I-TEAM: Investigation into complaints, policy violations at Augusta Fire

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We have an I-TEAM exclusive as we learn about a month-long investigation into complaints filed in the Augusta Fire Department.

This comes after we got more than 100 documents from the city detailing allegations against multiple people within the department.

Augusta’s Equal Employment Office just wrapped up the investigation.

Allegations include sexual assault, drug use, sexual harassment, and social media policies involving an adult-only subscription service called OnlyFans.

The investigation found that evidence does not support a firefighter discriminated against a female firefighter based on her sex.

They found there is no evidence that sexual activities happened between two firefighters at a fire station.

Guests of the opposite sex are not allowed in the station after hours. They did find the female firefighter was out on workers comp, and they should have known she was not allowed in the station.

The female firefighter would often go to other stations to “hang out” and ask for money, and the fire department chain of command should’ve stopped this. The female firefighter also should not have had keys to the station when assigned to a different station.

When multiple firefighters were sent invitations to join an adult subscription site, OnlyFans, they should have reported it but did not. That violated social media policies.

What happens now? The EEO recommends:

• The female firefighter should be terminated because her behavior breaks several policies within the fire department.
• Disciplinary action should be handed down to firefighters who knew about the OnlyFans account and chose to ignore the situation.
• Reprimand for the male firefighter involved.
• Refresher training on social media policy and an audit for station keys.

It’s an extensive report. It’s 122 pages, and we’ll continue to look into this report and update you when we learn more about this investigation.

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