JEFFERSONVILLE —
A written reprimand against Capt. Dave DeArk, a Jeffersonville firefighter who was pulled out of a flooding basement apartment — before the two civilians he was rescuing were pulled out — has been reversed by Jeffersonville’s Fire Merit Commission.
The disputed reprimand, issued by the administration of the Jeffersonville Fire Department, relates to an incident that took place during an Aug. 4 flood.
The firefighters’ union, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 558, filed a grievance in relation to the reprimand last year. In December, it went before the Jeffersonville Board of Public Works and Safety, but it opted to send the issue to the merit commission, which took jurisdiction over personnel matters in January.
DeArk was called to rescue a couple from a basement apartment on Howard Avenue, then union president Eric Hedrick said during an interview in December. Attempts to interview DeArk as well as union President David Kaskie were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Hedrick said water began filling the apartment shortly after wall inside gave away. DeArk called for assistance from other firefighters and broke a window as a means of escape for both himself and the couple.
He was pulled out of the apartment before the civilians. Hedrick said that was done so he could be the one clearing broken glass out of the window frame.
Attorney Greg Clark said the merit commission met behind closed doors Feb. 26 to discuss the issue. DeArk, the two civilians who filed the complaint, as well as Fire Chief Tony Harrod, spoke at the meeting, according to Clark. About eight or nine witnesses spoke in total.
About a week later, at a public meeting March 4, the board voted to remove the reprimand from DeArk’s file, Clark said.
“After we saw the facts of the situation, we decided it was the right thing to do,” said board member Lyn Akermon, who made the motion to remove the reprimand.
He said he felt that the process worked well and that he’d heard no criticism of the board’s decision.
Board President David Martin pointed out it was a 5-0 vote, however he declined to comment on the matter any further because it was a personnel matter, as did the city’s administration.
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