A suspicious fire at an abandoned fire training center in Detroit has stirred up a controversy involving alleged unsecured sensitive firefighter records.
According to the Detroit News, a fire at the abandoned training building was reported on Thursday, Dec. 27, on Detroit’s west side. Detroit fire officials determined the fire, which took about 10 minutes to extinguish, was suspicious, but it was unclear what caused the blaze.
The union president Mike Nevin has reported that sensitive personnel information was lying around the site, which was not secure, the newspaper reported.
Some documents included Social Security numbers, medical information of civilian and employees, run sheet, payroll and fire reports were like “kites flying all over the neighborhood.”
The city’s mayor and police department declined to comment on the allegations, the newspaper reported.
The Detroit News reported that 2nd Deputy Chief Charles Simms said allegations that sensitive information was left at the site, last used by the Fire Department in 2014, were being investigated.
Simms also told the newspaper that Detroit Fire Department staff has been out to the facility many times in the past year to comb through records that may be sensitive. He said the documents will be removed this week and the destroyed under supervision.
Nevin and the union have been critical of the department lately and has filed an unfair labor charge over the department’s controversial response policy that started in August over the use of lights and sirens, the Detroit News reported.
Nevin has been out spoken about a criminal investigation launched after Nevin posted dispatch reports on social media identifying witnesses. The postings have since been removed.
