Social Media

The suicide of a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue firefighter appears to be the result of sex-based cyber-bullying, perhaps precipitated by her colleagues. The body of firefighter Nicole Mittendorff was found earlier this week in Shenandoah National Park after an exhaustive six-day search.

Read More »

Here is a follow-up to yesterday’s story about the Weymouth firefighter whose Narcan rant created a social media feeding-frenzy. Mark Carron has been handed a 90-day suspension for posting the comments

Read More »

A Weymouth firefighter is in hot water over a social media post attributed to him that called Narcan “the worst drug ever created” and suggested we should “let the shit bags die”. The post goes on to imply that because the firefighter does not get “extra money” the policy should be “you use you lose”.

Read More »

Today’s burning question: Can I be fired from my job as a fire chief because my wife criticizes my bosses on social media? Answer: Chances are your bosses will find another reason to fire you if they were upset about your wife’s social media activities. That is what former Cannon Beach Fire Chief Mike Balzer claims happened to him.

Read More »

The existence of a federal court suit filed in 2014 against an Alabama fire chief and mayor has come to light after someone spray painted the front of fire department headquarters with the words “Chief Syx is a racist”. The case involves the Bessemer Fire Department...

Read More »

Today’s burning question: If a firefighter’s personal device such as a cellphone connects to a wireless network provided by a governmental agency, is the information transmitted automatically subject to the state’s public records law? Answer: Whether an electronic communication is a public record has nothing to do with how it is transmitted.

Read More »

A Michigan chief is fighting to get his job back after an online argument on Facebook led to an investigation and his termination. Assistant Chief Michael Head of the Harper Woods Fire Department was fired following revelation of the comments ...

Read More »

The city of Atlanta is investigating how an escort service got access to a fire station to take some questionable photos that are being used to market their services online. The photos taken inside Station 2 on Jonesboro Road in southeast Atlanta appeared in an ad placed on Backpage.com depicting women posing provocatively with apparatus and turnout gear.

Read More »

A Philadelphia Fire Department medic is facing discipline following the posting of a video on Facebook showing him texting while driving an ambulance to the hospital. The video was posted by Ebony Clarke, the mother of a patient, Jeron, who was being transported to the hospital for a head injury.

Read More »

Chiefs under attack. Its an ongoing phenomenon in the fire service, usually rationalized by firefighters based upon on local specifics that go something like this: “Our chief is an imbecile (or insert your own term of endearment…. I’ll use imbecile). He did…..and….. and …. and ….. . Only a special kind of imbecile would do… and… and …. and …..”

Read More »

A Dallas firefighter is under investigation following complaints about a Facebook post he made last Sunday. According to news reports, firefighter Chad Tyson was responding to a posting about the stabbing of two San Diego firefighters by a black man who is now on trial when he posted: "Sadly, I will delay treatment for more of them as well."

Read More »

An Ohio man is facing criminal trespass charges after he filmed close-up images of the aftermath of a fatal motor vehicle accident, including footage he took inside the vehicle showing the victims. Paul Pelton, 41, is facing one count of trespass of a vehicle, a misdemeanor. News reports indicate that he posted the video on Facebook and sought to sell it to news outlets.

Read More »

A Facebook post that prompted over 60,000 responses including comments from Hillary Clinton and other elected officials, prompted a post from Cleveland firefighter that is now the center of an investigation. On July 3, Humans of New York posted a photo of a weeping child saying, “I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.”

Read More »

Earlier this week we covered the story of the Texas firefighter who reportedly posted a racist comment on the web site of a South Carolina newspaper following the murder of nine African Americans at the hands of a white supremacist. Now comes word that the comment was not made in support of the murderer but rather in reference to someone who donated a large sum of money to the victims' families.

Read More »