Hooks, Ladders & Deception: How far did one fire department go to improve it's insurance rating?
Are some departments cheating to get a better grade?
The Fox 9 Investigators are sure of one thing: A lot of questions are surrounding the actions and motives of one metro fire department.
Steve Woodford spent 16 years with Brooklyn Park Fire.
Last year he was fired for "unprofessional conduct" after making some jokes about the department.
But Woodford says that's not why he's going public with some very serious allegations. Back in March of 2002, an inspector from ISO, the Insurance Services Office, paid a visit to Brooklyn Park. The inspector's job was to evaluate the city's ability to fight fires. Everything from training records, to the type of equipment that's carried on the trucks, is factored into the inspector's report.
You get more points if you have the "right" equipment. The more points you get, the better the department's ISO rating. A good rating carries bragging rights and the possibility of saving money. Remember, many insurance companies use that rating to help figure out what they'll charge homeowners and businesses for premiums. But steve woodford says the Brooklyn Park department didn't play by the rules. Woodford says they pulled a fast one on the inspector. Fooled him into believing the department had more of the "right" equipment then it really did.
How? By borrowing gear from other departments and putting it into Brooklyn Park's fire stations.
"I'm kind of embarrassed and i'm kind of ashamed that I said that I would help with it," said Scott Mannstedt, a Brooklyn Park firefighter. When we first approached firefighter Scott Mannstedt he was reluctant to talk. But then, this 20 year veteran of the Brooklyn Park Department, agreed to tell us what he knows.
Mannstedt says he personally went along with the deputy fire chief to pick up nozzles, and other equipment from fire departments in Maple Grove, Plymouth, Roseville and Rogers. It was cheaper to borrow than buy.
Mannstedt says the borrowed equipment was then added to some of Brooklyn Park's trucks, including one which he says had been out of service for months. Why outfit an old truck with another fire department's gear?
"To give the appearance of another piece of equipment that was capable of going to a fire."
After the inspection that truck disappeared. Where is it now? It's not in Brooklyn Park. The Fox 9 Investigators found it sitting in a driveway in Shoreview with a "for sale" sign in the window."
How did it get here? "Well I bought it at an auction..." said the truck's new owner. Turns out the truck which Brooklyn Park used to help improve it's inspection score was sold shortly after the inspection.
But there was more to the scheme.
Mannstedt says the plan also involved moving equipment during the inspection, from one fire station to the next, always one step a head of the inspector.
The Fox 9 Investigators asked, "As the inspection is going on, you're moving equipment that's already been looked at, to another location where it will be looked at again?"
"Exactly," Mannstedt said.
A shell game he says, to make it look like the fire department was well equipped and deserving of a better rating.
At one point the transfer of gear between stations was interupted by a house fire. Mannstedt says the fire chief took it upon himself to keep the inspector occupied until the equipment was moved into place.
Not all of the equipment for the inspection was borrowed. Mannstedt says some flashlights and tarps were purchased at a Menards store.
Brooklyn park came out of the inspection with an improved ISO rating, going from a four to a three. It's one of only 33 fire departments in the state that can make that claim.
Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Meinzer admits picking up equipment from other departments and using it during Brooklyn Park's ISO inspection.
Sources tell the Fox 9 Investigators that equipment was also borrowed from the Anoka Vo Tech school, where a member of the Brooklyn Park Fire Department oversees the fire training program.
"He said I need the equipment there so we can pass the ISO test, because we don't have that equipment and I just want to show that we have it," said Jean Lundberg, former tech school secretary.
She's talking about Todd Seitz.
"That's incorrect," said Todd Seitz. Seitz , who is also a deputy chief, denies using any equipment from the Vo Tech. But he confirms that gear from other department's was included in the inspection.
Which brings us to Fire Chief Steve Schmidt. The man who put out this guidebook for his department to follow. It says "we will maintain the highest ehtical standards in our dealings with each other and our constituents."
Schmidt defends his actions by saying other fire departments do the same thing. He says at least three have, but he wouldn't name them.
The Fox 9 Investigators have learned of at least one other department using borrowed equipment for an ISO Inspection.
Scott Anderson, the fire chief in Maple Grove says his department has done it.
Anderson declined to be interviewed on camera But told us quote...."we made an ethical blunder and we regret it."
Anderson also acknowledged that he loaned gear to Brooklyn Park, knowing it was going to be used for its ISO inspection.
He said it was a mistake and won't happen again.
What about those other cities which offered equipment to Brooklyn Park?
The Roseville chief says he thought the gear was being used for training. The Rogers chief says he was unaware equipment had been loaned out. We were unable to reach the Plymouth Fire Chief.
The City of Brooklyn Park is now conducting its own investigation. Chief Schmidt is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome.
In the meantime, his deputy chief, Jeff Meinzer, the guy who actually went around to pick up the borrowed equipment, has been placed in charge of the department.
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