Eight Tucson firefighters, including a battalion chief, are now on probation.
It all comes after a board of inquiry looks into apparent hazing of recruits.
For the 8 firefighters, it means for one year, they are under extra scrutiny and not eligible for promotion or merit pay. Though it's not by any means the stiffest penalty that could have been given, it's meant to send a message.
"We see people oftentimes at their worst, and they expect us to have high standards, and we do have the high standards," explains Capt. Paul McDonough, a public information officer for Tucson Fire. "We hold ourselves accountable in every way, and we take a great deal of pride in that."
On the one hand, the board of inquiry found the conduct probably did not compromise the ability of firefighters to do their work. On the other, top administrators feel if the department is to do it's job well, it must enforce high standards of conduct.
"These are outstanding employees," adds McDonough. "They just had a lapse in judgement."
Involved are firefighters at the main station downtown and Station Eight on the north side.
According to the board of inquiry report, a recruit at Station One was 'strapped to a spine board' while firefighters left the station and went on a bogus call.
In another incident, the recruit was manipulated into 'massaging the knee' of a nearly naked firefighter, covered in cooking oil. Still another incident, a firefighter in the kitchen, dressed in only boots socks and an apron, had a 'red heart marketed on one of his buttocks.'
At station Eight, a recruit arrived to be greeted by a firefighter dressed only on 'boxers boots and socks'. In the kitchen, another firefighter wore a novelty apron, underneath which he showed a faux phallus, simulating an erection. In the background, the DVD 'Team America: World Police' played.
The movie contains a scene where puppets simulate graphic sex acts.
"It's a large organization," adds McDonough. "We have over 600 employees, and occasionally, you're going to get behavioral issues that come up, and the department will address them as they arise."
In its conclusion, the Board of Inquiry finds that while not setting out to deliberately harm recruits, there was no consideration beforehand that the behavior is potentially offensive. That's a violation of the city code.
While firefighters may consider the station their home, and their colleagues like family, tax dollars finance the department, including the station and their salaries.
