County fire dept. hiring practices probed

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, May 29, 2001 | 10:33 a.m.

U.S. Department of Justice investigators who are probing the Clark County Fire Department's hiring practices have requested data regarding the number of women who work in the division, officials said.

Clark County Fire Administrator Jerry Keating would not elaborate on the federal investigation, but he said that his department was asked to submit a statistical breakdown of women employed in each division.

Of the 623 administrative, fire suppression and fire prevention positions at the county Fire Department, 48 are held by women, Keating said. Of those 48, 18 work in the suppression division, 17 are administrators and 13 are employed in the fire prevention office.

Investigators with the Department of Justice's employment litigation branch have been investigating the department for about six months, Keating said.

The federal officials have requested personnel files and have interviewed several county employees, but Keating declined to elaborate on the focus of the probe or specify as to what type of information investigators are seeking.

Keating said, however, that fire administrators were not surprised by the federal agency's investigation.

"It was something based on a personnel matter, so we kind of expected it," Keating said.

Dan Nelson, spokesman for the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., confirmed Friday that his agency is investigating the fire department, but he declined to provide details.

"It's a matter of policy that we don't discuss ongoing investigations," Nelson said.

Clark County Fire Chief Earl Greene said today that the only complaint he is aware of was filed in 1996, shortly before he was named the department's top administrator. He said he knew of a Department of Justice probe eight months ago, but he said he is not sure whether it is the same investigation.

"I'm not even sure if that's what's going on," Greene said. "The Department of Justice has not interviewed me or talked to me about any complaint. That's about what I know."

Keating said the federal office has not given any indication as to when it might be finished with its investigation.

"They really don't give you a lot of information," Keating said. "When they're conducting an investigation, they ask a lot of questions and in the end make a decision."