Two North Carolina Firefighters Fired Over Facebook Post

Posted by: Curt Varone June 12, 2019 0

Two Brevard firefighters have been fired over a social media post that criticized the city manager for wearing a military uniform to a memorial day parade that was a mix of two different branches.

Former firefighter Richard Carl Travis shared a photo of Brevard City Manager Jim Fatland on Facebook along with the comment: “How disgraceful it looks to be the city manager from Brevard.” Travis and his wife Summer were both fired from the fire department.

According to WLOS Channel 13, Fatland planned to wear his Coast Guard uniform to the parade, but inadvertently grabbed his son’s Air Force jacket. He realized the mistake when he arrived at the parade and subsequently apologized for this miscue.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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