HMB Fire Chief announces his intention to leave department

Calling this situation a meltdown seems like an understatement.

Interim Chief Bonano deserves tremendous credit for pulling back the curtain on a very troubled public agency.

Am I the only one who suspects that his abrupt decision to resign is somehow connected to the fallout from his extremely candid memo of March 21?

Comment 2 by Barry Parr  on  Mar 22  at  11:30pm  •  All my comments • 

The coincidence is uncanny. However, another reasonable interpretation is that he decided to write the memo as it became clear to him he would need to leave earlier than promised.

Based on some personal knowledge, I believe that Barry’s “another reasonable interpretation” above is correct. It probably went like this: Bonano received certain news which necessitates his returning soon to his home area. He checked around for someone to take his place, tentatively found a replacement, wrote his memo, and then delayed his resignation announcement so that it didn’t distract from the important discussion of his memo.

You guys are rich.

Seriously - are any of your “Am I the only one who suspects…” and “another reasonable interpretation…” and “Based on some personal knowledge…” statements supported by facts that you can actually back up those statements with and add to your comments so they stand on their own?

Granted, the timing is very odd, but in the absence of actually stating facts, aren’t you simply filling out the bottom of the article with a bunch of meandering speculation and innuendo which then cleverly distorts the situation (at least to a reader of the article)?

are you trying to further mar a badly painted picture?

Comment 5 by Barry Parr  on  Mar 23  at  2:53pm  •  All my comments • 

My point was that it’s important not to draw the wrong conclusion from the circumstances surrounding the chief’s resignation, because there are multiple plausible scenarios.

I have heard a lot of rumors about the Chief’s personal reasons for resigning and have chosen not to report on those or to speculate. In truth, it doesn’t matter because this is a sideshow. In a couple of months he’ll be long gone and most of us won’t remember his name.

The one thing that’s indisputable is that the district was in crisis before Bonano’s resignation, and this has not improved anything. The firefighters and directors seem to agree that the department has been in crisis for two to four years.

I’m beginning to think that something really awful will have to happen before the district and its firefighters commit to resolving that crisis.

I can back up my statements. I choose not to, beyond my “based on personal knowledge” statement. There are reasons why I am not disclosing the specifics that I know. Those of you who automatically take the other side will choose to attack me for that. So be it.