Firefighter Misconduct in the News… Again
As if yesterday’s story about the sexual misconduct hazing incident in FDNY was not enough, two more stories are in the news today, one in Maryland, the other in Connecticut.
In Montgomery County, Maryland, two firefighters have been charged criminally with intentionally flooding a baseball field. According to WTOP, prosecutors allege that Captain Chris Reilly and FF Alan Barnes used fire hoses to flood the field at Montgomery Blair High School. According to the charging document filed by Maryland–National Capital Park Police, the alleged conduct was “driven by frustration due to repeated incidents involving baseballs striking personal vehicles, the fire station, and departmental equipment.”
The incident reportedly caused significant damage, with estimates in the tens of thousands of dollars. Both firefighters are facing charges of malicious destruction of property, conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property, and disorderly conduct
In Waterbury, Connecticut, seven fire cadets resigned after being accused of cheating on an emergency medical technician (EMT) certification exam. The proctored exam was administered through a local ambulance company. According to Mayor Paul Pernerewski, the cadets were accused of looking up answers on computers and cellphones during the proctored test.
The fire department and city’s human resources department conducted an internal investigation, which cleared several recruits of any wrongdoing. Local TV outlets reported the seven resignations; the class had 13 cadets. However, some outlets are reporting the correct number is six. Besides those who resigned, two recruits who were not found to have cheated, but failed to report the misconduct, will be required to serve an extra year of probation.
By the way, we have several sessions of Managing Disciplinary Challenges in the Fire Service coming up:
- October 8-9, 2025 – Columbus, Ohio – Managing Disciplinary Challenges in the Fire Service. Details/Register.
- October 22-23, 2025 – Burlington, Vermont – Managing Disciplinary Challenges in the Fire Service. Details/Register.
- November 12-13, 2025 – Hilton Head, SC – Savannah, GA – Managing Disciplinary Challenges in the Fire Service. Details/Register.
- March 9-10, 2026 – Vail, Colorado – Managing Disciplinary Challenges in the Fire Service. Details/Register.
