Don't use the truck for personal errands.
It's a simple enough rule, and for 16 years, Brian Buswell of Linden, AZ, had lived by it. As an employee of the Navapache Electric Cooperative, Buswell had, by all accounts, an exemplary work record.
He read meters, did some public relations, completed energy audits. For this the co-op gave him access to a company truck, a privilege with one cardinal rule:
Don't use the truck for personal errands.
Then came June 19, and the fire raging through the region.
"I went home and got my family situated, got them down the road to safety," Buswell says. "Then, the next morning, I went down and volunteered my services to help assist in the efforts."
This offer, he said, was greeted with eagerness. Instead of sending out a team of federal firefighters armed only with a map, the smoke-eaters got Buswell, a guide who knew the mountains by heart. He worked "eight-, 10-, 12-hour days," finding homes in the fire pathway and relaying vital information.
At first, Buswell did all this using his vehicle, but then it ran out gas, he says.
Couple this fact with his constantly being stopped at roadblocks, and you begin to see the logic of what Buswell did next: take the Navapache utility truck.
Buswell says his supervisor was well aware that he was spending his days off volunteering with the fire crew. However, Buswell admits he didn't seek permission to take the truck.
"It's a vehicle that's been assigned for me for 15 years," he says. "I never asked for permission to use it before. They knew I had it."
And they said nothing. At least until Buswell returned to work July 1, bringing with him the truck, undamaged but minus a tank of gas and with about 500 extra miles on the odometer.
That's when Buswell was fired, despite his record of nearly 16 reprimand-free years.
Meet Wayne Retzlaff, the utility's general manager.
"We had a plan established for our employees . . . and Brian chose to not evacuate," Retzlaff said. "We had a lot of concern about his personal well-being and that of his family. Communication wasn't real great during a tragedy like that. Anyway, for whatever reason . . . Brian chose in the middle of that to come and take the utility vehicle for his own personal use. . . . If there is a violation like that, it can lead up to termination, and that's what happened in this case."
"Up to termination?" Does that mean you had lighter punishments, like say a suspension, that might have been considered, Wayne?
"I suppose there are that could have been considered, but there wasn't in this case. . . . It appeared like he was stealing the truck."
End of story. The rules are the rules, understand.
God forbid that there might be extenuating circumstances, like trying to help his friends and neighbors (and customers) during a crisis. Apparently, Buswell hadn't realized that he had devoted 16 years of his life to working for clueless jackasses. He deserves better.
