KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — On-duty firefighters were caught on tape last week playing tennis outside the Key Biscayne, Fla., limits.
A rescue unit, a fire truck and a support vehicle carrying nine firefighters pulled up to the courts at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on October 20, according to Local 10.
Officials said they comprised the entire shift, meaning there were no on-duty firefighters or paramedics within the village jurisdiction, which would cause a delay in a true emergency.
The senior ranking officer who was at the tennis courts is now being asked to submit a report explaining the incident as part of the village’s investigation.
A call came over the radio as six of the nine firefighters played tennis, and they started running away, presumably from Local 10 cameras as no emergency came into the station at that time, according to the village manager.
“There will be an investigation,” said interim Village manager John Gilbert, who started the fire department 18 years ago. “We will get their side in what they did and why they did it, and I will make some decisions on what happens next.”
Despite the outrage of village residents, the firefighters violated no existing department policy.
“If there is a need to establish a policy for something that should be common sense, I will do it,” Gilbert said.