No Confidence Motion Against San Bernardino County Fire Chief Daniel Munsey

WHEREAS Daniel Munsey was hired as the San Bernardino County Fire Chief in November of 2019; and

WHEREAS one of his first actions as Fire Chief was to write 6-month, one-year and five-year management plans attacking the Leadership and Members of Local 935; and

WHEREAS, in January of 2020, Chief Munsey illegally attempted to break the County’s MOU with Local 935 by unilaterally eliminating the ops/leadership team; and

WHEREAS, after the start of the Pandemic in March 2020, he failed to prepare the Department for the health and safety impacts of COVID 19 – including a lack of PPE’s and other preventative equipment that put County Firefighters and the residents of San Bernardino County at much higher risk of infection; and

WHEREAS, in June of 2020, he demonstrated racial insensitivity and extremely poor judgement by participating in an inappropriate group social media post during the George Floyd protests in which Munsey asked where the looting was occurring so he could get a free television; and
WHEREAS, Chief Munsey compromised the integrity of his office in June of 2020 by damaging a county vehicle and failing to properly document the incident – a violation that would have resulted in severe disciplinary action for any 935 Member; and

WHEREAS, he abandoned his responsibilities to the people of San Bernardino as Fire Chief in July 2020 by leaving to take a fire team assignment in Los Angeles in the midst of the Pandemic and the FP-5 vote; and

WHEREAS, in October of 2020, he compromised the safety of San Bernardino County residents by utilizing a convict fire crew comprised of criminals in place of professional Firefighters. His actions undermined the public credibility of the Department and its employees; and

WHEREAS, in November of 2020, he commissioned a test for the position of Division Chief without informing qualified members of Local 935; and

WHEREAS, he failed to properly staff County ambulance and fire suppression services. By forcing employees to repeatedly work multiple days beyond their regularly scheduled hours, Munsey created serious physical and emotional problems for both employees and their families.
WHEREAS, he failed to take action to ensure that a Fire Captain suffering from lung cancer would have been able to maintain his medical benefits;
WHEREAS, he failed to work with the members of the Apparatus Committee, causing them all to resign and leaving County Firefighters at a much greater risk of operating unsafe equipment; and
WHEREAS, Chief Munsey has totally failed to support or provide funding to improve the deplorable conditions in many of our older County Fire Stations, creating serious health and safety conditions for County Fire Personnel;

THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED that the Members of the San Bernardino County Professional Firefighters Local 935 vote to express our NO CONFIDENCE in Chief Daniel Munsey’s ability to lead our Department due to his unethical behavior, his failed leadership and his professional incompetence; and

FURTHERMORE, the Members of Local 935 urge the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to remove Daniel Munsey from the position of County Fire Chief and replace him with a new Fire Chief who will better reflect the high standards of integrity and professionalism that San Bernardino County Firefighters and residents deserve.