IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - More than 1,700 Iowa firefighters and emergency responders were issued improper credentials over a four-year period due to flawed test scoring at the state fire academy, according to a report released Tuesday.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety announced that a former employee, John McPhee, was charged with felony misconduct in office and tampering with records in connection with the improper certifications. McPhee, the state’s former Training Service Bureau Certification and Accreditation Coordinator, turned himself in Tuesday to the Story County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada, Iowa.
McPhee and the bureau’s former chief, Randal Novak, were placed on paid administrative leave April 25. Last May, the bureau notified firefighters and emergency responders that it had discovered “errors in the scoring of various exams” during an internal audit and that a review found that many former academy students had failed tests they were told they had passed.
In June, the department announced it had launched a criminal investigation days after the retirement of Novak, who had served as bureau chief since 2001. Based on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, the bureau has provided training to firefighters since 1923 and provides training courses, certification and other services.
The department released McPhee’s jail booking photo but said it didn’t have a copy of the complaint against him, which had not yet been released in online state court records. The county clerk of court’s office was closed Tuesday afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether McPhee, who had worked for the bureau since 1998 and resigned June 23, had an attorney. Novak was not charged.
Separately, the department released an eight-page report that said its review found nearly 2,300 certifications were improperly issued to 1,706 firefighters and emergency personnel from February 2012 through February 2016. The improper certifications accounted for nearly 25 percent of the certifications the bureau issued during that period.
The certifications aren’t required by the state, or nationally, but many departments mandate or recommend them for employees. The agency said it was notifying the affected individuals and departments, and that the bureau would offer free training courses and test retakes beginning next month and running through June.
In a statement, Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Roxann Ryan said the problems “were addressed immediately” when they came to her attention.
“We are implementing changes in our procedures that are designed to avoid issues in the future,” she said. “The Department has implemented additional checks and balances within the FSTB, including random reviews of processes and third-party, off-site scoring to ensure accurate scoring of all testing at our FSTB. The efforts had begun before these incidents were discovered, and we have redoubled our efforts in the past year.”
The department said it had also lost full accreditation from the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications and the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress, and that it was taking steps to meet to be recognized by those agencies.
The improper certifications were issued to firefighters and other workers, such as employees who specialize in hazardous materials operations.
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