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Photo from Camelot VFD website.
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The fire engine in the picture above is expected to be idle for a while. Operations of the Camelot Volunteer Fire Department have been suspended while the Bexar County Fire Marshal investigates claims of gay bashing and hazing. Camelot VFD Chief Edwin Eisenback confirmed the suspension took place on Tuesday at 5:00 PM because of allegations its members discriminated against a former firefighter due to his sexual orientation.
Bexar County previously suspended funding for the department due to hazing allegations that resulted in a captain and lieutenant being terminated. Chief Eisenback denied there was hazing or gay bashing.
The website Texas-Fire.com has a May 22 comment that claims to be from the former firefighter who is alledging discrimination. Click here to read it.
Here are excerpts from an article by Robert Crowe of Express-News:
“We’ll get through this,” Eisenbeck said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s just a small stumbling block.”
The suspension could last up to six months. For now, departments in Windcrest and Converse will respond to emergencies in the 3 1/2 miles that cover Camelot’s boundaries.
“We were already on automatic response for their fires,” said Windcrest Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dan Reese. “Now we will be responding to medical emergencies.”
A former volunteer told investigators that colleagues damaged his car because he’s gay, Eisenbeck said. That employee also told investigators that he was terminated because of his sexual orientation.
But Eisenbeck denied that allegation Wednesday.
“I fired him after I found out he stole a couple dollars from other firefighters,” he said. “He told me it was because he was gay. I told him it was because he stole.”
The department was already in trouble with fire marshals after an alleged hazing incident in recent months.
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