Dawn Charette seeks reinstatement of operator license after 2005 fumigation death; board takes matter under submission

A petition hearing for reinstatement of operator Dawn Charette’s license was held remotely on March 12, 2025, before Administrative Law Judge Wilbert Bennett and the Structural Pest Control Board. Deputy Attorney General Stephanie Lee presented the board’s petition package, which the board admitted into evidence. The hearing covered the 2005 fumigation incident that resulted in the death of a resident, related disciplinary proceedings and court litigation, Charette’s rehabilitation activities and changes in company operations. The record was closed and the matter was submitted for deliberation; the board issued no decision at the hearing.

The deputy attorney general summarized the agency’s record: Charette’s operator license and the company license for D & S (referred to in the record as DNS Termite Control) were subject to an accusation beginning in 2006 that led to findings about inadequate prefumigation preparation and related violations after a March 2005 fumigation of a 30-unit condominium complex using Vikane (sulfuryl fluoride). The board’s original decision placed the company on three years’ probation, suspended operations for a period, revoked certain licenses and ordered cost recovery in the amount of $100,000. Superior court review affirmed most factual findings; remand and subsequent proceedings adjusted penalties and left the company on probation while modifying some sanctions. Charette has filed multiple prior petitions for reinstatement that were denied; the transcript and exhibits document prior writ litigation and subsequent board rulings.

Charette testified under oath that she has been in the pest-control industry since childhood, took over family operations after her father’s death, and now owns approximately 68 percent of DNS. She said the company closed its fumigation (branch 1) department in January 2023, sold fumigation equipment and now subcontracts fumigation services to licensed branch‑1 companies. Charette told the board she does not intend to resume in-house fumigations and that her request focuses on reinstatement of an operator license for branch 3 work (termite/structural services) so she can oversee branch 3 as the current qualifying manager, Michael Saunders, nears retirement.

Charette described counseling and a period of therapy following the 2005 incident, said she has participated in many industry training courses over the years (she presented a file of certificates, which she said contains roughly a hundred entries accumulated over time), and described community service such as school and PTA involvement and charitable food distributions. She acknowledged that her prior decisions at the time of the 2005 fumigation were mistakes, expressed responsibility for failures in project preparation and said she now limits her operational duties to administrative oversight and relies on qualified managers (named in the record as Michael Saunders and Alan Iniguez) to perform licensed field work. She told the board she would accept probationary conditions and supervisory requirements if the board chose to reinstate her license.

Board members and the deputy attorney general questioned Charette about the underlying facts of the 2005 incident, the company’s continued operations and branch restructuring, the decision to close the fumigation department, subcontracting practices for branch 1 work, documentation of continuing education, and plans to replace the retiring branch‑3 qualifying manager. Charette testified that the company has 19 employees, that she supervises administrative functions (payroll, HR and education compliance) and that she uses two branch‑1 subcontractors vetted informally by inquiries to the Department of Agriculture.

Judge Bennett closed the record and submitted the case to the board for closed‑session deliberation. The board did not issue a decision at the hearing; a written decision will be mailed to the parties.

Provenance: The hearing opened for Dawn Charette at the judge’s announcement of the next petition matter (transcript: "We will resume at approximately 10:50. To review the petition for reinstatement of Dawn Marie Charrette. This matter is being heard before the Structural Pest Control Board...") and concluded when the judge closed the record and submitted the case (transcript: "This concludes the petition hearing in this matter. The record is closed. The case is submitted").