A months-long investigation by the Portland Auditor’s Office has reached a conclusion following a fraud tip last summer: that a firefighter wasted taxpayer resources by washing his personal vehicle with city water while on the clock.
The auditor’s report comes as a surprise to Portland firefighters.
“I just don’t understand why the auditor would even address this issue,” said Isaac McLennan, who has been with Portland Fire Bureau for 20 years and is president of the Portland Fire Fighters’ Association, IAFF Local 43 — the union representing them. “This is a longstanding practice. This is something that’s been entrenched in our culture since automobiles and water existed together.”
The investigation involved matching the firefighter’s work schedule and personal vehicle to the description in the tip, as well as asking the firefighter if he washed his personal vehicle with city water. He said yes.
“During the course of our investigation, we also learned that this is a common occurrence in fire stations,” said Portland Auditor Mary Hull Caballero. “And that, even though there is a city-wide human resources rule that prohibits that kind of use of government resources, the fire bureau seemed very lax in how it perceived that activity.”
Hull Caballero said the firefighter is now “in the crosshairs, potentially, of a disciplinary investigation.” The auditor’s office didn’t provide the name of the firefighter.
File image of a Portland Fire & Rescue station in June, 2020. Firefighters are allowed to use their downtime to read, cook meals, or shower at the city's fire stations, but the city auditor says they aren't allowed to wash their personal vehicles at the stations, since they'd be using government resources for a personal benefit.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
Firefighters work long 24-hour shifts — sometimes back-to-back, adding up to 96 hours straight. During their downtime between calls, they’re allowed to nap, read, cook meals and even shower at the city’s fire stations.
Hull Caballero said those are acceptable tasks, but using city water to wash personal vehicles is not.
“If you want to sit and read a book or watch a movie or something along those lines, that’s one thing, because you’re bringing your own materials to engage in those activities,” Hull Caballero said. “But it’s when you would be receiving a personal benefit from something that is a government resource, that’s what the difference is. I mean, what would prevent a firefighter from bringing all of his cars to wash them?”
McLennan said firefighters also do basic building maintenance at city fire stations, including landscaping and cleaning out the gutters and rooftops, and they see washing their cars as an even exchange for the money they save the city on hiring outside contractors. He said he’s unclear about where the city draws the line at what’s considered a government resource.
“If a person goes and uses the microwave to heat their lunch, do they have to pay for the electricity?” McLennan said. “Do they have to pay for the lights that they use, or the water they use to wash their hands?”
The auditor’s report doesn’t include an estimation of how much the city could be spending by allowing firefighters to wash their personal vehicles, but according to the Portland city website, residential homes pay a penny per 1.2 gallons of water. Washing a vehicle in a residential driveway uses about 100 gallons of water, so a little more than a dollar per vehicle.
The auditor’s report says this incident goes beyond the costs to the city: public perception is also impacted when people see firefighters washing their personal vehicles at fire stations.
“The [Fire] Bureau risks appearing indifferent to legitimate compliance issues by trivializing them,” it reads. “It also risks the appearance of using a double standard to assess conduct, because it is unlikely the Bureau would ignore a community member who attempted to wash a personal vehicle at a fire station.”
As a result of the report, McLennan said Portland Fire Chief Sara Boone issued a cease and desist letter urging all city firefighters stop washing their personal vehicles at fire stations.