By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
On Tuesday, Apopka Fire Chief Sean Wylam announced he would retire on October 31st. The announcement came by an email to the AFD and one day after the two-year anniversary of Firefighter/EMT Austin Duran's death.
On Wednesday, Apopka Professional Firefighters Association President Alex Klepper and Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson had contrasting opinions on Sean Wylam's time as a fire chief and his career as a firefighter.
At the millage rate meeting, during public comments, Klepper criticized Wylam for his lack of support for the AFD firefighters.
"Let me be clear: the City of Apopka does not need to raise the millage rate or taxes because of our firefighters," Klepper said. "Full stop."
"I know I have previously addressed this particular issue with Commissioner (Nadia) Anderson during her election campaign, and I appreciate you not adding to the narrative last week. The need to raise the millage or taxes is due to the ENTIRE budget, including competitive wage and benefit increases for general employees and the police department over the past three years. This includes the significant pay raise for Chief Wylam and his fleet of brand new F-150 take-home vehicles, as well as the Mayor’s salary adjustments and the future pension he’ll take"
Klepper addressed firefighter compensation in his remarks.
"Our firefighters haven’t seen a paramedic pay increase since before some of them were even born! It is incredibly disheartening for them to know that they are the lowest-paid employees in the City while an intentionally misleading narrative by the GUY WHO IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THEIR BACK suggests they are overpaid. We cannot continue to balance the budget on the backs of hardworking firefighters."
He also talked about flawed comparisons.
"The narrative from Mayor Nelson and Chief Wylam brought up at the last meetings AND in an embarrassing Facebook thread is based on this 2020 NFPA survey, which, mind you, only included 2,200 out of 30,000 fire departments that also EXCLUDED FIRE/EMS combination departments which is what the Apopka Fire Department is. This survey is not a fair comparison. Nationally, 37% of fire departments do not provide EMS, and only 17% provide ALS service. Comparing us to cities like Kissimmee, which outsource the majority of their EMS, is misleading at best. Do you want us to believe that the Kissimmee Fire Department manages 89,000 citizens with FOUR ambulances? Our citizens will be better served with our sole source model that we have ALWAYS maintained."
He closed with scathing remarks about the gratitude Wylam talked about in his retirement email to the AFD.
"It must be easy to be full of gratitude when YOU are being paid competitively when YOU have a brand new top-of-the-line take-home vehicle... when YOU get to come up here and get away with lying about qualified inspectors performing inspections on all 2,000 properties in the City, OR get away with lying about how long it takes to receive a vehicle like ambulance 3. Your top secret and surprise retirement ceremony yesterday was a perfect summation of your beleaguered run as fire chief. You drug ALL OF US through the mud for the last two years, destroying people's mental and emotional health all so you could sail off into the sunset with YOUR pension and no plan for us... no future except for one that the rest of us will continue to have to create. You said in your email that you prayed about this decision. You prayed to collect a check. A public servant who only served himself is your legacy. THATS IT.
Maybe we’ll have some gratitude when we stop blaming underpaid firefighters for poor management decisions. Maybe we’ll have some gratitude when we quit letting career politicians place their shortcomings on the backs of the working class. Maybe we’ll have some gratitude when the City meets and reaches an agreement with the firefighters who have been there for us in times of need and will continue to do so.
Lastly, FOR THE RECORD, I don’t stand to earn a single cent from this contract we're going through. I’m not part of this bargaining agreement. I know for some people it’s impossible to fathom someone putting themselves on the line for others with no personal benefit, but that’s the real deal here, folks."
Later, at the regular Apopka City Council meeting, during the Mayor's Report, Nelson focused on Wylam's 22-year career and achievements:
"Chief Sean J. Wylam began his fire service career at the Eatonville Fire Department in 2001 and joined the Apopka Fire Department on October 21, 2002.
During his tenure at the Apopka Fire Department Sean has worked his way up through the ranks. He finished the Paramedic Program in 2004, was promoted to Lieutenant in 2007, and Assistant Fire Chief in 2014.
As an Assistant Chief, Sean served in many capacities. His duties include management of all fire apparatus equipment records, maintenance, and testing. He worked closely with the department's District Chiefs and Special Hazards Operations Team. He developed, managed, and coordinated all fire department training and its instructors. Sean serves as the City's FEMA coordinator during EOC activations and is heavily involved with the department's grant writing processes.
Chief Wylam also represents the department on a regional level. He served as Chairman of the Orange County Operations Chiefs Group from 2017-2019, Emergency Coordinating Officer with the Orange County Emergency Response Team and sits on the Local Mitigation Strategy Work Group. He is also the Co-Coordinator of the Region 5 State Emergency Response Team. In 2022 Sean was appointed the District 1 (Orange County) Director of the Central Florida Fire Chief's Association.
Chief Wylam is a state and nationally certified Fire Instructor, Fire Investigator, and Fire Safety Inspector and is a FEMA certified Emergency Program Manager. In 2018, Sean became the first in the department's history to earn the State of Florida's highest certification for Chief Officers, Fire Officer IV. Sean has degrees in Fire Science and EMS and is a graduate of both the University of Florida's Executive Fire Officer (EFO) and Fire and Emergency Services Management Programs. He has completed the Fire Investigations and Special Operations Program Management at the National Fire Academy. Chief Wylam has been awarded the professional designated as a "Chief Fire Officer" (CFO) by the Center of Public Safety Excellence. In 2020 Sean was accepted into the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) at the Member Grade Level (MIFireE)."
