Another one to cheer you up bob…
Firemen reprimanded for disturbing ■■■■■■■ actBy Richard Savill
Last Updated: 2:30pm BST 03/10/2007
Four firemen who disturbed an outdoor ■■■■■■■ session have been reprimanded and heavily fined after they were accused by one of the participants of being homophobic.
The firemen shone their torches from their engine into bushes on the Downs - an area of parkland in Bristol said to be popular with people engaging in late-night outdoor ■■■ known as “dogging” - interrupting the four as they were involved in a ■■■■■■■ act.
One of the group later contacted the AIDS charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, who advised him to make a formal complaint.
advertisementThat led to the firefighters being suspended while a three month investigation was carried out.
Two of them have now been fined up to £1,000; one has been demoted in rank and the other given a written warning. Each of them has also been ordered to attend a two-day equality course.
Their treatment has angered colleagues, who have accused fire chiefs of political correctness and of treating the firemen like “criminals”.
The fines are to be donated to a nominated gay-rights charity. The charity under consideration is the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), as Bristol has a large Jamaican community, although no final decision has been made.
The four-man crew have also been transferred to other stations.
The complainant is now said to be “happy” at the outcome of the disciplinary hearings - but he will not face any police investigation into what he and the other men were doing in the area.
The firemen, formerly members of Avon Fire Service’s Blue Watch at Avonmouth station, Bristol, were accused of bringing the service into disrepute, and with the misuse of fire equipment.
They are unable to comment on the case, but a colleague said: “This is a complete farce. All four officers have been let down by their senior officers when they most needed their support.”
“They have been treated as the criminals in this case and it has been completely forgotten that they witnessed criminal activity occurring in a public place.”
Another colleague added: “There are a lot of firefighters in Avon who feel the four involved have been treated very unfairly so the service can be seen as being politically correct.”
The men had been returning at 10.30pm on June 27 to Avonmouth Fire Station from Bristol’s main Temple Fire Station, where they had been covering for other firemen answering 999 calls.
The four, who do not want be named, have been told to attend an equality conference being held in Bristol next week, entitled 'Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexuals and Transgender Equality in the Fire Service - an absolute taboo?’
Simon Nelson, of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "We don’t support or condone ■■■ in public places.
"The member of the public simply wanted to know why the fire service was on the Downs at that time of day.
“We work very closely with the police, but in this case the complainant asked us not to report this incident to the police.”
Police said they had not received any complaint, but it was an offence to commit a lewd, obscene or disgusting act in a public place, which was capable of outraging public decency.
Kevin Pearson, Chief Fire Officer with Avon Fire and Rescue Service, said any allegation of racism or homophobia was taken seriously.
He said: “There was no justifiable reason for that appliance to be in that location at that time. They should not have been there and there was no operational justification for their actions.”
He said the crew was found to be in breach of internal policies.
Chris Jackson, a spokesman for the FBU’s Avon branch, said: "The person who made the complaint was happy with the way it was dealt with.
“I am not at liberty to discuss anymore detail about this incident or talk about the disciplinary proceedings.”
The police confirmed they had not been made aware of the incident.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said: "It is an offence to commit an act which is lewd, obscene or disgusting in a public place which is capable of outraging public decency.
“If any complaint is made in relation to such an incident it would be investigated thoroughly and, where appropriate, action would be taken to arrest any offender.”
