Back draft: Local firefighter gets burned on promotions test

FEDERAL HEIGHTS - The city of Federal Heights is investigating a captain in the fire department for allegedly changing the results of a firefighter's test who was trying to get promoted, 9Wants to Know has learned. Meanwhile, the city is reevaluating its testing procedures.

"We are not going to go through this again. We're going to make sure that everything is spotlessly clean and our procedures are going to be beyond reproach whether or not these allegations are correct or not, we will follow all procedures properly," David Blanchard, Federal Heights City Manager, said.

The captain denies he changed any answers on the test. The Federal Heights Police Department and the Adams County District Attorney are not pressing charges against the captain, 9NEWS has learned.

According to an affidavit in Adams County, firefighter/paramedic Sean Ellis would have passed his "Fire Officer I examination" that he took on April 24, but it appeared as if numerous answers had been erased and changed, making him fail the test instead.

Ellis thought there was "no way" he failed the test, but his final score showed 66 out of 100. He was trying to get promoted from a firefighter/paramedic to a captain and earn more money, according to the affidavit. The city manager says Ellis, who was hired in September 2002, would have received a raise from $20.06 an hour to $20.33 an hour.

After Ellis started asking questions about his failed test, the Division of Fire Safety and Colorado Bureau of Investigation checked into the examination. According to the affidavit, investigators believe the person who gave Ellis the test erased 20 of his correct answers and changed them to be wrong answers.

The proctor of the test was Captain Gerry Lamansky, who has been a firefighter and paramedic with the Federal Heights Fire Department for 19 years. The affidavit says there is "reasonable suspicision to believe that" numerous answers had been erased and changed by Lamansky.

Lamansky denies he changed any of the test results, according to his attorney Christopher Beasley.

"He (Lamansky) has no idea how it happened. We don't even know that the answers were changed at all," Beasley said.

The lawyer said there is no dispute or personal or professional animosity between Lamansky and Ellis. Ellis referred all questions to Blanchard.

"Ellis is not losing any ground because of this," Blanchard said. "He has not been selected as captain yet because we have not completed the process. It's an ongoing and separate process from the internal investigation."

Lamansky and Ellis still work as firefighters within the department, according to the Blanchard, while the investigation is ongoing. He says he cannot discuss anything further about the investigation because it is a personnel matter.

If you have any news tips, please email 9Wants to Know Investigative Reporter Deborah.Sherman@9NEWS.com.