One Macon-Bibb firefighter faces termination in connection with a prank video staged at a fire station.
That's according to a news release from the mayor's office on behalf of Fire Chief Marvin Riggins.
Four other firefighters will be suspended and a sergeant will be demoted for taking part in the video, which Riggins calls "notoriously disgraceful."
The release says:
Firefighter Christopher Hughes will be suspended with pay for five (5) days pending termination with a discharge review. He's accused of violating City Guideline 807 employee conduct and discipline, 807 C2, C12 and C13; Macon-Bibb County Fire Department General Order 21, which prohibits the use of personal items on the premises which may create a hazard to other firefighters and/or guest; and volations of Macon-Bibb County Fire Department General Order 26 which prohibits hazing, initiations, and/or other types of physical confrontations.
The release does not describe Hughes' involvement in the case.
Sgt. Joshua Brewer will be demoted and suspended for 10 shifts. He's accused of violating City Guideline 807 C2 and also Macon-Bibb County Fire Department General Order 26.
These three firefighters will be suspended for 10 shifts for the same two alleged violations: Christopher Houston, Mark Swain and Jesse White
Lt. Timothy Pruitt will be issued a "counseling statement" concerning management and behavior of his assigned personnel.
Capt. Stephanie Burke will receive a two-shift suspension concerning "management and behavior of her assigned personnel" and station morale.
Battalion Chief James Wallace will be issued a written reprimand.
The department says a 10-shift suspension is equal to 30 days without pay and a two-day suspension is one week without pay.
Below is the text of the news release via WMGT-TV:
After much deliberation of all of the facts and issues surrounding the incident that happened at Macon-Bibb County Fire Station #108 on September 18, 2011, we have concluded that disciplinary action is warranted.
The pending disciplinary actions will be handed down as follows:
Firefighter Christopher Hughes will be suspended with pay for five (5) days pending termination with a discharge review, for violation of City Guideline 807 employee conduct and discipline, 807 C2, C12 and C13. He is also in violation of Macon-Bibb County Fire Department General Order #21 which prohibits the use of personal items on the premises which may create a hazard to other firefighters and/or guest. Violations of Macon-Bibb County Fire Department General Order #26 which prohibits hazing, initiations, and/or other types of physical confrontations.
Sgt. Joshua Brewer will be demoted and he will be issued a ten (10) day (Shift Equivalent) suspension for a violation of City Guideline 807 C2 and also Macon-Bibb County Fire Department General Order #26.
Firefighters Christopher Houston, Mark Swain and Jesse White will be issued a ten (10) day (Shift Equivalent) suspension for violation of City Guideline 807 C2 and also Macon-Bibb County Fire Department General Order #26.
Lt. Timothy Pruitt will be issued a counseling statement as it relates to the management and behavior of his assigned personnel.
Captain Stephanie Burke will receive a two (2) day (Shift Equivalent) suspension as it relates to the management and behavior of her assigned personnel and station espree decor. (Note: I believe they mean "esprit de corps". Not sure if this error is the work of the city or the TV station)
Battalion Chief James Wallace will be issued a written reprimand.
The commission of this notoriously disgraceful act towards their fellow employees, this organization and this community I find appalling. And again I wish to reiterate that this is in no means an overall perspective of our firefighters and this organization. We remain committed to our mission, our vision and our purpose as a first class organization."
For clarification, a Ten Day suspension is equal to Thirty (30) days without pay and a Two Day suspension is One week without pay.
Within the City of Macon, there is an appeals process that each employee has a right to avail themselves of, if they so choose.
Also on STATter911 …
- Macon-Bibb County gunman prank update: Hearing discusses captain’s role in planning. Firefighters make claim there is culture of hazing to include painting of genitals. – December 15, 2011
- Demoted Macon-Bibb County, GA Captain Stephanie Burke says she was scared by gun prank. Chief Marvin Riggins paints a different picture as he narrates longer version of video at hearing. – January 26, 2012
- Volunteer-career conflicts & ongoing investigations result in PGFD pulling firefighters from Riverdale firehouse. Chief Marc Bashoor beefs up staffing at Riverdale Heights. – August 11, 2012
- Latest from DC: Chief Kenneth Ellerbe moves forward with demotion of battalion chief over handling of discipline from beer incident at firehouse. – March 22, 2012
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I have to say I am surprised that the officers are only being demoted and/or suspended. It seems like they were intimately involved with this scheme and I would think that they are at least as culpable as the guy with the gun (it is an assumption on my part that it is the gunman who is facing termination but I think it is a pretty safe assumption).
It would seem to me that any supervisor with prior knowledge of this caper should at the least be looking at a demotion back to firefighter and probably termination. Now maybe that is exactly what has been done, but it is hard for me to believe that any officer in the station didn’t have prior knowledge of what was being undertaken.
