Eight fired over Chicago pump inspections
From Chicago Fire Department website
Not a complete surprise, but the axe has fallen in the investigation of payments to Chicago fire inspectors. Eight inspectors have been fired from Chicago’s Fire Prevenetion Bureau and two have been allowed to retire after taking cash for weekend high-rise pump inspections. Here are excerpts from the Chicago Sun-Times:
The decision to sweep out half of the 20-member pump section was made by newly appointed Fire Commissioner John Brooks after an internal investigation determined that the practice of accepting “several hundred dollars” for every weekend inspection has been going on for years.
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the firefighters’ contract allows employees eligible for retirement to take it, even after being accused of wrongdoing.
“They accepted money from sources other than their [city] pay. Some were facilitating it by scheduling inspections and making arrangements. