LOS ANGELES Ca. (AP) -- Three firefighter recruits resigned and four others were suspended after a wild booze party on the eve of graduation from the Fire Academy.
The recruits had just undergone four months of training at a cost to taxpayers of $100,000 each when they showed up for a graduation ceremony Oct. 22 and were told that they faced an investigation to determine fitness for duty, fire Capt. Rex Vilaubi said.
Recruits had been reminded of department policy requiring them to show up on time and sober.
Three of the recruits showed up two hours late with the smell of alcohol on their breath and were given urine tests that turned up positive for alcohol consumption beyond the legal limit, fire officials told the Fire Commission.
Within the last two weeks, those three recruits resigned in lieu of disciplinary action that could have included being fired if they had been found unfit for duty. The other four recruits were given two-week suspensions after they showed up late.
``There were seven recruits involved in a non-department-sponsored incident, which is still under investigation,'' Vilaubi said. When asked if alcohol intoxication was involved, he said, ``We understand that was the kind of incident.''
Vilaubi declined to identify the firefighters.
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