There have been some curious hires at the State Fire Marshal’s office which have attracted the attention of LouisianaVoice.
Two in particular: former State Rep. Bryan Adams and Dean Smith.
Of the two, Adams raises the most questions.
There is no question that Adams, unlike Smith, possessed experience in firefighting, having served as Chief of the Terrytown 5th District Volunteer Fire Department for 31 years, from 1982 to 2013.
But when he resigned from the Louisiana House of Representatives in July 2016 after four years, seven months in office to take a position as Deputy Chief-Investigations with the State Fire Marshal’s office, he was already working simultaneously as Customer Service Manager for Ferrara Fire Apparatus of Holden, a company that had extensive dealings as a major vendor for the Fire Marshal’s office at a whopping $120,000.
That, combined with his position as State Representative, might raise eyebrows. As a member of the Legislature, he had a vote on the budget for state agencies, including that of Fire Marshal, which did business with his employer. CLICK HERE.
He was elevated to Fire Chief on January 2 of this year but his salary did not change. He remained at the Fire Marshal’s office for only another month after that, until February 12, when he went to work for the Department of Revenue at a salary of $71,300, a drop of almost $49,000 in salary. He recouped some of that lost salary on June 19 of this year when he went to work as Executive Director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board at $91,000 per year (CLICK HERE).
Bryan Adams
| Begin Date | End Date | Agency | Job Title | Biweekly Pay Rate |
| 6/19/17 | Present | CRT-Office of the Secretary | Executive Director | $3500.00 (6/19/17 to present) |
| 2/13/17 | 6/18/17 | DOR-Department of Revenue | Executive Staff Officer | $34.30/hour (2/13/17 to 6/18/17) |
| 1/2/17 | 2/12/17 | DPS-Office of the State Fire Marshal | Fire Chief | 4615.39 (1/2/17 to 2/12/17) |
| 6/24/16 | 1/1/17 | DPS-Office of the State Fire Marshal | Deputy Chief-Investigations | 4615.39 (6/24/16 to 1/1/17) |
So, who is Dean Smith?
No, not the legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach who passed away in February 2015.
We’re talking about the Dean Smith whose last day as police captain for the Pontchartrain Levee District was January 27, 2017, not quite seven months ago and who went to work as a Fire Chief for the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (SFM) three days later at a cool $85,000 per year.
Nothing in his background would seem to qualify him as Fire Chief.
The Louisiana Civil Service Department says Dean Smith began working for the Pontchartrain Levee District as a Police Captain on July 1, 2010 at a salary of $61,000 per year.
On March 12, 2012, he was designated as a Police Captain A and on October 1, 2015, his salary was $71,000 and remained at that level until his departure on January 27 of this year. Three days later, with no professional experience to qualify him for his Fire Chief position, his salary jumped by $14,000 per year, to $85,000.
Dean Smith
| Begin Date | End Date | Agency | Job Title | Biweekly Pay Rate |
| 01/30/17 | Present | DPS-Office of State Marshal | Fire Chief | $3269.23 (1/30/17 to present) |
| 3/5/12 | 1/29/17 | Pontchartrain Levee District | Police Captain A | $2744.80 (10/01/15 to 1/29/17)
$2639.20 (10/1/14 to 9/30/15) $2537.60 (10/1/13 to 9/30/14) $2440.00 (10/1/12 to 9/30/13) $2346.40 (3/5/12 to 9/30/12) |
| 7/01/10 | 3/4/12 | Pontchartrain Levee District | Police Captain | $2346.40 (7/1/10 to 3/4/12) |
Smith was a volunteer fireman in Gonzales when Browning was Fire Chief there and the two are close friends, often joining each other on motorcycle rides.
Smith was also an Ascension Parish deputy sheriff at one time. While in that capacity, he had a gun to discharge accidentally, striking a prisoner in the spine and rendering him a paraplegic. He left the sheriff’s office after that, was elected a justice of the peace and eventually resigned to work for the levee board.
Irony of ironies, we are informed that one of the current duties of the man who once accidentally shot and paralyzed a man is to serve as firearms instructor for the Fire Marshal’s office.
