Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA - The agency that helps set fire insurance rates is investigating a tip that Big Lake's fire chief, with the blessing of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, exaggerated the size of his firefighting arsenal. The incident occurred three years ago, but the tip is recent, and factors into a separate investigation into the borough Emergency Services Department.

Big Lake Fire Chief Bill Gamble in 2005 hoped to boost his fire department's score from the Insurance Services Office. The New Jersey-based private company rates fire departments, ratings that insurance companies use to set fire insurance premiums.

Departments like good ratings: lower premiums are good for property taxpayers, and happy taxpayers are good for local fire-service areas.

ISO announced plans that year to audit the Big Lake department. Gamble wrote other department chiefs asking to borrow a bunch of gear - a thermal imaging camera, various hose equipment, a cutting torch.

Within a month after the inspection, the chief said recently, he returned the gear.

The whole exercise was moot, Gamble said Monday: The department had enough equipment to maintain its current rating, the borough eventually bought the extra gear and the loaners didn't boost the Big Lake's score anyhow.

Nonetheless, ISO is taking the accusations seriously. An ISO representative said the office received an anonymous tip in mid-December.

Mike Waters, ISO vice president of the Risk Decision Information Department, wrote by e-mail that ISO is "aware that some of these issues may have led to misleading information being provided to ISO."

The office rarely receives tips like this one, Waters wrote. The office has contacted local officials to see if any change in Big Lake's rating is warranted. Gamble said he invited ISO up for a visit.

SURFACE IN 2007

The borrowed-gear allegations surfaced in fall 2007 in a letter by former Central Mat-Su Fire Chief Jack Krill Jr. to Mat-Su Assembly member Mary Kvalheim. Krill was fired in March 2007 following complaints including his management style and inappropriate relationships with subordinates. He said the charges are unsubstantiated.

Krill's letter to Kvalheim listed 27 separate complaints. Kvalheim asked Krill for his input as part of an audit of the borough emergency services department.

NOW WE KNOW

A report is due out soon, said Kvalheim, who requested the audit.

Gamble, a full-time Anchorage air traffic controller, said Krill encouraged him to borrow the gear in the first place. Krill, a young chief hired in part for his advanced university degree, was considered an expert on the ISO system. Under his supervision, Central Mat-Su Fire Department improved its rating significantly.

"Unfortunately I trusted him and I followed his advice. I learned a very important lesson, that's not to do that again," Gamble said. "Now we know how ISO operates, we know what they're looking for, our trucks are ready to go."

But Krill said he did not encourage the equipment borrow.

He said he questioned the idea with the borough emergency services director, Dennis Brodigan.

"I said, 'You can't do this, it's not an appropriate thing to do,' " Krill said.

Brodigan said he signed off on the idea, but with no intent to deceive the insurance office and with no complaint from Krill.

His understanding with Krill and Gamble was that the borrowed equipment would stay with Big Lake until the borough could buy permanent replacements, Brodigan said.

But Gamble said he started returning gear to the Central Mat-Su, Willow and Butte departments within a month. Krill, who said he painted a pink "C" on any gear borrowed from Central, said he needed his equipment back the following week or so because ISO was about to audit his stations too.

Told the equipment was returned, Brodigan didn't see that as a problem, provided enough equipment stayed on the truck to maintain Big Lake's 8B/10 ISO "public protection" classification.

Big Lake already had enough equipment to keep that rating, Gamble said. He had borrowed the gear in hopes of improving his rating.

An 8B/10 rating - 1 is best, 10 indicates the department doesn't meet minimum criteria - means that residents living within five miles of a fire station rate an 8B. More than five miles away, residents are viewed as having essentially no fire department.

NO DAMAGE

Meanwhile, Gamble said he is confident Big Lake will emerge from the current ISO investigation with the same or an even better rating.

The borrowed equipment didn't boost Big Lake's ISO rating in 2005; the office dinged the department for low volunteer turnout on calls, and insufficient water on hand.

His department now has all the necessary equipment, plus a new water tanker en route and better volunteer turnout, the chief said.

Gamble also accused Krill of moving Central apparatus around before the ISO inspection that gave the department such a good rating.

Krill denied doing so.

Brodigan said he received reports from at least one firefighter that Krill moved tankers around, but an internal investigation found no substance to the reports.

His inquiry revealed "some minor equipment movements," Brodigan said, but nothing on par with the Big Lake borrow.

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.

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