If Grand Blanc Fire Chief Jamie Jent is sacked, union officials say morale will tank.
Just weeks after Jent and his firefighters were hailed as heroes for their actions at a mass shooting and fire at a local church, local officials put him on adminstrative leave.
“At the Latter-day Saints, when Chief Jent arrived on location, he didn’t take over the scene. He knew, he checked with his people, made sure everyone was good, and let the commanders keep going. And then he went off and did stuff in the unified command,” Alex Newton, the president of the Michigan Association of Firefighter’s Union (MAFF) Local 1137, told WNEM.
“Normally a chief would just arrive on scene and take over, but he didn’t. He has trust in his people. He leads from the sidelines where a chief should lead.”
Newton said the firefighters who work alongside Jent have not been approached about his leadership.
“They would have heard all the amazing things he’s doing, the pathway he’s paving for the future, for the community as a whole, the health and safety that he’s taken. Within a week, Chief Jent moved us out of our one station that was unhealthy to be sleeping in, that we’ve been asking for a long time. He’s done nothing but amazing and continues. If he’s going to put out observations, how he’s leading the department, when you talk to the department, that’s a question we have. Talk to us if you’re going to decide our future.”
