"On January 26, 2023, a 2-hour conference call was held between GES and the City of Apopka Fire Department (AFD). Present at this meeting were GES consultants Chris Gannon and Jack Krill. Stated attendees were AFD Chief Sean Wylam, Apopka City Attorney Michael Rodriguez, AFD Division Chief of Suppression John Howe, AFD Division Chief of EMS Will Sanchez, and AFD Division Chief of Training Sean Knapp. This was following an unscheduled 15-minute initial phone call from Mayor Bryan Nelson to Chris Gannon. Chief Sean Wylam, City Attorney Michael Rodriguez and City Administrator Edward Bass were stated as present.
During the 2-hour conference call, Chief Wylam, some AFD admin staff and Attorney Rodriguez expressed their concerns and comments with the draft report. GES responded with explanations, clarifications, and requested that the City of Apopka put their comments in writing and provide those to GES for review and consideration.
GES already explained many of these items during the lengthy January 26 phone call. However, the written comments received from the City of Apopka do not appear to reflect any of the verbal answers already provided by GES.
Legal Clarification: Attorney Rodriguez raised concerns about language used in the report and referenced state law throughout the response to the draft report for client review and both phone calls. It is important to note that at no time was GES instructed to form part of a legal process, or informed that we were part of an ‘ad hoc review board’ as stated by Chief Wylam. A board by definition has clearly established roles and responsibilities that we have never been advised of or involved in.
The GES proposal, agreement and start dates all precede the Duran estate legal claim. As GES was given absolutely no legal framework or direction in which to work by the city attorney at any time until January 26th. Legal counsel was not sought for a form of work that is entirely consistent with previous projects and has never been disputed to this degree.
Had GES known that every statement and professional opinion given would be subject to legal scrutiny after a draft report was provided to the client, we would have involved legal counsel and added that cost from the outset.
Chief Wylam has expressed that he ‘will not be directing the efforts of NIOSH, State Fire Marshal and GES, to ensure every voice is heard and all the fractures are exposed.’
“The very intent of hiring Gannon Emergency Solutions is looking at the departments processes and procedures to capture a holistic view of the department leading up to Austin’s accident. It is related to Austin and why we brought on their services. The intent of this type of review just by its nature will identify and make recommendations not only related to Austin’s accident, but other potential unseen hazards that pose a threat to life safety. This review creates a report with recommendations for our entire departments entire operations and policies. I must echo leave no ‘stone unturned.’”
Then on pages 4-5 GES provide a timeline of their comprehensive interaction with the City and AFD.
GES Project Timeline
- August 11, 2022: Mayor Bryan Nelson meets Chris Gannon at the Florida League of Cities Conference in Hollywood, Florida and discusses possible assistance needed with the Apopka Fire Department.
- August 30, 2022: Zoom Call with AFD Chief, Division Chief of Suppression, and GES Team to discuss potential project scope of work and submitting a proposal. It was understood that other firms had already been contacted to provide proposals as well.
- September 5, 2022: GES submits the project proposal to AFD Chief Wylam.
- September 9, 2022: GES receives the vendor packet from AFD Chief Wylam and returns it complete.
- October 6, 2022: Phone call from AFD Division Chief of Life Safety to GES requesting GES begin the project and scheduled a conference call for October 12, 2022.
- October 12, 2022: Conference call with AFD Division Chief of Life Safety and GES on the project plan since the original timeline was delayed by the AFD and NIOSH was scheduled to be on site with their review when GES was also first available. Due to the scheduling challenges, the project was split into 2 separate site reviews. Later that day, GES received the Purchase Order from the City of Apopka to begin the project. There was no written award or contractual agreement.
- October 19, 2022: GES submitted an Information Request to the AFD for data and other information needed for the review and requested all of it by November 8, 2022.
- November 4, 2022: GES was provided access to the City of Apopka Power DMS system.
- November 8, 2022: AFD provided files into a shared OneDrive folder and continued to add files until November 23, 2022.
- November 9, 2022: GES CEO Chris Gannon begins his three-day on-site review. This was cut to only one- day due to Hurricane Nicole. The rest of the interviews and meetings planned for that three-day visit were conducted via Zoom in the weeks after.
- December 28 and 29, 2022: GES USA COO Jack Krill and Florida Fire Service Expert Dr. Lindsay Judah conduct the on-site Technical Review with the Division Chief of Life Safety.
- January 16, 2023: Draft for Client Review provided to AFD Chief Sean Wylam as requested.
- February 1, 2023: Client Review Comments sent to GES.
Gannon closed its remarks with pushback on a comment the AFD "Fire Staff" made about its Standard Operating Guidelines:
On Page 43 of the report, The AFD "Fire Staff" makes the following comment:
"Based on review of this draft and the number of errors, inconsistencies, GES did not review Policies, SOGs, Programs, Data."
Gannon responded with this closing statement:
"Page 43, GES Review Schedule for the AFD
Review of Data Comment: GES disagrees. We thoroughly reviewed the policies, SOGs, programs, records, and data provided. GES went over all of this with AFD staff, specifically each aspect with the Division Chief of Life Safety and then the training specific items with the Division Chief of Training. Most of the AFD SOGs and programs are inadequate, ineffective, outdated, and need attention as indicated in the report.
Please make a concerted effort to review each SOG and program in place. While doing this review, please also research and review the related current standards and best practices since it appears this was not a standard part of the SOG or program development/revision process in the past. Each program and SOG should also be peer reviewed as well as provided to all AFD staff in draft form for review and comment before being finalized.
The AFD should actively train all personnel on any new or revised SOG. Please do not simply provide it to them to check the box that they received it. Ensure they read, understand, and can apply each SOG."
This is a developing story that will be updated in future editions of The Apopka Voice.
