Detroit Fire Department Officials Charged For Group Photo

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Out of pocket…

Detroit Fire Department Officials Charged For Group Photo Outside Burning Home

Thirteen Detroit firefighters and four supervising sergeants are in hot water after they made a foolish decision that went viral. A picture recently circulated of fire officials grinning outside of a burning home.

The pic was posted just before midnight New Year’s Eve on the Facebook account for the Detroit Fire Incidents Page and was captioned, “Crews take a moment to get a selfie on New Years!”

FOX 2 now reports that the firefighters have been charged with “exhibiting ignorance of the rules or orders”, and an official told them that the four sergeants have been charged with “failure to supervise or take appropriate action.”

“Our investigation has been completed and appropriate discipline has been issued to some of the members of the department involved in this incident,” Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said in a statement. “However, we do not comment on the details of personnel matters.”

For some reason, reactions on social media were split; some people saw no issue with the pic and others thought it was highly inappropriate. A Detroit fire official also tried to justify it but admitted that the photo was probably ill-advised.

Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell said at the time that the fire chief in the center of the photo was retiring, “and I think they just felt they would do this as a memento, but unfortunately, that’s probably not very professional.”

YA THINK?!

If you’re curious as to why the firefighters seemingly had no interest in putting out the flames, it’s because they claim the building was vacant and abandoned. Meanwhile one of the alleged residents of the home told The New York Post that the home’s been in his family for 50 years.

“Everybody is furious,” Deonte Higginbotham, 21, told The Post. “They just let it burn to the ground … Eighteen men and none of them did anything,” he added of the firefighters in the tasteless selfie. “All of them need to be fired.”

Higginbotham is adamant that the house was only empty that day because it was being renovated.

What should be the punishment for the selfie-snapping firefighters???