St. Pete Fire Chief On Paid Leave After Employee Survey: City

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The city of St. Petersburg’s fire chief has been placed on paid administrative leave.

“After numerous conversations and feedback received from multiple individuals, along with the
allegations made and information received in the Employee Climate Survey, as well as other
information received, Chief James Large is placed on administrative leave effective
immediately,” Mayor Ken Welch said in a statement Monday. (Read the survey results below.)

Assistant fire chief Robert Bassett will serve as acting fire chief during Large’s leave.

“Reported incidents of inappropriate behavior by supervisors were significantly higher” among St. Pete Fire Rescue employees compared to other departments at 33 percent, according to the survey.

Out of 109 fire department employees who responded to the survey, 36 said they experienced “inappropriate behavior” by a supervisor, while 65 said they hadn’t. Another eight employees in the department said they hadn’t.

About 9 percent said they saw such behavior daily while another 15 percent said they saw this behavior weekly, every two weeks or monthly.

“A similar pattern can be seen for inappropriate behavior by coworkers,” the survey said.
Nearly 39 percent of the department’s employees said they witnessed this behavior by their coworkers, while 54 percent said they haven’t.

There were numerous “troubling comments and allegations” made about the department regarding bullying and discrimination, Welch said in a video statement shared by the city.
Large has “denied any wrongdoing and impropriety,” the mayor added.

Still, “given the weight and nature of the concerns raised,” the fire chief was placed on administrative leave.

There won’t be any additional information shared at the moment because “at this time it is a personnel matter,” Welch said.

Read the city's employee survey results: