Editor's Note: This is Part 3 of WBR Independent's ongoing coverage of West Baton Rouge Parish Fire Protection District No. 1. Part 1 covered the termination and appeal. Part 2 published the full 66-page disciplinary file. Both are available at WBRIndependent.com.

PORT ALLEN — The West Baton Rouge Parish Fire District No. 1 Civil Service Board voted on February 9 to waive all certification and experience requirements for an upcoming captains promotional exam, with the board secretary telling members the State Examiner's Office had recommended the changes.

The State Examiner says that's not what happened.

In correspondence with WBR Independent, State Examiner Adrienne Bordelon confirmed that the OSE did not make a recommendation for this upcoming exam. Bordelon stated that her office was unaware of the board's action and had not received any correspondence from the board regarding it.

"In the past the OSE had recommended waiving these qualifications when there were more vacancies in the class than number of potential eligible candidates," Bordelon wrote. "But that was not recommended for this apparent upcoming posting."

Bordelon confirmed that the OSE had recommended a waiver for a previous captains exam called in December 2024 — but said that recommendation applied to that exam only.

During the February 9 meeting, board secretary Deanna Fourroux told board members that "the State Examiner's Office sent us a letter advising us that we were gonna modify some qualifications for the captain's exam." Fourroux went on to describe the changes as consistent with the OSE's recommendation, stating "they recommend the previous waiver to waive all certifications and to waive the years of regular and permanent employees in the classified of firefighter operator from at least five years down to all regular and permanent employees in the class of firefighter."

The recommendation Fourroux described to the board matches the waiver the State Examiner's Office approved for the December 2024 exam — not the upcoming exam the board was voting on. The State Examiner confirmed that recommendation was for a previous exam only and was not made for this one.

The board approved the waiver. Board member Aaron Little seconded the motion.

What the Waiver Changed

The approved waiver eliminates all certification requirements — including Inspector I and Fire Officer I — and drops the five-year service requirement as a firefighter operator, opening the exam to all regular and permanent employees in the class of firefighter.

The changes come months after the same board adopted stricter promotion requirements in October 2025, including rules requiring continuous uninterrupted service before advancing to captain or deputy chief. Those rules were designed to prevent employees from being demoted and immediately returning to higher positions.

Why It Matters

Five provisional captain and deputy chief appointments were made between January 22 and February 2, 2026, following the termination of Deputy Chief James "Bean" Hartley. Under Louisiana law, provisional appointments are typically limited to three months and can only be made when the board is unable to provide an eligibility list for the position, according to the State Examiner.

The captains exam — and the qualifications required to sit for it — determines who is eligible to permanently fill those positions. A waiver based on a recommendation the state says was never made raises questions about the foundation of the entire process.

WBR Independent requested comment from each of the three civil service board members and the board secretary regarding the source of the recommendation. None responded.

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