FOX 5 Investigation: Paying for Perks

Fairfax County Fire Chief Ron Mastin says his department uses 33 approved take-home vehicles. “That’s the number I’m sticking with,” he says.

But sources inside the fire department complained to Fox 5 because they say the number is bigger. “Approximately 50, if not more” says one firefighter who didn’t wish to give his name for fear of losing of his job.

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That’s almost 20 names not included on the official list, including Captain Don Bowers. Our undercover cameras watched him drive a county-owned $30,000 Ford Expedition from his home in Damascus, MD.

“Maybe 80% of them are outside the county,” says our source. “There's an exorbitant amount of fuel that's being used weekly just for the perk of someone driving 60, 70 miles."

We found the majority of those with take-home cars do live outside the county, including places like Gambrills, Winchester and Spotsylvania.

And that makes Fairfax County Board of Supervisor Pat Herrity angry. "The biggest thing we need to do is be accurate be honest and be open and that's not what we have here," he says. Herrity says he had no idea so many cars were taken out of the county because the fire department gave him the same list of 33 cars. “

"If you look at this,” Herrity says as he points to the list, “I mean it clearly indicates that none of these are being driven out of the county."

Assistant Chief Daryl Louder and his wife, Deputy Chief Christine Woodard Louder, do live in the county. They live in the same house and work at the same place. But, they have separate take-homes.

We watched him arrive around 7:30 am. She showed up a half-hour later.

Chief Mastin says, "They do have different responsibilities and are likely to be called out for different events at different times."

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What kind of events? We filed a Freedom of Information Act request and received a pile of “logs” justifying how all the cars are used. We found they go to a lot of meetings, quite a few airports and the gym. They even go to conferences to Virginia Beach and Charlotte, NC. A lot of the entries, our source says, “are taking care of during the course of their work day. Not after hours.”

We saw vague descriptions like “appointment” or “9 trips.” What we didn’t see much of…real emergencies, which our investigation found account for just 15% of the log entries.

For instance, the logs show Deputy Chief John Diamantes had zero emergencies. Battalion Chief Glenn Bydume? Zero emergencies. Then there’s Captain Elton Wright at the Fire Academy. Zero emergencies…and zero log entries.

We asked Chief Mastin if they are supposed to put in notations. “Well, they obviously are,” Mastin says. “I would assume that is an administrative error on Captain Wright’s part.”

Battalion Chief Michael Reilly turning in logs that look nearly identical from month to month. Mastin told us he can’t comment on Reilly’s logs without “sitting down with him” after we showed him Reilly’s entries claiming he responded to a “fatal fire” on both February 31st and April 31st

"How can there be a fatal fire on April 31st when there is no April 31st?" Herrity asks. "I, for one as a taxpayer, am not real happy about paying for vehicles that aren't used for these emergencies."

Herrity and the rest of the Board are cutting the budget to make up a $650 million dollar shortfall. Unlike other agencies, Chief Mastin hasn’t offered to cut take-home vehicles. Sources inside the fire department tell Fox 5, "A suggestion was made to stop taking them home. The response was no way. This is a perk for the positions."

"People are upset about it," the source says. Because, on the chopping block, 89 firefighter and EMS positions, 4 ambulances, advanced fire and EMS training and programs like “First Team.” First Team provides support to family members when firefighters are hurt.

The cost of First Team? $6,000. Less than what it costs to run Battalion Chief Dean Cox’s 2008 Crown Victoria. His logs show he went to one emergency last year. He drives more than 120 miles each day from his Spotsylvania home…and on the day we followed him…saves time by using the HOV-3 lane.

"HOV lanes, my expectation would be they abide by those with everyone else unless they're having an emergency response,” Chief Mastin says. “It's not just a privilege.”

But Chief Mastin says he’s comfortable with how his department uses take-home vehicles.

He does promise to take a hard look at the log books. "If you look at those a year from now” Mastin says, “I think you will see some differences there."

Herrity isn’t waiting. He says it's unfair to taxpayers and the other firefighters. He wants the County Auditor to launch an investigation. He says, "This has become a perk and it needs to be looked at in a very serious light and we need to look at whether people are hiding things."

We want to know what you think. Should firefighter get take-home vehicles if they’re not using them for emergencies? Or is it a legitimate