Firing of Marion, IA, Firefighter Upheld by Civil Service Commission

Aug. 12—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

MARION — The Marion Civil Service Commission has upheld the firing of a firefighter found to have pressured a coworker to not report an incident of workplace violence.

The three-member commission filed its findings Tuesday, validating the Nov. 1 termination of former firefighter William Zamastil. According to a specification of charges and grounds, Zamastil violated portions of the employee handbook related to retaliation and dishonesty.

"Firefighters, like all civil servants, ... must be held to a higher standard when it comes to their conduct," the ruling states. "This retaliatory conduct erodes the trust in the department and cannot be dismissed when the firefighting profession relies heavily on trusting ... fellow employees in life and death situations."

Zamastil had been employed with the city since 2015 in the roles of firefighter and acting lieutenant. He appealed his termination to the Civil Service Commission on Nov. 10.

Per the ruling, his termination followed a Sept. 6 incident at a city fire station where another firefighter had begun yelling and throwing chairs to the side. That same individual then approached another coworker "grabbed (him) by his collar and pressed him up against the fridge."

The victim reported that he believed the action was being done as a joke, but that he was still frightened by the interaction. The firefighter who engaged in the disruptive behavior later resigned.

Zamastil, who had witnessed the interaction, repeatedly expressed that he did not believe the incident needed to be reported. Further, he reportedly told the victim "if you don't want to see (their coworker) get fired, leave out the part where he shoved you. Just leave it vague."

Zamastil then kept a close eye on the victim, per the report, and frequently asked him what he was doing and who he was talking to. When the victim did eventually report the incident to the battalion chief on duty, Zamastil expressed his frustration by yelling "What the f—."

Subsequent conversations about Zamastil's conduct triggered an internal investigation into possible violations of the employee handbook that require prompt reporting of workplace violence and bar retaliation against those who report such conduct.

During that investigation, the specification of charges states Zamastil made several inconsistent statements and suggested that he did not attempt to dissuade anyone from reporting the incident despite evidence to the contrary.

A combination of Zamastil's initial conduct and his subsequent dishonesty prompted his eventual termination, according to testimony provided to the commission by Marion Fire Chief Tom Fagan.

In that testimony, Fagan noted that Zamastil exhibited strong technical competency and paramedic experience during his time with the department. Still, Fagan testified that those skills "do not overcome Zamastil's lack of upholding department core values."

" The Marion Fire Department's core values and code of conduct are vital to upholding the public trust," Fagan told The Gazette after Tuesday's Civil Service Commission meeting. "The (commission's) decision recognizes that trust among the members of our team is essential for the safety of all."

Fagan said the ruling also means the department can move forward with back-filling the position and return the department to full staffing levels.