It is encouraging to see the department facing this problem straight on and dealing with it decisively, even if the I don’t really understand how the punishments were determined.
Strictly from an image and reputation management issue, I would say the response is better than average, though far from perfect (they rarely are).
I personally would have liked the press conference that happened Tuesday to have happened on Monday. No sense delaying the inevitable. I think the chief could have and should have been a little stronger in his language about not tolerating this.
Despite the day delay, high marks in getting this one out and over, though they might want to provide more o the philosophy behind the punishments. Those questions will be lingering and could keep the story active.
The department didn’t run or hide from this or try to blame the press. They dealt with it head on.
The chief needs to work out this notificaiton issue of important stakeholders like the Bibb County commissioner who said he was left in the dark by the chief. It is important to have a means to let the stakeholders know before it is in the news. This includes the people who work for you too.
Statter
I agree with Dallas, but have to wonder to what extent the officers knew of, permitted or condoned this specific incident.
Even if they did not even know of this specific incident, I'm not sure what I think of the passive implication of an officer for the poor behavior of his / her shift.
The saying goes "Permitting (bad) behavior is Promoting (bad) behavior" but I'd be interested to hear more thoughts on this.
For something as Stupid as this, I'm sorry to see the firefighter terminated but the Officers only suspended.
Looks like, the lowest on the "Totem Pole" is the usual "Sacrifice", but everone else keeps their job at either one "step" below or at the same in rank after the suspension.
I think this was a stupid prank but not one that should end a career! I do think punishment is in hand but it should be the same for all involved and knew of it's happening. I know that im responsible for what happens on my shift and if I condone this behavior then I should be held accountable. Punishment in this prank doesnt seem fair or doesnt hold the right people accountable! If you going to be an Officer, act like an Officer! Just my opinion!
WOW……All I can say is WTF were they ALL thinking? ALL NOT thinking!
I`m all for "ragging on" the new guy/gal. This went just a tad too far. Yes, that`s a litle sarcastic.
Not knowing the details of the investigation it's impossible to judge the punishments handed down. Maybe the officers didn't know about the prank until it happened and just failed to report the incident. Bottom line is the department realized the severity of the infractions and harsh discipline was imposed on those they deemed responsible.
I doubt that the "gunman" is being terminated as in the previous story they were still trying to "identfy him". I would think that if were an employee he would have been easily identified.
I hate to be most likely the only one calling BS, but I am doing it anyway. Was this smart……no, but discipline is supposed to be corrective in nature – not punitive. Additionally, everyone in that room knew what was going to happen except the individual they were pranking. How in the hell does the guy with the least responsibilty get the walking papers?
In addition, the rationale behind the punishments is stupid. When you have 7 people in a firehouse comprised of both men and women and more than one race and they are pranking each other, station morale is fine. Come up with a different violation or excuse.
Lastly, it is wrong to demote and suspend – pick one or the other.
I think that termination was not warranted. With that said I think that some form of punishment should be handed down, but not loss of job. I think that is a bit extreme.
My question is what happened to the days of strapping the rookies upside down to a back board wearing whitie tighties only and a blue flag in the ass crack and setting him outside the station for a few hours….oh wait that one stopped when the BC drove by. Either way I think that the probie hazing has definitely changed in the last ten years or so.
Can't even have a little fun anymore…Not keeping iit within the firehouse and filming it to put on You Tube was the dumb part. Pretty Good prank though
Wow.. These punishments are ridiculous. What happened to the good ol days of pranks and having fun. You can really see how times have changed. Guess thats what happens when you let a bunch of paper pushers and so called certified people run a department insted of firefighters.
Columbine was Great Fun, Going "Postal" is a Riot, the Shootings at the Army Base in Texas was out of this world!!! The Students killed in that little Pennsyvania Quarker Town were a Hoot!!! Blowing up Atlanta and Oklahoma City? Let us not forget Box Knives on Airplanes then Crashing them into Buildings to Kill more People, including our Brothers and Sisters of the Fire Service. Where do all of these rank in your idea of no problem. This situation is exactly the same, a Terroristic Act, however without the people getting shot. I would not wanted to have been there when the "Incident" went down. This was a real gun, someone could have been hurt or killed as a result. Great Fun!!! This is definately Not Permissible Behaviour in ANY Fire House of ANY Fire Department in ANY Par of this Country or ANY Others. I have 34 years on, have been involved with Short Sheeting Beds, Cracker Crumbs, Flower over the Shower Door, Whipped Cream in sleeping hands and a feather to the nose. Now those are Harmless for the most part, and kinda funny. A Real Gun and a guy who appears to know what he is doing with it, two guys, who now may have PTSD issues coming up in the near future, yep real Hillarious. As I have stated, Rules and Regs exist for a reason. We are Professionals Paid or Volly, no matter. If this is condoned, where do we stop?
