By Laura French
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — Three Texas firefighters were disciplined and one resigned after a hotel where the firefighters were quarantining was damaged during their stay.
New Braunfels City Manager Robert Camareno said the firefighters were exposed to COVID-19 during a call in April and were given the option to quarantine at the hotel, according to the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
While at the hotel, the four firefighters reportedly consumed alcohol and a bathtub overflowed, causing significant water damage to the building, Camareno stated.
KENS5 reports that disciplinary documents show two of the firefighters had bottles of vodka delivered to the hotel.
The city manager said the firefighter responsible for overflowing the bathtub, which was deemed to be accidental, resigned, and disciplinary action was taken against the other three.
One of the firefighters who had vodka delivered was suspended for one day and one was suspended for two days, according to KENS5. Additional information about the disciplinary action was not immediately available.
The firefighters were considered to be on duty during the incident under New Braunfels city policy. Records indicate that at least one of the firefighters said he didn’t know whether he was on duty while quarantining and had previously been allowed to drink while attending trainings, after the training sessions were over.
Records also show that the firefighters were disciplined for not following department PPE protocols while responding to the April call when they were exposed.
The city has paid the hotel nearly $20,000 to cover repairs to the water damage and the Texas Municipal League will pay an additional $10,000 through its risk pool.