Gabrielle Russon
In the Ponce Inlet fire station, Kyle Oberst made a dark confession to his fellow firefighter paramedics. He admitted to making mistakes on the job and said he accidentally killed some of his patients.
That’s all according to a 2021 Ponce Inlet investigative report. But if Oberst hurt his patients, he never reported it to the Fire Chief or the Department’s Medical Director. The town could not confirm the key facts like the patients’ names, when the incidents happened or if Oberst falsified medical reports to cover it up.
However, the town’s investigative report ruled, “There is sufficient testimony to conclude that at the very least Firefighter Oberst concluded that the level of care he provided, as a Paramedic, contributed to the death of a patient.”
Oberst wasn’t the only employee being investigated.
Ponce Inlet Fire Lt. Derek George, who owned a gun store, was accused of regularly building weapons in the fire station’s bay where the fire trucks were parked after the Chief went home for the day.
These were among the key findings in a Ponce Inlet’s 2021 probe into the Fire Department that cost both employees their jobs in the town of fewer than 4,000 people in Volusia County. Oberst and George were fired in 2021, but their union filed an unfair labor practice complaint to contest their terminations. The case is currently pending in Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeals, according to the town.
Oberst and George denied wrongdoing when they were questioned, according to the investigative report done by DSK Law at the town’s request. The town released the 52-page report to Florida Politics in a public records request.
The Fire Department’s history of firefighters bringing guns into the fire station and breaking rules has run deep in recent years. The town was sued this month by a former Fire Department employee who was fired after a separate gun-related investigation.
One firefighter interviewed said Oberst “admitted that he administered the wrong drug, Lasix, a water pill. When the Lasix caused an adverse reaction, Firefighter Oberst said he did not inform the hospital and did not include the information in his report,” the report said.
A Fire Department engineer said Oberst admitted to misreading a patient’s heart rhythm while he was attempting to defibrillate the patient. Because of that, Oberst delivered the incorrect amount of electricity to the patient, the report continued.
The engineer spoke with George about what happened.
George told the engineer, “Paramedic Oberst read the monitor incorrectly and he cardioverted the slow pace of the patient’s heart, ‘which would have most likely stopped his heart,’” the report said.
A different firefighter confirmed that “not only does Firefighter Oberst do as little as possible during calls, but Firefighter Oberst has made comments that his skills as a paramedic have caused harm to patients under his care,” the report said.
The paramedics’ Medical Director established rules for which drugs the paramedics should give, but Oberst seemed to have trouble remembering what to do. He wrote Post-it notes in his truck to remind how much medication to use, the report added.
But Oberst made light of the situation, per the report.
He once sent a meme to a firefighter that read: “My Senior Medic firefighter showing me how to write paperwork on calls after we f***ed up, but it makes us look like angels.”
That firefighter who got the meme did not like Oberst and had a list of personal grievances against him. The firefighter said Oberst bragged about seeing a patient’s underwear and called her pretty. That firefighter also said Oberst messaged him about buying steroids — a fireable offense, the investigation found.
Oberst started working for the town in 2012 as a firefighter and within six months became a paramedic too. But by December 2018, Oberst wanted to quit being a paramedic.
Fire Chief Daniel Scales “said that he was unaware of any evidence that Firefighter Oberst’s patient care had resulted in the death of a patient. Chief Scales, however, found it concerning that Firefighter Oberst, suddenly and without reasonable justification no longer desired to serve as a Paramedic,” according to the report.
Some firefighters said Oberst stepped down because he was uncomfortable as a paramedic and doubted his abilities. Oberst told some that the job was stressful and he was scared about hurting patients. Another firefighter believed a patient’s death was the reason why Oberst quit.
Oberst told investigators he quit the paramedic job because of the low pay and because he could keep his firefighter duties.
Oberst denied the allegations others raised about him. He argued that he had not made mistakes or negligently treated his patients.
“When asked if he ever made comments that the care that he provided as a paramedic led to the death of a patient he responded, ‘Not that I can remember,’” read the report.
Oberst was close with George, who was the union President, previously worked in law enforcement, was a National Rifle Association firearms instructor and owned a gun store, the report said.
George was also caught up in the 2021 probe.
George built 20 rifles, handguns and an AR-15 inside the fire station’s bay area within a two-year period, said one firefighter who feared retaliation if he reported George to higher-ups.
“Lt. George would bring firearms into the bay area, build them and return the built firearms to his vehicle. Lt. George would intentionally bring out his firearms after Chief Scales left for the day; after 4:00 P.M.,” the firefighter described, according to the report.
A different firefighter estimated the number of weapons George built in the fire station was at least 500.
“Many other employees stated that they only observed Lt. George bring in components or partially assembled weapons into the Fire Station,” the report said.
George denied the guns he built were real.
“This is not a firearm. It can’t shoot bullets. It doesn’t have a lower receiver. It doesn’t have a firing pin,” George told a Fire Department engineer, according to the report.
“Have you ever fully assembled any firearms at the station?” an investigator asked George.
“No,” George said, per the report. “Not that — again, qualify. I’ve got to be very careful, because what you’re asking me is — this is not a firearm (referring to the diagrams of kits).”
“Lt. George said that when the kit is fully assembled, the device appears to be a firearm to an onlooker,” the report said.
George’s answer didn’t win over investigators.
“I am not moved by Lt. George’s defense that he did not assemble firearms, as they were not operable,” read the findings. “Lt. George violated the clear spirit of the rule in bringing devices, which appeared as fully assembled firearms on Town Property.”
George also denied that Oberst ever talked about hurting patients or did anything wrong on the medical calls. He said Oberst didn’t want to be a paramedic anymore because he lost confidence.
One firefighter said George and Oberst went out on a call together to look like they were busy working and responded to a patient who ended up not being in critical condition.
“Lt. George and Firefighter Oberst never transported the patient to the hospital and dropped him off on the side of the road,” the investigative report said.
Others described George’s behavior as creating a toxic fire station environment.
One firefighter said, “Lt. George referred to himself as his alter ego ‘Leon’ when responding to calls involving people of color. Sometimes when acting in the role of ‘Leon,’ Lt. George will don a gold chain, saying ‘it’s his black alter ego,’” according to the report.
The 2021 document recommended both George and Oberst should be fired from the Fire Department.
Florida Politics previously reported that ex-Ponce Inlet Fire Lt. Susanne Severson sued the town this month in federal court. She claimed she was singled out as a woman in her late 40s when she was fired, her punishment more severe than her younger, male colleagues, she argued.
Severson bought a gun from a firefighter who directly reported to her. The transaction went down inside the fire station in 2017, violating the town’s rules.
And Severson, George and a third employee pointed their guns at a camera and posed with their weapons on town property. The photographs taken around 2010 were posted on Facebook more than a decade ago, recently attracting town officials’ attention and prompting an investigation in 2022.
Severson — who authorities believed lied during the investigation — was fired last year.
But Severson was apparently far from the only firefighter being investigated over the years. The town has spent nearly $140,000 on the two investigations.
Fire Chief Soles Daniel Scales, who has been in charge since 2005, did not respond to a request for comment.
