Dispatcher Fired, Union Is Appealing

The union that represents a fired Licking County (Ohio) 911 dispatcher has filed a grievance with the county, saying the dispatcher accidentally failed to confirm a fire dispatch, and it was not a deliberate or malicious act. The county fired 5-year veteran Matt Wheeler after an investigation and disciplinary hearing. According to the county, Wheeler fielded a phone call last November from a citizen reporting a house fire. Wheeler believed that the fire station alerting system had been activated, when in fact, it had not. As a result, no paging tones were transmitted, and the Newark fire department was delayed by about four minutes. A mutual aid fire department arrived first and encountered the resident outside, who suffered burns and smoke inhalation. The county says Wheeler has previous discipline, including a two 15-day suspensions, separate verbal and written reprimands, and a one-day suspension. The union notes that the Wheeler’s actions were “human error, that can happen to anyone.” They ask that he be reinstated. Read more about the discipline here.