Jay Grossman

Hometown Life

A former Birmingham firefighter mailed a flier to 1,000 homes this week that’s critical of a captain on the city’s fire department.

In a series of emails, Mike McIntyre admits he’s responsible for sending out the flier. McIntyre became a Birmingham firefighter in June 2015 and served with the department until several weeks ago, when he accepted a resignation settlement. He now works as a paramedic for a private company.

“I sent it to inform the citizens of the type of people who work within their city,” McIntyre wrote about the flier. “There are others that can support these claims.”

City officials, on the other hand, say the flier amounts to nothing more than a disgruntled former employee with an ax to grind against his former supervisor.

"The allegations contained in the mailer will be investigated accordingly, but I want to assure all residents that their safety and interactions with Birmingham fire personnel is, and continues to be, with the highest level of professionalism and care," City Manager Joe Valentine said Friday. "The Birmingham Fire Department maintains high standards for its employees and has no current reason to believe Captain Wells or any other employee has acted inappropriately in service to the city."

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The mailer targets Paul Wells, the former president of Birmingham Firefighters Association Local 911. It accuses Wells of lying to his superiors to improve his standing in the department, along with operating a private business on company time.

It also states Wells was “forced” to resign his union position, and that he initiated a “phony police investigation” against co-workers. It further claims he was promoted to management without a college degree or proper training.

Wells, who was promoted to the captain’s position in 2015, denies the allegations.

“As far as what was posted, it’s absolutely untrue,” Wells said in a phone interview. “I have been with the department for over 18 years. I am always working on my education. I’ve had my associate’s degree since 2003. I am currently working on my bachelor’s degree – which is above the requirements for the captain’s position … and next month I’m attending the Staff and Command Program at Eastern Michigan University that my department is putting me through. In all my years of service I’ve never been disciplined. I have a sterling record.”

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Fire Chief John Connaughton confirmed McIntyre was employed by the department for slightly over 18 months before resigning.

“It’s pretty bizarre,” the fire chief said Thursday. “Personally, I think it’s immature. All it does is cast a bad light over the entire department. But from my end, Paul Wells is an absolutely outstanding fire officer. He’s one of the hardest-working employees we have on this department, and there’s nothing in the flier that I could even begin to substantiate.”

McIntyre said in an email that his problems at the fire department began after he filed a complaint with the city’s human resources department against Wells, who was his direct supervisor at the time. McIntyre said he filed the complaint because he felt that Wells was harassing him.

“I’ve gone on record with the city in the form of an official HR complaint and was hung out to dry,” McIntyre wrote. “No faith in that city or the ends they will go. Yes, I filed an official HR complaint against Paul and no investigation was performed … he then began to target me, which led to an argument regarding union business.”

Valentine said the initial complaint was thoroughly investigated, and it was determined that it was more of a situation where an employee didn't want to listen to his supervisor, rather than a case of harassment.

McIntyre continued that he was terminated by the fire department after Wells told the administration that he had threatened him. The union filed a grievance on his behalf, and the matter ended in a resignation settlement, according to McIntyre.

“Which was a mistake,” he wrote in an email, “because all of his indiscretions would have been brought to the forefront.”



The bottom of the flier states all claims can be verified by independent sources, and that further inquiries can be directed to the following email address: fire_medic_9@yahoo.com.

Police Chief Mark Clemence was made aware of the flier early Thursday afternoon. He said police are not investigating the mailer because no crime was committed.

If the accusations prove false, however, Wells could have grounds for a civil lawsuit.

“He’s not a public official,” private attorney Neal Barnett said about Wells. “It certainly can be damaging to his reputation – he might very well have a cause of action if the claims in the flier are false.”

Jeff Scaife, the current president of Birmingham Firefighters Association 911, said he hopes the two parties can reach a peaceful resolution.

"The union doesn't condone any of this behavior from current employees - or former employees if that's who is responsible," Scaife said. "Our union stands with Paul and we stand with the city."

jgrossman@hometownlife.com

586-826-7030

Twitter: @BhmEccentric