"1 fired, 1 reprimanded over generator failure at Lambert"

Saturday, September 9, 2006

Lambert employee fired, supervisor reprimanded over power outage
By Elisa Crouch
The St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch


One Lambert Field employee was fired and another formally reprimanded
Wednesday for the generator failure that left part of the Main Terminal in
darkness after the severe storm on July 19.

Airport Director Kevin Dolliole said it's unlikely that any other employee
will face disciplinary action over the improper maintenance of the
generators, which are needed to keep the building lighted during power
outages. "This marks the end," he said.

Both employees were part of the airport's facilities division, said Richard
Frank, personnel director for the city of St. Louis. The man fired was
directly responsible for maintaining and inspecting the generators, Frank
said. His supervisor received a formal written reprimand for not ensuring
that maintenance and inspections were actually being done.

Neither Frank nor Dolliole would identify the men, and city personnel
records are not open to the public.

The actions follow an airport investigation into why three backup generators
didn't provide electricity during the power failure, affecting between 1,500
and 2,000 people at Lambert. For five hours, baggage carousels in the Main
Terminal were stopped, the garage lights were out and most of the terminal
was dark.

Examination of the generators found they hadn't been properly maintained in
more than three years.

Last month, Deputy Airport Director Gerard Slay said he had been "verbally
misled" to believe that the generators were turned on monthly and maintained
according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

Airport officials recommended dismissal for the man directly responsible,
rather than progressive discipline.

"When there are instances such as this, where there are serious misconduct
issues or serious failure to perform critical functions of your position
then, there are exceptions," Frank said.

Both employees have 10 days to appeal the actions to the civil service
commission.

After an airport commission meeting Wednesday, Dolliole reiterated steps the
airport is taking to ensure the power outage never occurs again. It is using
outside contractors to maintain the generators, he said, and a consultant
will be re-evaluating Lambert's emergency electric system. The last time
such an evaluation occurred was 2000.

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