Two Florida firefighters lost their jobs last week for tussling with another while on duty late last year.
The incident involving the Osceola County firefighters—Raymond Powell and Jaison Monanski—happened during a response Oct. 19 at a hotel in Kissimmee, WFTV-TV reports. A mother had called 9-1-1 because her child was having breathing issues.
After the mother and child were placed in the ambulance, Powell and Monanski began brawling. Their scuffle actually had started as horseplay earlier at the station until it reached its public display, Monanski later told investigators.
"I think we were just both frustrated that it was four in the morning, and we had been up so long, and things just escalated," Monanski worte in a statement, according to WFTV.
An employee working on the night shift witnessed the fight, and she filed a complaint with the department, calling the display “blatantly unprofessional.” Hotel security camera also captured the altercation on video.
Despite Powell and Monanski admitted they took matters too far and weren't intending to hurt one another, Fire Chief Larry Collier made the decision to terminate both firefighters. A lieutenant working that night also was demoted to engineer. Although he didn't witness the tussle, he did discuss the incident afterward with both firefighters.
