Paramedic punished for giving away blanket

DETROIT — A Detroit paramedic says he was punished for giving a man a blanket while responding to a fire.

Jeff Gaglio said that because he did not have department permission to give away the blanket, he will face "EMS departmental charges," according to FOX 2.

Gaglio said he was on scene at a house fire where an elderly disabled man lived. After escorting him outside in only his underwear, he gave the man a blanket to keep him warm.

"I'm being punished for giving a man a blanket," he said. "Something that any man or woman would do in the City of Detroit, give a freezing man a blanket."

Even though the blankets were donated and not paid for by the department, chief of EMS Jerald James told FOX 2 that "we can't have an employee who feels that they have a right to give away state property, be it donated, be it a blanket… without prior approval."

It is unclear what Gaglio's punishment will be.