OPINION | Where There’s Smoke: Felton Fire Faces Turmoil Amid Allegations, Resignations

Since 1935, Felton Fire Protection District (FFPD) has had a storied history of excellence in its care for the community and engagement with its constituents.

District members were known for their timely responsiveness, accommodating nature and continued support of and involvement in events within the district’s boundaries. Hosting pancake breakfasts, providing safety personnel for local events like the Felton Remembers Memorial Day Parade, and giving Santa a lift through Felton neighborhoods were all performed while also running medical calls and protecting the town during the CZU Fire.

In the past year, those glowing attributes have taken a backseat to district infighting, fiscal mismanagement, misuse of district resources and a contentious relationship between the FFPD board and boots-on-the-ground firefighters, most of whom were volunteers.

Much of this has gone unnoticed by local residents as the board has made an effort to shield the public from the issues plaguing its ranks, and with good reason: the allegations against certain members of the board are multi-pronged and breathtaking in their scale.

In April, two sitting directors were forced to step down due to allegations of violations of the Brown Act, the California State Act that instructs boards on how to properly and legally conduct themselves. Their departure left only three remaining members: Chair Jim Anderson and Directors Norm Crandell and Mike Shults. 

At the monthly meeting of the Felton Fire Protection District Board of Directors on Aug. 5, accusations flew and tempers flared as Anderson sparred with both volunteer and paid members of the department over a lack of vision and understanding between the two.

Anderson, who has served on the board since 1999 and is up for reelection in 2026, demonstrated a lack of professionalism during the Aug. 5 meeting as well as during comments after the board had adjourned. His attacks on the firefighting squad, going so far in a previous meeting as to announce “the inmates are running the asylum” and referring to them as “lazy,” are indicative of the chasm that exists between the parties.

Crandell remained objective and even-keeled during the meeting; his term runs until 2026 as well.

While the squad’s morale has plummeted due to the lack of support for their volunteerism (they are hemorrhaging personnel and have lost two-thirds of their volunteers since the beginning of the year, including three of their four paid personnel since the Aug. 5 meeting), worse yet is the impact of Shults’ recent malfeasance in the misappropriation of over a half-million dollars’ worth of firefighting equipment for his own personal use.

In June, Shults, a previous volunteer with the squad and a first-term board member who was appointed in January 2024, announced to a captain at the station that he was going to take the various engines out of the bay, including taking the district’s water tender out.

Based on the downturn of volunteers and the lack of “exercise” that the various engines receive as a result, Shults stated during a sit-down interview on Aug. 10 that he wanted to ensure the engines were fit and ready to respond to service calls. He cited his experience as an engineer with the district and the need to start “flowing water and putting the engines in pump” to keep the water tender in working mode and to prevent corrosion or damage to the valves.

Water tenders are used when fire suppression is required in a remote area that doesn’t have hydrants as a water source, so keeping them tuned up, filled to the brim and ready for immediate response is critical.

Felton’s water tender is a 2020 rig on an international chassis with a 2,500-gallon tank manufactured by Pennsylvania-based builder KME. According to the manufacturer, its primary interior components are brass and polymer (which don’t rust), and the internal valves are stainless steel. According to squad members, apparatus are taken out of the engine bay during weekly drills and are routinely driven and inspected for response readiness.

While Felton boasts a fleet of four rigs, including the water tender, plus two utility pickup trucks and one chief’s rig, Shults only took the tender out for exercise that day in June. During the face-to-face interview, Shults said he “took the initiative” to take the tender out for operational purposes. When questioned as to whom he should have received permission from prior to taking that action, Shults said there was no one else in the department higher in rank than a captain at the time, which is untrue.

Dan Arndt, who officially retired from the district on July 23, had been appointed as Battalion Chief at Felton earlier in the year and oversaw the squad and apparatus in his role during the time in question. In addition, it’s atypical for a board member to remove a rig from the barn (where the vehicles are housed) since operational measures are usually performed by firefighters.

Despite that, Shults took the water tender to his home and used the rig to fill his family’s above-ground swimming pool. During the interview, Shults contested the amount of water that was used, stating, “There are stories that I used 10,000 gallons of water, but it was only about 5,000 gallons,” seemingly unaware of the overarching issue of using a piece of critical district firefighting equipment for personal purposes.

