Florida Firefighter Fired and Charged Following Facebook Rant

Posted by: Curt Varone June 13, 2011 4 Comments

Its been a busy day for news stories about firefighter misconduct. We have one where two New Mexico chiefs handcuffed and assaulted a firefighter with a crowbar; another where an Indiana chief is accused of propositioning a female subordinate; another Indiana case where a fire chief was accused of misconduct in his role as a fire inspector in another community, and now this one: A Florida firefighter has been arrested, charged with making threats against his fire department via telephone and his Facebook page.

Christopher Baird, 34, was terminated last Wednesday by Polk County Fire Rescue and charged by police on Thursday with three counts of making threats against a public servant and two counts of aggravated cyber stalking. The threats allegedly began about a month ago while Baird, a part-time firefighter, was on medical leave.

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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