An I-Team exclusive: Deputy chief drops drawers. Really?
I will admit that if a deputy fire chief in one of the fire departments in or around the Nation's Capital had dropped his or her drawers during a training session I likely would have done the story for the TV news operation where I worked. But I would have refused to call the story an "I-Team exclusive". With all of the ills in the world, a TV station putting its crack (sorry) investigative team on a mooning and running it as its lead story seems a bit overkill. Cut the hype, put things in perspective and tell the damn story.
There will be some who think the story shouldn't be done at all, that it happens and it's just firefighters being firefighters. The firefighters letting off steam because their next call could be their last excuse is not one that will serve anyone well these days (though it is still trotted out there). Especially when it's a high ranking fire official.
The moral of the story here is if you don't want the local I-Team up your Side Charlie, cover your exposures.
As for this story, it involves East Greenwich (Rhode Island) Fire District Deputy Chief Russell McGillivray who has been suspended with pay for two days after being accused of mooning one or more classmates at a state fire marshal's office training session.
"An incident did happen, but I don't think he was naked. I suspended McGillivray for two days with pay," East Greenwich Fire Chief Peter Henrikson said.
Col. Steven O'Donnell of the state police, who is also the state's public safety commissioner, released a statement.
"McGillivray is no longer allowed to train people at the fire marshal's classes. It is beyond comprehension how someone, a professional, could do that. The females in the class, at a minimum, were upset, but declined to file a formal complaint," O'Donnell said.
