NORTH BABYLON, N.Y. — A volunteer fire chief has been suspended after a viral video captured him yelling profanities at a 10-year-old girl during an emergency call.
The incident occurred on Aug. 4 when North Babylon Fire Chief Peter Alt responded to a call involving the child. As first responders loaded the 10-year-old into the ambulance, a concerned neighbor recorded Alt shouting at her, the New York Post reported.
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“Shut the f**k up! It’s like this with you every f**king week!” Alt yells.
“I don’t want to go! I want to go home!” the girl responds.
“Shut your mouth!” Alt snaps back, as the ambulance doors close.
On Aug. 5, the North Babylon Volunteer Fire Company announced Alt’s suspension in a Facebook post, stating an investigation is underway.
“The Fire Company is presently reviewing all of its training, policies and procedures and will determine if further training with respect to responding to emergency calls is required. The Fire Company does not condone this behavior and deems it unacceptable,” the agency said.
The girl’s grandmother, who wasn’t home at the time, said she was devastated by the video.
“Maybe it was a blessing I wasn’t there,” she told NBC New York. The child had become overwhelmed after losing her phone, prompting her mother to call the police for help.
Neighbors who know the family were disturbed by the incident.
“That’s not how you treat people,” neighbor Mark Simms said. “I’d be outraged if he spoke to my kids like that,” Simms noted first responders have been at the home before, but never with such aggression.
In addition to the fire company’s internal investigation, the Town of Babylon is conducting its own review of the incident.
What would an active bystander do?
Chief Alt is surrounded by other first responders who don’t silence him or move him away as he berates the child. Active bystandership, the subject of this popular article “Why EMS needs active bystandership now,” empowers individuals to act when they see potential risk or harm. Have you had a similar encounter during your career? How did you react? How could your service use this video for training on active bystandership?
FireRescue1 readers respond:
- “Disgusting behavior, especially toward a child.”
- “Give me a break! Why did he say it? I’m sure there’s more to the story. Give the guy a break! He volunteers HIS OWN TIME for his community. He’s helped out plenty of people throughout his time in the department, and now let’s throw him to the wolves. He’s only human, and it was one word that everyone is going off on. We all have bad days. Maybe the family is looking to make some money. Chief Alt, thank you for protecting our community, you and the rest of the department.”
- “Having been a chief, I do not condone this behavior in any way, shape or form. That said, the story seems to indicate that this patient is what we would call a ‘frequent flyer’ and a difficult patient, so I can see where his frustration comes from. Still, there is no reason for this behavior.”
- “OK, isn’t this a hate crime? He said ‘effing’ at the end, and I don’t know why this YouTube video altered it, but you could clearly hear from the witness’s recording that he used the N-word and they changed it up.”
- “Doesn’t matter if you go to the same location once or ten times, you act like a human being, a ‘professional.’ If you can’t, then leave. All of your work is for naught. Your position went to your head and you should be removed.”
- “Abhorrent behavior by the chief! A 10-year-old in stress, and he is swearing and abusively irate with the little girl. He needs to be fired! She needed to be calmed, not abused. Traumatic!”
- “I don’t blame him. The parent doesn’t know how to parent, and these guys have to deal with this every time this kid has a fit.”
- “Why is this chief being dragged under the bus by the media? The family misused 911 — they clearly do this a lot — and the child continues to be given back when she should be in state custody. This is three generations of bad apples leeching off society and looking to sue.”
- “The letter was disingenuous. It’s obvious from the video that further training is needed. And it looks even worse if he’s worked for over a decade with the department because he should know what to say and what not to say. But it’s another case of a dirty group of people judging each other and finding themselves guiltless.”
