Council, wake up!
Just when you thought this "dirty little secret" with the city fire department was over, it's back, again. Bakersfield Fire Chief Ron Fraze and his wonderful cohort, Deputy Chief Gary Hutton, along with retired Battalion Chief John Weber, have really made a mess down at fire headquarters.
Lois Henry truly outdid herself this time around. ("The buck stops at the council," Sept. 6.) She is definitely not afraid to tackle the most pressing issues at hand, no matter who it is, or how invincible they think they are. I spent three hours reading the entire article and the document links on the Bakersfield.com website.
This whole thing stinks, and it smells like Fraze, Hutton, and Weber. Hello, members of the Bakersfield City Council -- please wake up! Anybody with a brain, including 12 jurors, can see that Fraze and Hutton need to be held accountable for their actions.
They just cost me, a city taxpayer, over a million bucks, all because they didn't like Robert Pratt. Apparently, Captain Doug Webb thought Pratt was an outstanding employee and wasn't afraid to press the issue with the "brass." I am appalled that along with Pratt, Battalion Chief Matt Moore and Hall Ambulance Supervisor David Nelson each notified fire department management about Captain Perry not responding to people having heart attacks and nothing has been done about it.
It is obvious that Pratt was a whistleblower and the fire department management team buried their heads in the sand while people's lives were at stake. How do they sleep at night?
MICHELLE WALPER
Bakersfield
