The Florida Professional Firefighters have formally censured former Riviera Beach Assistant Chief Keith Golden, citing three separate investigations that found leadership failures, training deficiencies, and serious operational problems inside the department.
Investigations and Censure
The investigations were conducted after the drowning death of Heath Thomas during a failed Riviera Beach canal rescue in April 2024. The censure calls Golden’s conduct ‘unsafe, negligent, hostile, and retaliatory’ and concludes that the city’s punishment, including a five-day suspension and performance improvement plan, was insufficient.
Golden has since retired from Riviera Beach Fire Rescue, citing personal family reasons. However, local union leaders plan to present a stronger version of the censure at the International Association of Fire Fighters convention in Texas, hoping to distribute the resolution to firefighter union leaders nationwide.
Since the investigation, Riviera Beach Fire Rescue has implemented mandatory open-water rescue training for firefighters and EMS personnel.
Original reporting: WPBF West Palm Beach — read the source article.
