STATter 911

Note: This is a rewrite of Monday's article, adding Michael Parrotta's views of the situation.

"Everything they say is inaccurate. Every single word." That's Jim Bowie's reaction to International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger's assessment of the planning for last Friday's memorial service honoring the 9 firefighters killed in Charleston. Bowie is the Executive Director of the South Carolina State Firefighters' Association.

"Harold Schaitberger's message was 100-per-cent accurate." South Carolina Professional Fire Fighters Association President Michael Parrotta's words on the very same subject. There seems to be little that Bowie and Parrotta, two South Carolina fire service leaders, agree on about last week's events.

On Sunday, STATter 911 first wrote about the message Schaitberger sent to his union's leadership. That email, published on some IAFF affiliated websites, gives Schaitberger's view that the preparations for the memorial service at the Charleston Coliseum were not very "organized and (not) up to the IAFF's normal standards for funerals and memorials". Schaitberger explained that Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas and Mayor Joseph Riley, Jr. are not "labor friendly" and "have resisted any of our planning ideas and have refused all IAFF offers of assistance".

Schaitberger called Charleston an "openly anti-union city that is hostile towards the IAFF".

On Tuesday, Michael Parrotta stood by those remarks. In a phone conversation with STATter 911, Parrotta said that IAFF Local 61 in Charleston has always been met "with a closed door when it comes to Mayor Riley's office." Parrotta said because the union does not have collective bargaining rights, Local 61 has long concentrated on safety issues.

Much of the criticism in the original message focused on Bowie. Schaitberger wrote: "They appointed the president of the state volunteers association, Jim Bowie, to run the entire memorial program. Bowie does not like the IAFF".

In a phone conversation with STATter 911 on Monday, Jim Bowie said his main role was as incident commander for Friday's event. Bowie said that Mayor Riley had final approval for the agenda.

Bowie said he is "infuriated" by the charges. According to Bowie, "IAFF had a seat at the table every single day".

Michael Parrotta agreed that IAFF was in the room, but said any input or assistance they offered was rejected. For example, Parrotta said the IAFF urged that the memorial service be set for a later date. IAFF wanted to allow more firefighters from around the country who wanted to attend to make their way to Charleston.

According to Parrotta, IAFF locals throughout the U.S. sent wreaths and flowers to Charleston, but that those items weren't made part of the ceremony. Parrotta said, "We were not there to take away the program, but only to offer our assistance in any way we could".

Jim Bowie said there were about 150 people involved in the planning of the memorial service. Bowie said it was clear that the IAFF representatives weren't happy that they did not have a leadership role in the process.

But Bowie also pointed out that the IAFF was on the right side of an issue he was involved in last week. At one point during the planning, Bowie wanted Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani to speak at the service. Bowie now believes it was a mistake to suggest Giuliani as a speaker. Bowie credited the IAFF's Jeff Zack for helping to straighten him out on this issue.

Schaitberger characterized this episode a bit differently in last week's message to IAFF leadership: "Bowie is also the leader of the South Carolina first responders for Giuliani campaign and has attempted to make this memorial a platform for Rudy. We are fighting to keep this from becoming another political platform."

Jim Bowie said that his support of Giuliani is a "personal decision". He pointed out that the chair of the coalition of South Carolina firefighters backing the former New York mayor is actually Croft Fire Department Chief Lewis Hayes.

Bowie denies Schaitberger's claims that he failed to support the 2 -in, 2-out standard in South Carolina. Bowie believes South Carolina's rule of 2-in and 1-out was a compromise position at the time and he would continue to fight for the stronger standard.

Michael Parrotta doesn't believe this. Parrotta said he has seen no indication that Jim Bowie or the South Carolina Firefighters' Association have 2 in, 2 out on their agenda.

As for Harold Schaitberger's claim that Jim Bowie doesn't like Michael Parrotta, Bowie said he hardly knows Parrotta and has nothing negative to say about him.

Michael Parrotta claimed that long before the Charleston tragedy, Bowie refused to speak to him. Parrotta believes that attitude carried over to the planning for the memorial service.

While Bowie and others have criticized Schaitberger's assessment of the memorial service, Parrotta thought it was important for the union president to explain to the membership why they were being excluded from roles in the service.

But Jim Bowie characterized Schaitberger's message this way: "It is a page of untruths, false and inaccurate. I can't imagine anyone writing something like that."

You can find Harold Schaitberger's message, along with a variety of comments from STATter 911 readers here.