Despite holding down a critical job like Fire Chief, it’s impossible to reach Smith by telephone because, you see, he has no phone extension at the Fire Marshal’s office. None. Nada. Nil. Zip. Attempts to call him on two separate occasions by LouisianaVoice met with explanations that he had no extension but that a message would be given him to return the call.
Of course, he never did.
Wanting to know just what it was that Smith did to earn his $85,000, we emailed State Fire Marshal Butch Browning, the man himself. He should know, after all:
From: Tom Aswell [mailto:azspeak@cox.net]
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 1:07 PM
To: ‘butch.browning@la.gov’ <butch.browning@la.gov>
Subject: FW: DEAN SMITH
Mr. Browning:
How long has Dean Smith worked for the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal and why does he not have a phone extension?
What, exactly, is his title and what are his duties?
You will notice our email was sent at 1:07 p.m. last Friday. Minutes later we received a receipt showing that Browning had read our email at 1:08 p.m.
_____________________________________________
From: Butch Browning [mailto:Butch.Browning@la.gov]
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 1:08 PM
To: Tom Aswell <azspeak@cox.net>
Subject: Read: FW: DEAN SMITH
Your message
To: Butch Browning
Subject: FW: DEAN SMITH
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 1:07:24 PM (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
was read on Friday, August 11, 2017 1:08:01 PM (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada).
But Browning never answered our inquiry, so four hours later, at 5:12 p.m., a follow-up email was sent but alas, he must’ve already started his weekend for he never opened that message:
From: Tom Aswell [mailto:azspeak@cox.net]
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 5:12 PM
To: ‘butch.browning@la.gov’ <butch.browning@la.gov>
Subject: FOLLOW UP
I received the receipt showing that you read my previous email but you didn’t respond. You should know that it isn’t in your best interest to ignore me when I ask valid questions. And those were valid questions I asked before.
Not a threat, just friendly words of advice.
As we said, Butch, not a threat. But legitimate inquiries should never be ignored. As the slogan at the top of our web page says, “It is understandable when a child is afraid of the dark but unforgivable when a man fears the light.” The tactic of ignoring inquiries has never worked. It will not make us go away; quite the opposite, in fact.
So, to learn just what else besides teaching firearms safety does a Fire Chief at SFM do to earn his $85,000, we were forced to turn to other sources, current employees in the Fire Marshal’s office, both of whom said Smith and Browning are pals from way back.
One of those says Smith was hired to oversee the non-existent SFM fleet of boats. Well, it shouldn’t too difficult for a Fire Chief with no apparent firefighting experience to watch over boats that don’t exist.
He also cooked jambalaya for attendees at a firefighters’ conference held in Houma the weekend of July 19-22. Oh, well, at least there most likely was some fire involved with that.
If that conference could somehow be deemed an emergency, perhaps that might justify the use of the SFM’s special service trailer. The trailer was “up-fitted” in May 2015 from 5 Alarm Fire Apparatus of Raceland at a cost of $4,649 “for USAR emergency field food service cooking during emergencies.” The Fire Marshal’s office said at the time the expenditure was necessary, that the office “has no way of supporting USAR events or emergencies when they take place. This up-fit cooking trailer will now support events and emergencies with equipment for field food services when necessary.”
They probably also made good use of the 30-gallon roll-around combo set (complete with paddles for stirring the jambalaya) purchased in January 2015 from Krazy Kajun Cookware for $895.
But, despite the apparent critical need for an $85,000 per year Fire Chief, Boat Watcher and Jambalaya Cook, he doesn’t have a telephone extension at the Fire Marshal’s headquarters in Baton Rouge even though that’s where he works reports to collect his salary.
Wow. I didn’t think I could be more disappointed with this agency, but here they go again.
Tom–when are you going to report on the SFM’s Vice Squad? That’s right, we had numerous SFM deputies who went to multi-day class on human trafficking. Looks like we can add another feather to our hats.
State Fire Marshal Deputy, Specializing in:
Building Inspections
Hospital Inspections
Boiler Inspections
Amusement Ride Inspections
Licensing Inspections
Life Safety Inspections
Arson Investigations
Fraud Investigations
Fire Investigations
Water Rescue Operations
Human Trafficking Investigations
We need more inspirational words of the week, Chief Browning! We almost need a whole DICTIONARY of inspirational words to help us!