All told, Shults had the tender out of the barn for 2.5 hours. GPS mapping showed Shults taking the tender to several different hydrants for filling, and returning repeatedly to his home where the water was discharged into his pool.

During the interview, Shults proclaimed that the tender remained at least half-full during the exercise, and that he finished filling his pool with water from his home. Although he repeatedly claimed that his actions were out of concern for the health of the district’s apparatus, he confessed to the captain on duty that day that he was taking the water tender “to fill up [his] pool,” as seen and heard in security camera footage.

Shults repaid the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) for the thousands of gallons of water, and reimbursed FFPD for the 17 gallons of diesel used during the escapade. Although Shults said during the interview that he only used 5,000 gallons of water, SLVWD issued a repayment notification to FFPD that read, “Mike Shults has addressed the fee for the water usage that occurred without our prior knowledge. The amount of $166.32 has been paid, which covers the cost for 10,000 gallons of water.”

As for the funds repaid to FFPD for the diesel, the $85 check was written and dated July 31, 2024, just five days before the August board meeting.

Shults admitted that he only reimbursed SLVWD and FFPD after he was called out on his actions, rather than stepping up to make things right before being asked to do so, which is further supported by the date of the check made payable to FFPD. Given that, it seems that the repayment was rushed in order for the restitution announcement to be made at the Aug. 5 board meeting. 

The entire water tender incident may have gone unaddressed by the district were it not for an astute Felton resident who called to report a plain-clothes individual driving the tender through the neighborhood without lights or sirens.

Two other questions have been posed to Shults via email since the Aug. 10 interview: 1. If water needed to be pumped through the tender to ensure its operational health, why wasn’t it emptied in a parched empty field where the water would serve a helpful purpose? And 2. Why would a board member need to take the tender out for a mechanical checkup if the squad is able to do so during their weekly training drills?

It is the responsibility of the board to oversee the fiduciary health of the district, not to abscond with taxpayer-funded equipment on a whim. As of this writing, Shults has not responded to either inquiry.

While members of the department and the community are clamoring for Shults to be disciplined for his actions, the sitting Felton Fire Protection District Board of Directors is currently unable to take any action. With a five-person board reduced to three members until January, and Shults having to recuse from any disciplinary decisions regarding his conduct, a quorum for the board doesn’t exist, leaving Anderson and Crandell hamstrung, and Shults on the board.

During the Aug. 5 meeting, Shults was forced to leave the community room during the discussion of his unauthorized use of the water tender. He was fully aware of the reason he was sent from the room, and yet he showed no contrition nor offered any apology to the 60-plus members of the public that were in attendance once he returned.

There was an indication from the board that Shults had apologized for his actions, but members of the squad confirmed that no such apology had been shared with their team, nor was any apologetic effort made during the meeting.

The lack of a fully functioning board is a critical reason for local residents to become aware of issues surrounding the district. There are currently seven candidates running for the FFPD board: Judy Anderson, Doug Conrad, Mark Giblin, Adam Hensleigh, Jeffrey Meyers, Erica Schwanbeck and Mike Shults.

When asked if he believed it was wise to run again for the board given his previous dereliction of duty, Shults replied that he “wanted to be [with the department] and serve his community.”

More information on fiscal mismanagement and the need for surrounding volunteer agencies to lend emergency response support to the Felton Fire Protection District will follow in the coming weeks, along with an introduction to the current Fire Chief, Issac Blum, who seems to have a firm grasp on what’s needed to keep the department from insolvency.

According to Blum, he’s known Shults for many years. Blum authored a report for the board regarding Shults’ actions, including a recommendation for disciplinary measures to be taken, but on the advice of legal counsel, the letter could not be given to Shults (based on the lack of a board quorum).

To the residents of Felton and the surrounding communities: Attend every FFPD board meeting. Ask questions and become aware of the issues surrounding the district. Support the volunteer firefighters and, if a Felton resident, consider becoming a volunteer. Pull papers to run for the board. Make donations to the department, attend fundraisers and let your voices be heard.

The next board meeting is Monday, Sept. 9, at 6pm inside the Felton Fire Protection District community room at 131 Kirby St. (enter on Gushee Street by the engine bay).

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Correction: An earlier version of this article, as well as in print, inadvertently left off the “Opinion” label. Press Banner regrets the error.