By STATter 911
KENTLAND, Md. — Jerry Engle spent more than half his life at the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department. One of the most active firefighters in the company’s history, and he claims in the U.S., Engle wrote a book on his experience called Probie Days.
Engle may have to add a few new chapters after the recent release to the news media of controversial videos involving Kentland’s firefighters.
Engle, now a member of the Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department, is seen on one of the videos using his bare backside as a launching pad for a bottle rocket. The video shows numerous firefighters shooting fireworks inside the fire station on Landover Road. Fireworks are illegal in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
The videos were shot more than four-years-ago.
Engle tells STATter 911 he was not involved in the hazing incident seen on one tape and thought that incident was “extreme”.
According to sources, the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department has already suspended its chief and others in the videos. Officially, Kentland calls what’s on the videos “inexcusable” and will only confirm that disciplinary action has been taken.
Jerry Engle expects that Prince George’s County Fire Chief Lawrence Sedgwick will also take action against him and others seen on the videos. So far there has been no official comment from Chief Sedgwick since a statement Friday calling the antics on the videos “disturbing” and “unprofessional”.
Engle tells STATter 911, “We deserve some type of punishment.”