It’s very interesting to learn about this “emergency field food kitchen” because you see while my fellow deputys and myself were out trying to save lives during the flood event, we were left to find food by ourselves or depend on the gracious citizens who brought us food while supposedly the special services ate catered meals daily.
Also interesting is the fact that useless people in Baton Rouge seem to be typically tasked to cook jambalaya for private events on the states dime. I heard a rumor that one of the HQ deputys who failed both his Inspector and K9 certifications multiples times would disappear for two to three times a week with another useless captain (of which he supervised no one but cameras).
What a party in red stick, I hope to get invited one day.
Hey FedUp…
That’s not a rumor. It’s true. The inspector is Garrett Reeves and the captain is Chris Anderson. As of January, I don’t think Reeves has the certifications to work for the State Fire Marshal.
I know you don’t want to name the guys, but they should be called out for who they are.
How about we keep the focus on the terrible leaders that are in control at the Fire Marshals Office and how to get them out and not call out the individual employees, whatever their status may be. If we can get rid of Butch and most definitely Brant and Lance this office would be a great place to work at. With a new administration comes turnover, so those who can’t cut it will be weeded out.
So I ask you to stay focused on the big picture, start with leaders who need to go. Direct your anger towards them and not the people you work alongside.
At any one time thousands of lives could be in danger due to potential and unaddressed fire hazards. And what do we get in the form of State Fire Marshall Office protection? Too often it appears we get unqualified inspector reviews resulting from cronyism by Browning and Thompson. Governor Edwards, you have been warned by Mr. Aswell of the potential for a disaster. So if and when it occurs, you will be held personally liable along with the State of Louisiana. So please get busy replacing Browning and Thompson with qualified and honorable managers. Lives depend upon it.
Very powerful words.
The fires that happened around the world in the past six months/year can happen today in Louisiana. Lives are in danger and property can be lost.
Let’s not forget those uneducated and unqualified to investigate arson and fraud. Insurance rates can be hiked up or people can be wrongfully arrested and convicted of felonies. Guilty parties can be sent free. Why? So Browning can show off that he saved millions of dollars?
Arsonists are prowling Louisiana because they know this agency can’t and won’t do a thing about it.
Damn! The gravy train rolls on.
So how many other agencies are guilty of the same? Lordy!
Tom you have enough work here to keep you busy for a long time.
All State agencies should be audited; every damn year if needed, and it’s needed.
That is true, ciel, but in fact, state law already requires that. Sometimes it’s done by the legislative auditor, sometimes by a private CPA firm, but in both cases the cost is assessed to the agency. I suspect Tom knows exactly where to get the most recent audit or two.
The problem is that without specific allegations of wrongdoing (as these are developing into), an auditor isn’t going to find a lot of these problems. They look to see if everything is documented, and if any expenses appear to be either (a) illegal, (b) inappropriate, or (c) excessive. But a decent salary for a “Fire Chief” isn’t going to set off warning bells unless they are told, by someone in the know, that said employee never clocks in or out. Illegal expenses – like using state money for booze – are easier to catch, but not by much.
The problem there is, it’s usually hidden as one of many bills paid in a particular category like “supplies” or whatever. Auditors work by going to the ledger of transactions and selecting a few dozen at random and asking for every bit of documentation on them. If the agency can’t find the receipt for four of those things, then they randomly select another thirty or forty and see if the missing percentage of receipts goes down (ie those few were anomolies) or if it holds steady or increases (ie agency has bad records).
But they can still go to the checks for those vendors, or the credit card statement listing that purchase, and contact the vendors to get a copy of what was billed for. Again, though, if they don’t happen to select the “supplies” billing that had the alcohol on it, that’s not going to show up (again, unless someone tips off the auditor that state money was used to buy alcohol in mid-December for a work Christmas party, then they start looking at every receipt from the time period to see if there’s any proof).
So long story short (TL;DR) agencies are audited, but they can’t literally look at every single transaction.