The firehouse "prank" video posted to YouTube could ultimately cost the firefighters involved their rank -- or job, Macon-Bibb County Fire Chief Marvin Riggins said Tuesday.
Riggins said during a news conference that the fire department's investigation into the video concluded that five of seven firefighters present were in on the prank. Two rookies were in the dark.
Riggins said it's not strange for firefighters to joke with each other, but that the department has a zero tolerance policy for hazing and physical altercations, including altercations with weapons.
"This is where the line is drawn," he said.
Although firefighters involved in the incident weren't on administrative leave Tuesday, Riggins said he expects disciplinary action will be taken within the next 24 hours.
"I do take this very seriously," he said. "I'm appalled."
Bibb County sheriff's officials have nearly concluded their investigation into the video, which showed a masked man inside a firehouse threatening firefighters with a weapon.
Deputies don't think someone went into the Peake Road fire station with a real gun intending to scare firefighters, Sheriff Jerry Modena said. Investigators watched the video and talked to firefighters during the course of their investigation.
What sounded like a gunshot in the video actually came from a firecracker, Riggins said.
Authorities are still trying to identify the masked person seen in the video, and they are checking to see if that person is a Macon police officer or a Bibb County sheriff's deputy.
Copyright 2011 [email protected]. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