An officer leads by example. In giving them due process of a fair investigation, if it is found that their “leadership” is in conflict with policies that govern workplace behavior as detailed in the video, and they were previously trained on said policies, then they do not deserve to be an officer.
This sounds similar to my military days. I've seen enlisted and officers get in trouble for the exact same thing. The enlisted guy-demoted and/or discharged. The Officer-a letter of reprimand. It's absolutely pathetic that the officer's are not held to a higher standard…and I'm an officer!!!!
I'd fire anyone with a supervisory position who knew about it in advance or participated, and give a long unpaid vacation to any privates who participated or knew in advance. Whoever the "gunman" is gets fired regardless of rank.
Those who don't get fired get transferred to other stations after their suspensions. Have to split up the problem children.
It is absolutely amazing that the entire group who participated in the video didn't get promoted! The Captain and the whole crew should have been fired. That would have told the taxpayers that there were adults running the fire department. The action that was taken was timely but weak. The people paying for fire protection and paying the taxes deserve to have accountability and respect for the treatment of their hard-earned dollars. It didn't happen here.
Dave, I wholeheartily agree the Chief could have gotten the base facts from field officers then convened a press gathering rather than the press forcing the issue. When I have found myself in this terribly embarassing scenario of troops letting us down I immediately call my press contacts and want to get the story ahead not behind, for all your Statter naysayers take it from me, its way better being ahead of a breaking story. We have for the most part excellent employees but occasionly stupid is as stupid does occurs and ensures I get more grey hairs. Thankfully this is a very rare occurrence in my locale. Your media courses you are beginning to host, need to be a must attend for members of the white shirts, heck I have learned so much good information thru this blog I am way better prepared to deal with any unexpected adversarial actions of my members. The Macon Chief may not be an ardent follower and may never had the misfortune to be thrust into the limelight, just a thought.
Some reflections from someone who has been in this Chiefs shoes and had to render discipline, of similiar magnitude. Points to consider, a Captain and a Lieutenant were mentioned in the subsequent followup posted today. Is this station a mult apparatus hall, the Captains in our system is in charge of the hall, whether it has 5 pieces or one. From the nuumbers involved, 8 was the total mentioned thruout, all 8 are not on one piece of apparatus. So just suppose the Captains machine was out of the fire station, how would she even know what was transpiring. Yes ultimately she is the accountable member for the conduct and order of the station under her command. The Battalion Chief, we title them District Chiefs, same role, may be covering several stations in the response area, so he/she would be the report from the Captain and then on up the Chain of Command.
Now having been a Company Officer in a busy hall, 6 apparatus, I am most sure the initial reaction would be to think, how bad is this going to be and how much damage control can be done from the hall, From the point it went outside the fire station it was not winnable. For those of you who post that are front line firefighters, not officers that constantly bash or have nothing good to state on Chiefs, maybe consider this. If you were in my shoes or the Chief that is and his department now under a microscope how would you feel at 0905 in the morning after coming into your office and this is how your day starts????? Would you like to try it out. Everyone who engages in the Fire Service ultimately has the opportunity to advance.
We have great people in the Fire Service all across North America, we firefighters are only human and occasionaly something or someone does something pretty damn stupid without thinking of the BIG picture. Thats what the five bugles are for, we not only need to see the big picture, but in order to keep our jobs toe the line and practice it.
A day late doesn't achieve anything. I am un familiar with rules of engagement down south but couldn't help get the jist of other past issues within the department in question and how or how not they were dealt with. Notwithstanding even in Canada this would be dealt with properly, harshly and ensuring the right personnel received the appropriate level of punishment. To those who thinlk dismissal is too far for the main actor, we are all so very thankful a LEO didn't happen by, a 40 calibre bullet or three is non returnable. To actually open up Daves blog and see an article such as this is overwhelming. One needs to always respect the employees have rights too, a grievance procedure, union representation if applicable and the sentences given down need to be in the end justified and quantified.
I will leave you with my personal thought. Never in my 38 year career have I nor most of my colleagues ever come to work thinking how great it would be to ruin peoples lives, by having to ternminate perhaps an otherwise stellar blemish free employee. For those of us who have walked in our shoes the office of Chief sometimes is a very lonely place one finds themself to be in. For the most part I would also like to believe I get back much more than I put in and really none of us are doing this for the additional money. Stay Safe, Think & Act Smart., Uphold the Fire Service's Excellent Reputation
Well said chief.
This one was a little difficult for Chief Riggins to put out to the news media himself because in a sense the folks at Station 108 did it for him, but the word just didn’t get to the chief before the news media found out. Putting out the bad news yourself is a very hard conccept for many to grasp when their gut is telling them to hide this at all cost.
