THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 24, 1996 TAG: 9606240041
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 185 lines
Fire Chief Michael L. Bolac takes credit for bringing a new level of professionalism to the fire department he has headed for 10 years. He has added physical fitness requirements, eliminated remnants of the good-ol'-boy system and made fire prevention a priority.
But his tenure in Chesapeake has sometimes been stormy, and with the recent deaths of two firefighters in the Advance Auto Parts store fire, the firefighters' union has called for his resignation.
The swirl of investigations, second-guessing and finger-pointing has taken its toll.
``It upsets this entire department,'' Bolac said. ``I know that the policies were sound and I know that what we're doing is sound now. I know how many fires the department has fought successfully.''
But R. Michael Mohler of Fairfax, president of the Virginia Professional Firefighters, said firefighters think the chief has tied their hands by not providing adequate resources, staffing and a good communications system.
``Mr. Bolac does not seem to be concerned about the issues that are important to his firefighters and that just proved itself to be true in a tragic way when two firefighters died in the line of duty,'' Mohler said. ``I think he's lost the confidence of the members of his department.''
The local firefighters' union represents about 190 of approximately 325 Chesapeake firefighters and is affiliated with the International Association of Firefighters.
Bolac, a balding man with intense blue eyes that peer from behind silver-rimmed glasses, uses colorful language and doesn't mince words, especially when speaking of the deaths of John Hudgins Jr., 32, and Frank Young, 38, in the March 18 fire.
``The exploitation of this incident angers the hell out of me,'' he said. ``Johnny (Hudgins) made the decision and I'm not going to second-guess him. ``We know now it killed him. . . . We're not talking about a decision where he ran helter-skelter into a burning building. This is a game of unknowns. I've crawled into many buildings where you didn't know what you had. These are instantaneous decisions.''
As he talked in his office recently, Bolac received a phone call from someone offering encouragement. ``Thanks,'' he told the caller. ``I have strong support from the people above me.''
Those calls are common these days, as are similar conversations on the street, he said. He's even received a dozen calls from union firefighters saying they don't support the union's request that he resign. He tells them all he isn't going anywhere.
``I would never run out on this department when I think it needs me most,'' he said. ``I've never run away from any fight. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.''
Behind his desk is a photograph of Bolac hiking the peak of Osterkopf, a 9,000-foot-high mountain in Germany. He likes the challenge of man against mountain and has traveled and hiked extensively.
As a child, Bolac lived in Thailand, England and Austria, the son of a State Department employee. As a teenager, he attended five high schools. He spent about seven years in the Air Force, some on inactive duty.
Bolac, 48, came here from Alexandria, where he rose through the ranks to battalion chief. Bolac was chosen over 134 applicants for the Chesapeake job.
He knows what people are saying about him these days. He knows many blame him for the firefighters' deaths and for dissension within the department.
``I have my supporters and I also have people who would like nothing better than to see me leave,'' said Bolac. ``There are a lot of people taking sides outside the department. It's almost taken on a life of its own. . . . I wish that we could have a more cohesive work force and not eat our young.''
Those who want Bolac to leave say they don't trust him. They blame him for low morale, complain that he changes his tune to suit the audience, and has created a system too heavy with administrators.
One of the ways Bolac is accused of hurting morale is by his defensive ``my way or the highway'' reaction to criticism. Employees report hearing Bolac tell critics, ``If you don't like it, go someplace else'' and ``If you don't like it, sue me.''
They say they can't be named for fear of retribution. Union members say that fear perfectly illustrates the problems with the chief's management style.
Bolac knows he is not viewed as a great communicator. He has been accused of not knowing all his employees by name. He admits he doesn't. In part to combat that image, he has for about five years provided a ``grapevine'' through which his employees can write or telephone him anonymously with questions or comments. He then answers in memos that go to everyone. He has received 20 or 30 messages during that time.
Topics have ranged from a request to explain his management style to allegations that an assistant chief bought office furniture for $4,105 and required remodeling of the office to make it fit.
He also holds meetings twice a year in the each of Chesapeake's 14 firehouses to talk with his troops, gatherings that his employees call ``Mikey meetings.''
Some employees resent his demeanor when he visits their stations. They say he walks by firefighters saying nothing and heads straight for someone with rank.
