The top brass at the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) are doing what bureaucrats always do when they come under criticism from the media—especially when they think subordinates might be feeding information to reporters:
They initiate a witch hunt to ferret out those who might be leaking information.
But unconfirmed reports filtering out of OSFM headquarters reveal an even stranger tactic undertaken in the office’s investigation of a suspected arson in St. Tammany in which the body of Fire District 12 Chief Stephen Krentel’s wife was found with a gunshot wound to her head.
Sources tell LouisianaVoice that OSFM, with all its available arson investigators at its disposal, hired a psychic to solve the suspected arson case. We have to wonder if the psychic was certified by the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI) or if he/she was simply certified by OSFM and then allowed carry a weapon.
And all this time, we have been told by State Fire Marshal Butch Browning and Deputy Fire Marshal, Fire Chief, or whatever his title is, Brant Thompson that OSFM had the best-trained, most efficient investigators in the nation. So, why a psychic then?
But back to our original story.
Word relayed to LouisianaVoice is that a meeting room on the second floor of OSFM has had its windows papered over and a sign taped to the door warning unauthorized personnel to stay out while IT workers comb through employees’ state email accounts and cell phone records in an effort to find the mole.
Well, happy hunting, Thompson and Browning. Yes, you have subordinates talking to LouisianaVoice—and a hint: it’s more than one—but they’re not stupid enough to use their state cell phones or state email accounts.
Perhaps the psychic can tell you who’s talking to LouisianaVoice.
As our late friend C.B. Forgotston would say: you can’t make this stuff up.
Dear Lord Mr.Tom, if you keep this up we are going to have to nickname you POPCORN. You just keep popping out all this hidden info that no one is supposed to know about I am so glad to see that people on the inside are speaking up. Like I said so many times before, silence is never golden when it comes to corruption.
Sorry, I never meant any kind of disrespect to the family of this woman who was found dead in this fire. I hope they get the thug who did this to her. It is hard to believe that things like that can happen in a nice community like they live in.
A psychic, a law enforcement officer, a live witness, a fire investigator, whoever, just so they get this thug, I watch a lot of shows with real true stories and psychics do solve some murders in a lot of cases. This woman’s family deserves to know who did what, when and where to her and why?
Keep them on their toes Mr.Tom. A good investigative reporter is priceless and very hard to find, especially one that isn’t afraid to get it done RIGHT!
To the brave ones on the inside who came forward with information, God Bless You and Thank You. I know it took a lot of intestinal fortitude to do what you have done but you will be blessed in the end. Hope it works out for the good for everyone involved. Sometimes God put us all at that fork in the road and he relies on each individual to do the right thing and that is what you all did in this case. Good job! We need more people like yourselves to do just the same thing when they see things going the wrong way. If everyone took a stand against corruption, corruption would fail and our state would be a better and safer place to live in. It all begins with each of us, one by one, and never, ever giving up!!
Butch Browning and Brant Thompson are such fools. Don’t they realize that trying to identify and then punish their employees for informing Louisiana Voice of OSFM failure is like playing whack A Mole. If they identify one and punish him/her, 5 will take that first one’s place. What a fools game Browning and Thompson play. Maybe they should concentrate on fixing the problems.
Are you listening John Bel?
They’re completely ignorant, Brant And Butch.
I’m proud to say I work at SFM Baton Rouge but have had the unfortunate pleasure of working for these idiots and their “team” of complete fools (Chad, Trevor, Keith, Nick, Ricky). I’ve seen more talent in a bag of dry rice. They think their “rank” makes them respectable, but they don’t know how stupid people know they are and just how screwed they are when Butch gets booted and Brant goes to jail!
Someone pull public records requests on Brant’s cell phone and his vehicle mileage and see what/who he’s doing these days.
Bet they didn’t see that coming—or maybe they did, with the psychic LOL!
I’m actually excited to do write this in my state unit while in uniform. They’re fools!!
No disrespect to you, Tom, or C.B., but this can’t be true. Can it?
According to my sources, and there are several, both stories are accurate.
It’s very true. I work for the State fire marshal’s office and I promise you that this is factual.
Brant Thompson and his cronies have to go ASAP.
The cancer that is the Browning/Thompson era has spread so deep, it will take YEARS for the agency to return to its prestige. Longest serving deputies are around 5 years. How is this possible? And you want to lie to me at annual meetings and say that we’re on the same level as state police? Get out of here, idiots!
The IG and AG are coming, you bastards.
Yet another troubling example of top brass at a PUBLIC agency obsessed with restricting info on their activities, which are paid for by the public, to the public.
On Their way out, Don’t forget to attach this ensemble to Mike Edmonson and Charles Dupuy with the LSA in Support!
Mr. Tom,
I do appreciate you letting everyone know what is going in this department.
I am confused though, because I thought the Governor was a very good friend of yours so why doesn’t he do something about all this corruption.
Everyone keeps relating to the A.G. for not correcting certain things when they should be done but shouldn’t both the A.G. and Governor be working together to clean up all corruption? It seems like it would get done faster with two departments working in harmony instead of separately.
It sure takes a long time for them to correct the wrong but mean while the corruption just keeps growing and growing.
This is unfair to the people who always do the right thing, very unfair indeed.
Tom, you know Brant will summon Daddy, and Daddy will call on The Senate Leader Alario and he will call Honor Code Edwards and all this will just Go Away? Maybe So?
Wonder if Riser will stick his nose in this one? He is too busy trying to be Treasurer!
Well they tried the same with saving Edmonson with the LSA in support, and they failed.
So please stay the course!
Time to Drain The Swamp!