A fire department in Michigan has launched an internal investigation after firefighters posed for a photo in front of a burning house.
The semi-derelict detached vacant house caught fire on New Year’s Eve and is located on a street where the majority of homes are not currently occupied.
The caption posted onto social media said: “Crews take a moment to get a selfie on New Years!”.
The picture of the crew members was posted on the Detroit Fire Incidents Facebook page but has since been taken down by the admins of the page.
The house was abandoned and in a semi-derelict state before the fire broke out
In a post, an admin said:
“In regards to the photo that was removed, we would like to clear a few things up,
“First of us no one at this page took that photo (sic)
“Second we were asked to post it by a fire fighter for the city of Detroit
“Third the only reason it was removed is we received messages by guys on the job stating that they had been threatened For the photo being posted.
“To clarify “threatened” meaning threatened by their work I would assume by their context threatened of punitive actions.
“Happy New Years from us at Detroit Fire Incidents Page”.
City fire officials said the crew that was on scene at the fire was marking a colleague’s retirement.
Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones called the photo “inappropriate and unprofessional” as he announced the internal investigation.
In a statement to WXYZ-TV, Mr Jones said:
“There are a lot of ways to celebrate a retirement.
“Taking a photo in front of a building fire is not one of them.”
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