MILLINGTON, Tenn. — WREG has uncovered evidence that a former Mid-South fire chief put people, and even national security interests, in danger when he came to work impaired and under the influence of opioid drugs.
Tennessee’s Board of Emergency Medical Services released a consent order showing the former fire chief for the Millington Airport Fire Department was impaired while on the job.
Millington Airport Authority Executive Director Roy Remington remembered when he hired Josh Anderson as chief in July 2015. He had a good resume and a lot of experience.
“From what we could understand in his past, he’d at one point served as position of captain of a fire department,” Remington said.
He said Anderson was the Millington Airport Fire Department’s only full-time employee and oversaw nine part-time firefighters.
He also had to be ready to respond to a plane crash or other emergencies, and oversaw the airport’s two biggest events of 2016.
“We typically have the Airshow every year featuring the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. We also had a visit by who was then-President Trump during the presidential campaign,” Remington said.
But new records showed during that time, Chief Anderson could’ve put people in danger.
A Tennessee Department of Health order signed by Anderson said he, “served as Fire Chief while impaired due to drug use on multiple occasions.”
It also said he battled opioid addiction issues.
His boss said he noticed the behavior at the time.
“We’re talking slurred speech and inability to focus on the individual speaking to you,” Remington said.
Remington said each time that happened, they’d send him to take a drug test. At least once, it came back positive for opioids. But he had prescriptions for them, so they didn’t take action until they discovered missing medicine.
“There had been multiple purchases of an injectable form of Benadryl,” Remington said.
He said Anderson had no answer for what happened to the purchases, so they fired him in January of 2017.
“We wanted to ensure this was done correctly so we went through the process of contacting the state and letting them know,” he said.
But the state waited a year and a half to take action, and in that time Anderson got hired with the Memphis Fire Department. The Emergency Medical Services Board waited until June to issue an order.
“In this instance I think that’s too long,” Remington said.
According to the board, Anderson has to do state monitoring and probation for three years or else his license will be suspended this October.
The order also states he has been compliant with his addiction treatment outpatient program and has to pass weekly drug tests.
According to Memphis Fire, his status is “active” with “no restrictions.”
Remington says MFD never contacted him for a hiring reference.