During Bolac's tenure, he has dealt with claims of racism that occurred when a firefighter put a pillowcase over his head pretending to be a Ku Klux Klan member, allegedly in jest. He also battled problems of sexual harassment when men in one company baked a meatloaf in the shape of a penis and at least one male firefighter slept in the nude without regard for a female firefighter whose bunk was nearby.
Bolac solved the problems with discipline and the creation of separate sleeping quarters for men and women. Firefighters also are now issued clothes they must wear when sleeping.
He attributes some of the unrest through the years to growing pains - changes in the business of firefighting, new technology, more rigorous training requirements, increased presence by women and minorities, and a style of management that gives individuals more responsibility. Bolac takes credit for eliminating the good-ol'-boy network. Times have changed from the days of the ``you light 'em, we fight 'em,'' mentality, he said.
Traditionally, firefighting has been a macho profession, with emphasis on aggressively putting out fires. These days, it has become more professionalized and fire prevention has taken on a bigger role.
Bolac understands there are people out there whose approach is different from his, including members of the firefighters' union.
``I don't throw dead babies on the table,'' Bolac said. ``The union would have me go around and pound my fists and say, `If you don't give us more people, people are going to die.' I don't want to put pressure on City Council or the city manager.''
He also views the union's interest in the topic of requiring two firefighters to be outside a fire, to back up two inside - the so-called ``two-in, two-out rule'' - as opportunistic.
``They didn't ask for my resignation when they say I allegedly knew about the two-in, two-out rule last year,'' he said. Union members say they told Bolac about the requirement at a meeting on Aug. 28, 1995, and that he should have taken action more quickly.
Following the recent fire deaths, the chief issued new operating procedures that require firefighters to wait for backups before going into a burning building.
Bolac understands that the timing of the new policy looks suspicious. ``It coincidentally happened after these fire deaths,'' he said.
The chief said he supports having four people on an engine and the ``two-in, two-out'' rule. ``There's never been any question that we'll comply with it,'' he said.
But the state has done nothing to spell out how to handle the requirement, he said. He is on the committee of Virginia officials who will decide how to enforce the rule. That group met for the first time on April 16.
Personally, Bolac said, he favors leaving the decision on whether to go in or not to an incident commander on the scene.
The two-in, two-out rule ``takes the decision away from the person who's standing there looking at it,'' he said.
He describes a scenario in which the new rules could be troublesome: Firefighters go to a bedroom fire with another unit five minutes behind. Two firefighters on the first engine will be the ones to go in after back-up arrives. By that time, the fire may have progressed significantly.
``They wait,'' he said. ``They may need the rescue team now.''
Another concern for Bolac under the current system is that in satisfying the two-in, two-out regulation, the backup water supply doesn't arrive until the third engine gets there. Previously, the second engine provided that backup.
``It's kind of like being in an operating room but you only have one nurse and you don't have an anesthesiologist,'' he said.
Bolac says he generally supports the concept of two-in, two-out, but doesn't like having to mandate it.
``I'm just trying to show it's not the panacea. . . '' he said. ``Firefighters are going to die.''
This opinion - that firefighting is a dangerous profession where occasional deaths have to be expected - became one of the most controversial expressed by Bolac in the aftermath of the fire deaths.
``They don't have to die,'' Mohler said. ``For a chief to make that statement shows that he doesn't have a real feel for the job or he's just irresponsible. Firefighters should not ever be expected to die.''
The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry is examining whether there was any violation during the fatal fire that warrants a citation.
This is far from Bolac's first confrontation with the union. ``I've tried over the years to extend the olive branch,'' he said. ``But every time I've been beaten over the head with it.''
Recently, union members have also criticized Bolac for his comments to City Council during an April 1994 meeting. Their take on the conversation is that Bolac turned down additional firefighters.
Bolac's version is that he told council he supported putting four people on a unit but thought the department had higher priorities. At the time, he wanted another unit for Deep Creek, full staffing for a unit in Great Bridge, one in Western Branch and a ladder company for Bowers Hill, he said.
``It's not a question of the nasty old fire chief doesn't want four people to a unit; it's a question of priorities,'' he said. ``Where should you put your new people first?''
Bolac's greatest wish now is to move past the endless media attention dissecting every aspect of the fatal fire.
``I am very proud of this department and everyone in it,'' he said. ``I guess I don't want the people out there to suffer any more. They do good work.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Richard L. Dunston
The Virginian-Pilot
Chesapeake Fire Chief
Michael L. Bolac
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT PROFILE FIRE CHIEF by CNB