters. The Observer-Reporter filed an open records request to obtain the firefighters’ identities Friday morning but did not receive a response prior to the newspaper’s early deadline.

Both officials, however, stressed that the public was not involved nor in any danger as a result of what occurred.

“With respect to the collective bargaining agreement and the employees as well as the process, I cannot make any additional statements at this time,” Richer said. “(The fire department’s) dedicated employees are committed to the highest levels of bravery, integrity and honor. Recently, three of our firefighters failed to meet those standards. …. The actions taken (Thursday) were necessary to ensure that all city of Washington Fire Department employees will be held to those standards and accountable for their actions.”

Richer said the department has two firefighters attending the fire academy who are expected to graduate in June, and noted the department is fully staffed with 22 members.

Council also approved the promotion of Dustin Danley to fire department engineer. Danley, whose promotion took effect Thursday, was sworn into the new position by Burgess.

Also sworn in Thursday were firefighter William Koker and police Lt. Michael Cain.

In other business, Burgess said a job fair will be held May 12 at the Alpine Club Lanes on Jefferson Avenue, with commitments from a number of organizations and companies.

“I believe we can bring jobs here to Washington,” Burgess said after the meeting. “We have a lot of people that have previous convictions. I have two job agencies that focus on giving people second chances that will be at this job fair. We’re trying to get people back to work and give them a reason to be here in Washington.”

Burgess also discussed a relatively new low-income housing program. The city is working with the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County and three local contractors to rebuild houses that may be scheduled for demolition and make them livable. Burgess hopes to have someone moved into a home by the end of the year.

“I want to do something to give someone a pathway to home ownership,” Burgess said. “I can’t continue to watch our (tax) rolls get depleted. Every house we get, we end up tearing them down and we lose that tax base. Why not find a way to give someone who would not ordinarily have that opportunity a chance to buy a house and plant roots in this city? I want people to want to be here and home ownership is the first way to do that.”