Firefighters in a firetruck pick up a drunken, off-duty fellow fireman who was walking from Columbia’s St. Pat’s Festival. They ferry him to a nearby fire station that has a frat house reputation, where he causes trouble.
A fire captain gooses a young firefighter and dismisses it as typical horseplay. But the firefighter’s complaint costs the city nearly $50,000 to settle.
Firemen fire off threatening and unprofessional remarks on Facebook about Black Lives Matter protesters. Three, including a captain, are fired.
Those incidents and others troubled Columbia city manager Teresa Wilson. Wilson hired consultants to do a deep dive into what was going on in the Columbia Fire Department.