Firefighting & Rescue Social / Professional Network
Boston Firefighters among Latest Caught in EMS Credentials Investigation
O'RYAN JOHNSON
The Boston Herald
Eighteen Boston firefighters are under investigation by the state for allegedly faking their EMT training while pocketing roughly $2,000 in overtime for taking the life-saving brush-up classes, Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser confirmed yesterday.
The jakes were snared as part of a statewide sweep by the Department of Public Health that has netted some 200 EMTs suspected of paying private instructors to sign off on bogus recertifications.
``I was disturbed to find out that there would be this pattern of falsification of training records,'' said state Commissioner of Public Health John Auerbach. ``We expect more of public service people working in the health-care field.''
Fraser said no one in Boston has been disciplined yet and the jakes who faked their results are still on the street.
``Once we receive the names and information we will conduct a swift internal investigation,'' he said. ``I find it totally unsatisfactory behavior. I think its a breach of trust.''
The state probe is being run by the Office of Emergency Management Services, which falls under the public health department. State officials said if fraud is involved, the cases could be forwarded to Attorney General Martha Coakley's office for criminal prosecution.
Auerbach would not say how many instructors are suspected of handing out phony recertifications, but he characterized the total as a ``limited number'' and said their license to train EMTs has been ``stripped.''
Auerbach said the investigation began about a month ago and has spread across the state as sleuths from his office fan out to follow leads.
``Most of our information is coming from interviews with firefighters or with EMTs directly involved,'' he said.
Haverhill has reportedly removed 29 firefighters from EMT duty while it probes the allegations.
In Hamilton, four people - among them the former police chief - were indicted on fraud charges last summer as part of an investigtion by the attorney general into sham recertification classes that were never held.
Auerbach said the embattled EMTs are being told to get recertified and are allowed to work the streets until the investigation is done. He said once his probe is over, his office can suspend an EMT's license, in addition to any punishment their local departments mete out.
A source said many of the 18 in Boston were properly recertified as recently as Tuesday shortly after they were interviewed by state investigators.
Two sources said the Hub firefighters were meeting at bars and restaurants instead of going through the 24-hour refresher course and 28 hours of continuing education.
Fraser said Boston has 900 firefighters who are also certified EMTs. They are paid 37.5 hours overtime for completing the work, which comes to an average of about $2,000 each.
Copyright 2010 Boston Herald Inc.
May 27, 2010
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by kevin on -
pay back the overtime money,face prosecution,and by the way your fired and can never practice again anywhere
-
Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on -
FIRE THEM!!!!!
-
Permalink Reply by Wayne Peterson on -
I agree with Kevin, YOUR FIRED! Its just a shame and takes away from all the Public Service Personel that really take there job seriously. I am a shamed of them.
-
Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on -
Wayne, John and kevin,
I'm guessing you glossed over the two key words of the first paragraph: "investigation" and "allegedly".
I'm sure I've been guilty of the same thing (jumping to conclusions), but sometimes we just have to police ourselves a little better.
-
Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on -
Several Washington, D.C. firefighters recently faced very similar accusations. The press and more than a few online sources castigated them and made statements that essentially assumed that the firefighters were guilty prior to any investigation. After investigation by DCFEMS, DC's police department, the National Registry, and the testing center where the alleged cheating took place, every one of the accusations was proven to be unfounded.
Public retractions - almost none. News stories and online reports of the DC firefighters exoneration - few, far between, and generally not Page 1 news.
In the Boston case, "...the jakes who faked their results are still on the street." Really...since these are allegations, no one has been proven to have "faked their results".
If the allegations are true, shame on those who participated. If the allegations are not true, shame on those who automatically assume the worst.
I'm content to wait and see if any actual wrongdoing took place prior to making my own decision on the matter.
-
Permalink Reply by kevin on
-
i belive thats what we ment after the invest is over and it's found to be true that they actually did this then our reaction to their action will be followed
-
Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
-
Sometimes what we mean and what we say bear little resemblance to each other. It happens.
-
Permalink Reply by Ted Bownas on -
There's a simple solution. The Professional Firefighters' Association of Louisiana figured it out. Just find a sympathetic state legislator, and get a bill shoved through that removes them from the oversight of the state EMS authorities.
Presto! Problem solved.
-
Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
-
Ted,
I would be interested to know what argument was made when they (the firefighters) presented their case to the legislature.
-
Permalink Reply by Ted Bownas on
-
Yeah - me too. I can't believe that the legislature took the side of a tiny collective bargaining unit over the recommendation of two state agencies, numerous educators and medical control officials, and a national association of EMS authorities.
Reaffirms my faith in the legislative process.
-
Permalink Reply by Kali Goddess of Destruction on -
Hmmmm... I wonder what happens when firefighters spend time drinking and having a good time when they are allegedly supposed to be training... should they be "fired" as well? Do they face prosecution too?
What are the penalties for falsifying training records for the re-certification of firefighters? Oh, right, firefighters never have to be recertified...
I'm just sayin - to those who live in glass houses...
For the record, so to speak, I agree that anyone who falsifies documents should face punishment. But I am not even a little surprised that among the first to cast stones are those who are neither required to recertify in their area of expertise nor required to submit any type of training records for review by the State.
Kali
-
Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on -
Hey;
We are all doing what we are doing for the same reasons, right?
We are all the same, right?
It's the brotherhood, for chrissakes.
It ain't about the job or the money.
Even the crooks, cheats and gold diggers are our brothers.
So, let's not criticize or otherwise distance ourselves from mutts masquerading as public servants.
Let's wait until the "investigation" is over.
You know; we had an EMT scandal in the Chicago area a few years back where firefighters cheated on the state test. It cost the state several thousands of dollars and put the EMT program on hiatus for two years, requiring everyone in the state to take the national test.
To my knowledge, none of the cheaters lost their jobs.
Tis the joys of collective bargaining.
Most Popular Today
eMail Alerts
© 2010 An Elsevier Public Safety & Go Forward Media, LLC Product - Partners: JEMS Connect - FireRescue - JEMS
• Contact Us: Report an Issue, Inquire About Advertising & Partnerships - View Our Media Kit
This site is intended for use by current and former fire, rescue & EMS professionals. Non emergency service personnel may be subject to review and removal. Using this site inappropriately to spam/advertise or solicit members in any way will result in account termination. Commercial companies may have profiles, but blogs, groups, forums, videos and photos and any other area may not be used for self-promotion.
