Heather Michon, Editor
A “culture of complacency” allowed a registered sex offender to roam a Palmyra firehouse and respond to emergency calls for up to a year, Fire Chief Andrew Pullen said in a statement released Friday.
The incident sparked a state investigation and led officials to briefly close the firehouse on James Madison Highway. The station reopened Saturday at 7 a.m. following what Pullen described as “recent personnel and administrative changes.”
According to online state records, Sammie Gene Morris Jr., 37, was convicted in Fluvanna County in 2013 for using a communications system to propose a sexual act. He was later convicted in Louisa County for failing to register as a sex offender.
In his statement, Pullen said Morris “participated in company activities and spent time at the station” for more than six months, and possibly as long as a year. Morris responded to multiple emergency calls in the Kents Store area in his personal vehicle.
Morris was confronted at one of those calls when he “exhibited suspicious behavior, was not recognized by responding personnel, and was ultimately turned away — including by the county fire chief,” Pullen said.
“This incident reflects a concerning normalization of deviance within the organization,” Pullen wrote in the memo.
While it is common for the public to visit the firehouse, Morris’s presence in the department went unnoticed for months. Pullen said established administrative policies “designed to specifically prevent this type of situation” were not followed.
The fallout from the discovery was immediate. Following consultation with the medical director and county officials, the Palmyra Fire Company was shuttered, its members were suspended, and neighboring departments were tasked with responding to calls.
Palmyra crews returned to service the following morning with the permission of state and local authorities.
“At this time, we are confident that no patients, community members, or any of our own personnel were harmed,” Pullen said Monday.
The department now faces third-party investigations to determine how Morris remained undetected. Pullen committed to “full transparency and accountability” and said the findings of any investigation would be made public.
“Leadership must be held to the highest standards,” he said. “Failure to exercise sound judgment within the firehouse raises serious concerns about decision-making during emergency incidents, where lives and property are at stake.”
