By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DECATUR, Ga. — Four DeKalb County firefighters are under investigation for allegedly showing up to work drunk, the county’s chief operating officer told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Two of those firefighters are on unpaid administrative leave. The other two are still working, Interim Fire Chief Eddie O’Brien said Friday.
“They were drinking when they were called in early,” Chief Operating Officer Richard Stogner said. “They never got on county equipment and never drove. They came in early because of the snow.”
On Tuesday night, a group of firefighters went to a Decatur bar after work. They were supposed to report to work at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, but were called into work early because of the storm, Stogner said.
That’s when one employee called officials to report that several firefighters were inebriated, Stogner said.
“We had an officer who alerted us,” O’Brien said. “He did his job and we will look into the situation.”
County staff transported two of them to the hospital, where they were drug-tested, Stogner said. Two of the firefighters are now on unpaid leave while the county awaits lab results.
County officials declined to identify the employees under investigation, but said the four have the rank of captain and below. Channel 2 Action News has identified the two on leave as Capt. Marcus “Josh” Reed and Fire Apparatus Operator William Corbett.
Sources also told Channel 2 that Assistant Chief Joe Tinsley and Deputy Chief William Smith were involved. O’Brien said Tinsley and Smith were not among the four under investigation, but he was looking into new information concerning the two chiefs possibly having knowledge of the incident.
“Someone made us aware of that today and we’re looking into it,” O’Brien said Friday.
Stogner said it was unclear why only two were on leave and said that information would be released at the conclusion of the investigation.
“Under our procedures, you can’t report to work inebriated. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a beer the night before,” Stogner said. “The normal procedure is to put them on leave while it is reviewed. We will take the appropriate action after the review is complete.”
Dozens of firefighters were called in to help put chains on trucks, respond to emergency calls and assist with the storm, Stogner said.
The internal investigation is being conducted by fire administration and police are not involved, O’Brien said.
County commissioners said they were unaware of the investigation.
Copyright 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution