Questions Continue over Polk County FL Captain's Fatal Fire Response

BARTOW — Pressure mounted on Polk County administrators Wednesday amid growing anger over how a captain responded to a house fire in North Lakeland where a 76-year-old woman died in smoke and flames as she waited to be rescued.

"I have heard some things I did not know," County Commissioner George Lindsey said after a contentious 50-minute press conference with County Fire Chief Tony Stravino and Deputy County Manager Joe Halman. "The Board (of County Commissioners) is concerned about this."

Lindsey said he had been unaware that Lorretta Pickard was still on the phone with a dispatcher when the power was shut off inside the Rockridge Road house.

"If she was of a condition to continue to communicate then she was able to be rescued at that time," Lindsey said after the press conference. He said he also was concerned that Polk Fire Rescue Capt. James Williams could have been shooting a Snapchat video while Pickard was alive.

Williams was suspended for 24 hours without pay for shooting video of the fire on Nov. 23 then sending it to a group and a female friend.

Williams had been expected to be at the press conference in the county administration building, but county officials said before it started that the captain had told them he would not attend based on advice from his lawyer.

Halman and Stravino defended Williams, explaining that the 34-year-old suffered minor steam burns when he and another firefighter tried to enter the home.

"From a tactical standpoint, I don't know what we could have done differently," Stravino said. "We followed procedures."

He explained how difficult it was to battle the blaze in the rural area, describing the closest fire hydrant as six miles away. It forced firefighters to create a water shuttle system.

"You don't have much time to apply water to the situation," Stravino said.

He explained that there will be an internal investigation into how the response was conducted. It's unclear who will be conducting the internal inquiry, Halman said.

The tone of the press conference was quarrelsome from the beginning. A reporter asked Stravino about the dispatch log's report of Williams stating the fire was "half-involved" when he arrived. Stravino said Williams told him later that in fact the fire was fully involved when he arrived.

"He said when he looked down the road and saw half the house," Stravino said. "It was a mistake."

Stravino said Williams had a lack of knowledge when he stated over the radio that he was waiting to enter the burning home based on the accepted policy of having two firefighters on the outside before two firefighters can enter a burning building.

But that policy doesn't apply if someone's life is in danger, he said.

And Stravino said during the press conference that he considered the mistake a "coaching moment" to reiterate the policy to his firefighters.

Stravino was asked if apparent confusion Williams displayed on the call with the dispatcher impacted his ability to save Pickard.

But Stravino again said the house was fully involved in flames when they tried to reach the woman.

The dispute between Halman and a reporter escalated when he was asked about a possible cover-up and whether there should be an outside investigation into the fire.

Halman didn't answer the question. Instead he brought race into the discussion.

"It's interesting that all the individuals you pointed out are African Americans," Halman said. "It's interesting that the captain of this case is African American.

"Every single thing you have made an allegation to is incorrect and not true when it comes to these African Americans," Halman told the reporter.

The reporter asked who else she had pointed out in her stories, but Halman didn't answer.

"I, as deputy county manager, would not cover up for anybody," he said. "To say and suggest that is disheartening."

The reporter asked who was suggesting that.

"Based on your requests that you have made and statements you have made to others," Halman said.

"I've never made those statements, sir," the reporter said.

The captain's record

Questions about Williams' past also came up during the press conference. Williams must have a co-worker access the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Criminal Justice Information Services because of a previous felony arrest when he was 17.

In 2003, Williams, an employee at JCPenney at the time, was arrested on grand theft charges after he was accused of stealing $800 from the register over a period of two months. In addition, he was accused of stealing clothes valued at $200, according to a Lakeland police report.

According to court records, a plea agreement was negotiated and Williams paid back the store. He admitted guilt, and the court withheld adjudication, according to records.

Five years later, he was hired by the Polk County Fire Department. In July 2013, he received written counseling for parking in a handicapped spot at the fire station.

That same year, he received a written reprimand when he backed a fire engine into a fence post, scraping a rail and breaking a light, according to records.

In May 2017, he became captain. He failed the captain's test at least once, but Halman said that's not unusual.

"That's not uncommon," Halman said. "He just may not have done well during that period, but he took it again and passed."

He's paid an annual salary of $55,502.

Some firefighters said on social media and in emails to The Ledger that they were surprised Williams didn't rescue Pickard.

In an email to Lindsey, Patrick Kroeger, a retired deputy chief and fire marshal with the Dunedin Fire Department, described Williams as a coward.

"I will state unequivocally that not only was the actions of your Fire Captain James Williams cowardly, I would go as far as stating that they may border on criminal conduct," Kroeger wrote. "I have no idea the level of training your fire personal (sic) receive, but I am glad that no one in my family lives in Polk County under, what appears to be substandard Fire Protection for your Citizens."

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