Denver firefighters overwhelmingly vote "no confidence" in chief, deputy chief
Denver firefighters overwhelmingly voted Thursday and Friday that they have no confidence in Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton and Deputy Chief Kathleen Vredenburgh.
In an email to fire department members sent Friday evening, Local 858, the union representing Denver firefighters, said 64% of firefighters who voted said they had no confidence in Fulton while 36% said they had confidence in him.
Of the 882 ballots cast, according to the union, 510 voted "no confidence" while 291 voted that they did have confidence in the chief and deputy chief. Of those, 81 abstained.
The firefighters' union said this was the largest turnout ever for a vote in the union's 78-year history as 69% of Denver firefighters cast ballots.
The vote, which is largely symbolic but suggests how firefighters feel about their chief and department leadership, was sparked by a CBS News Colorado investigation in April 2024, which revealed Fulton and his top commanders had been awarding themselves comp time for attending routine events like community gatherings and memorial services for fallen firefighters.
That allowed them to then cash in unused vacation time at the end of each year, pocketing tens of thousands of dollars. Rank and file firefighters were not afforded the same benefit. An independent investigation commissioned by the city found the practice was illegal, "problematic," and hypocritical.
But Mayor Mike Johnston made it clear in a letter to firefighters earlier this year that he had no intention of disciplining Fulton or anyone else over the practice since Johnston said the practice had been in place for a dozen years and pre-dated the Fulton administration. That further angered firefighters who felt there was a double standard of discipline for the chief and his executive staff.
Assistant Chief Patrick Hynes, who pushed the "no confidence" vote, said Friday evening, "it's a very strong statement about how the firefighters feel about how the entire comp time scandal was handled and approached."
He called the raw vote numbers a "pretty overwhelming statement." Hynes said he hoped the vote sent a message to the mayor and Denver's manager of safety about "how unhappy the membership is and to take concrete steps to address this issue."
CBS News Colorado sent a text message to Fulton, who did not immediately respond. A spokesperson for Manager of Safety Armando Saldate also did not immediately respond to a text message. Union President Chris Ferguson did not respond to calls or text messages seeking comment. A spokesperson for the Mayor's Office did not offer any immediate comment on the vote.
The union's bargaining committee had pressed firefighters earlier this week not to support the "no confidence" vote, suggesting it might harm collective bargaining negotiations with the mayor and the city.
