Pittsburgh’s top emergency management official, who was out of town during last week’s severe storms, failed to follow protocol and notify city leaders of who was taking over in his absence.
Darryl Jones, the city’s emergency management coordinator and fire chief, acknowledged Thursday he did not alert Controller Rachael Heisler or members of City Council that he would be away or tell them who would lead the city’s fire bureau and emergency management team while he was gone.
“That’s my bad,” Jones said Thursday during a news conference.
Heisler and Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, complained about Jones’ lack of communication.
“This raises urgent questions about the continuity of leadership during emergencies,” Heisler wrote in a letter to council members.
City code requires such officials notify her office and the city clerk — who would alert council members — that they will be absent and who will be handling their responsibilities.
Jones was attending a conference of fire chiefs in Myrtle Beach but said he remained in contact with Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt as storms April 29 downed trees, tore roofs from buildings, left thousands without power and led to the fatal electrocution of a city resident.
Jones said he left the city the Saturday prior to the storm and returned May 1, two days later.
Jones then left Pittsburgh again one day later, this time traveling to a national firefighters memorial service in honor of Fire Battalion Chief John P. Walsh, who died of natural causes while battling a blaze in November.
“Again, my mistake for not sharing this with the controller and council,” he said.
He notified Schmidt, his assistant chiefs, Allegheny County 911 and others on the emergency management team about both of his absences.
In a letter dated April 25 to emergency management officials, Jones indicated he wouldn’t return until this Tuesday. He appointed assistant chiefs Mat Davis and Brian Kokkila to serve as acting chief at various times during his absence.
Charland said he was unclear on who was leading emergency response efforts in the immediate aftermath of the severe weather.
“This is a problem with this administration not notifying us when people are out of town,” Charland said Wednesday during a council meeting. “When an emergency happens like this, we need to know who is coordinating those efforts.”
Adam Ameel led the city’s emergency management response as Jones’s deputy.
There was no written communication among the emergency response team, Jones said, but he verbally informed them he would be away at the conference and that Ameel would be taking the lead.
In a letter to council members, Heisler raised questions about what kind of communications occurred before Jones left, who led emergency response and cleanup efforts and what impact this had on the city’s ability to respond to the storm.
“While we commend the hard work of city staff who stepped up during this crisis, the public and elected officials alike should have been immediately informed of the absence of the city’s designated emergency management coordinator during a major emergency,” Heisler said.