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UPDATE: Steelton, PA Fire Department bounces Emilio Hall, firefighter who claimed he was FDNY member trapped on 9-11. Hall is currently in jail.

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Read latest article from Press and Journal's Debra Schell

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Emilio Hall is no longer a member of Pennsylvania's Steelton Fire Department. Steelton Mayor Tom Acri confirmed Hall was voted out of the department in a letter to the Press and Journal. Debra Schell is the reporter who interviewed Hall last June when he made the claim that he was a former FDNY firefighter who was trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Schell revisited that story on December 28 after being contacted in November by a former girlfriend of Hall's who said his claim is bogus. Schell confirmed with FDNY that no one by the name of Emilio Hall had been a member of the department. Hall stood by his story for the December 28 article, but according to Schell's latest report, Hall can't currently be reached because he is in Dauphin County Prison on a criminal contempt charge (no details provided in the report).

Mayor Acri and Steelton Fire Chief Eugene Vance received a lot of criticism within the fire service for comments made to reporter Schell for the December article. Chief Vance, who according to Schell retired as planned at the end of 2011, was quoted as saying, “It has no bearing on this department.” Mayor Acri described Hall at the time as dedicated to the company and said, “If he is a story-teller, there is nothing we can do about that."

Mayor Acri has portrayed things somewhat differently for the latest article:

Mayor Acri said he, the Steelton community, including the Steelton Volunteer Fire Department and former Fire Chief Eugene Vance, “were sincerely shocked and appalled by these accusations and hold Mr. Hall’s actions with great gravity and sadness.”

Acri was clarifying to comments he and Vance made in support of Hall in December.  Those comments brought criticism from many in the firefighting community.

“We [Acri and Vance] were both certainly caught off guard by the accusations but do not find this matter trivial and have worked swiftly and decisively to address it,” Acri said.

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Posted by on January 10, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, News, Social Media, Reputation Management, News Media • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pennsylvania volunteer’s story about being an FDNY firefighter trapped in 9-11 rubble questioned. Steelton mayor & chief questioned about comments to newspaper.

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Read Press and Journal article

In June, Debra Shell with the Press and Journal interviewed Emilio Hall with Pennsylvania's Steelton Fire Department about his experience as a FDNY firefighter on September 11, 2001. Hall told the reporter that he was trapped in the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center Twin Towers for 32 hours.

Yesterday, reporter Debra Shell had a follow-up article where many, including the FDNY are saying that Hall was never a member of the FDNY. While Hall stands by his story, a former girlfriend calls him a fabricator. An FDNY member says he is representing himself as something he wasn't. And the press office for FDNY says they have never had a firefighter by his name.

In various Internet forums and the Facebook page for Steelton FD, people are not only expressing concern about Hall being a member at Steelton but are critical of the comments made to the newspaper by the department and town's leadership:

Steelton officials, including fire chief Gene Vace and Mayor Tom Acri, said they were not concerned about the allegations against Hall.

“It has no bearing on this department,” said Vance. “I could care less if he made it up, [or] if he wasn’t a fire fighter in New York. He went through training with us.”

Acri said he was surprised and saddened by the accusations, but stood by him.

“I can tell you that he works and is dedicated [to the fire company],” he said. “If he is a story-teller, there is nothing we can do about that. He is very respectful to everyone and is a good volunteer.”

But Steelton Fire Company Lt. Andy Mahalchick said last week the fire company’s board was investigating Hall’s claims. The board was awaiting hard evidence before making any decisions, he said.

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Posted by on December 29, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, FDNY, fire, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, News, Social Media, Reputation Management, News Media • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,