Detroit Firefighter Investigated for On-Duty Drunken Driving

March 1, 2021
The crash involving a battalion chief responding to a call is the second drunken driving incident for the department in about a week after a firefighter headed to an emergency struck a parked car.

A battalion chief with the Detroit Fire Department is under investigation for driving a department vehicle while intoxicated early Monday.

At about 1:15 a.m. Monday, the chief lost control and crashed while en route to an emergency, Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell said. The incident is under investigation.

Images from Fox 2 Detroit show a Detroit Fire Department SUV had crashed through a wire fence with its front tires hanging over the barrier separating a grassy hill from the John Lodge Freeway.

This is the second incident of drunk driving with the department within a week. On Feb. 21, a Detroit firefighter crashed into a woman's parked car while responding to an emergency after he left a dinner party at the Engine 50 building on Houston Whittier Street. His blood-alcohol level was said to be more than the legal limit.

On Tuesday, the fire department will be laying out a plan to take a "deep dive to look at why some individuals think it’s OK to drink alcohol on duty," Fox 2 reports.

The department's punishment for alcohol consumption while on duty is termination.

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