The chief, a captain and a firefighter with the Odessa Fire Company have been suspended for using a racial slur on a bus trip to NYC.
According to The News Journal, a white firefighter allegedly used the N-word while referring to black members of the Belvedere Fire Company while traveling on a St. Patrick’s Day outing in New York City.
Firefighters and family members from at least for New Castle County volunteer fire companies were on the bus when the racial slur was used and it upset the wife of one of the Belvedere firefighters as well as the woman who organized the trip.
A verbal argument broke out among the firefighters on the bus, but it never got physical, according to the newspaper article.
The incident was brought to the attention of the Odessa Fire Company President R.G. Whittington who leads the governing board that oversees the volunteer group, according to the paper. The board of directors is investigating the incident and all parties involved declined to comment.
