Southport, NY, Fire Chief Said Firefighter Was Not Fired after House Fire Response
Following a local televeision station report that Southport firefighter Brian Wells-Holmberg had been fired after responding to a house fire, the fire chief told Firehouse.com that no disciplinary action had been taken.
"The Southport Volunteer Fire Department has been around for 75 years, and they do things right," Southport Fire Chief Tim Sweeney told Firehouse.com Thursday. "It might not be the most favorable, but they do things right. They do the best to make sure it's proper, and this individual was not released, not terminated, not kicked out and not sidelined."
WETM reported on March 16 that Wells-Homberg was driving past a home in Elmira when he noticed the fire where people were trying to get pets out of the house.
In an interview with WTEM, Wells-Homberg claimed to have rescued occupants, and a dog and a cat. In a video that surfaced, it did not appear that Wells-Homberg had a hand in the resuce and was not wearing any personal protective equipment when he entered the house.
According to Sweeney, after the incident, Wells-Homberg dropped his turnout gear, key, pager and part of his Class A uniform at the chief's door and left the fire department without saying anything.
About the Author
Ryan Baker
Associate Editor
Ryan Baker is a writer and associate editor with prior experiences in online and print production. Ryan is an associate editor for Firehouse with a master's degree in sciences of communication from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He recently completed a year of teaching Intro to Public Speaking at UW-Whitewater, as part of his graduate program. Ryan acquired his bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023 from UW-Whitewater, and operates currently out of Minneapolis, MN. Baker, also writes freelances for the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) in his free time, while also umpiring baseball for various ages across the Twin Cities Metro Area.