For Macon to get this done and behind them in three days is really better than most of what I see these days. Again, I give them high marks for not running, hiding and blaming the press. But as I said, if I was there giving them advice I would have pushed hard for that Tuesday news conference to happen Monday with a few stronger words.
Always appreciate your insight.
Statter
Dave, can you elaborate on what a day would have bought, had a Monday news conference happened. What are the benefits of even sooner, in such a case?
It just gets it done faster and your response is with the original story as it travels around the world. With digital media speed is important in reputation management.
Statter
Pay attention folks: This type of prank is a thing of the past. It was fun while it lasted but pay attention to the punishments being handed down across the Country for these types of pranks. Is it worth losing your job or being demoted? If you watched this video and then turn around and pull a similar prank then don't go crying that it's unfair. Times have changed.
As stupid as this stunt was, I am a believer in due procvess. That is some pretty heavy discipline.
My fellow Firefighters, I have had to deal with similar situations. I will say I never like cutting people loose from their Vocation or Avocation. I am a Chief of a Combination Department. I was hired to clean up the Fire Department I currently work at and plan to stay at. This Department was at a Terminal Low, ready to be cut loose. People were afraid to call 911 for what might show up, yes I stated What and not Who. This is what I received as news on my second day, December 2, 2009. For this reason and transparency I have kept for not only my Office but also for our Fire Department, we were given the privilege and Honor of Leading the July 4th Parade this year. Our Community has raised some $15,000.00 for us since I and many others have come in to this Department. Our Community even nominated our Department for an IAFC Award for what we have done.
With that said, a Department needs to have a strong foundation. This Foundation is the Rules and Regs the Department runs on. Without the Rules and Regs, the “Inmates run the Warden and staff,” not the other way around. If these kids were my kids, they would have violated up to eight major Rules and Regs. This would have career ending for all directly involved, and probably for the Supervisors of the house, due to the fact, they are suppose to be able to handle their crew. This failed miserable from the Captain on down to stop before the Probies. I received two phone calls and had a visit from three concerned citizens of my community on Tuesday. First thing in the morning, I start at 08:00. I reviewed the incident with them, assured this would not happen here, but if it did, there would be swift action. Our incident happened on a Sunday Morning at 05:00 and I had handled it, with the Sheriff’s Office by 09:00. Three Firefighters were released from their respective obligations at 10:00 that morning and the press was involved when I called them at 10:15 that morning.
With Department Image is Community trust. Our Image dulled for a day, however with proper transparency demonstrated, our Community trust never left. The Community trust in their Fire Department only became stronger.
Remember the members of you Community are calling us at their worst time in their lives, they need to trust us! This type of incident can never be tolerated and must be dealt with as swiftly as possible. This situation would not be Grievable if the Rules and Regs were there and clearly understood. My kids sign of on every new or change Rule or Reg three different times. The first is they received it, the second is they read it, and the third signature is put onto the paper stating they understood it. If there is no change for a year, they then sign a paper stating the have their copy, again that they have received it, and finally they sign stating once again they understand it. No Questions, you violate them, you suffer the stated consequences that they also acknowledged of receiving, reading, and understanding these Rules and Regs as they are presented on paper. They know what is expected and the penalties if they violate the trust. Is this is too tuff? My Community does not think so and neither do my Firefighters (Kids). We are also a family.
Dave,
My blog post, which was partially inspired by one of your intelligent commenters, is up. It has sparked a good discussion. I'd like to post the link…perhaps the original comment writer will recognize his literary work(which I quoted in the post) and chime in with a response.
The post is entitled "The Brotherhood is a Lie"
Link: http://elaffhq.com/2011/09/21/the-brotherhood-is-a-lie/
Thanks,
Lt. Lemon
Very nice L.L. I hope I remember it on Monday when I do Quick Takes so I can link to it. Send me an email Sunday, so I remember.
But you really need to get a life, if you find something in this rag inspiring.
Thanks.
Statter
Well, it wasn't so much inspirational, as it was simply upsetting enough to motivate me to finish a post I had been mulling over for months.
Either way, it did the trick.
I always get a kick out of "suspended with pay" – hell, that's a vacation where I come from.
And now we find out that someone in fact may have been injured in the 'prank'.
http://www.firehouse.com/news/top-headlines/ga-firefighter-files-injury-claim-following-prank
The story also says that the Captain didn't have prior knowledge of the incident which sheds some light on the punishments that have been assigned.
Administrator Eeten, you are way over the top.
Pranks and horseplauy go on in every firehouse in america. The problem here was taping it. I can not believe discipline for this went beyond a bs counseling.
Isn't it against the law to bring a weapon into a government building? Your all dumbasses! If this were a High School prank there would have been arrests. Everyone involved needs to be fired IT IS THAT SIMPLE!!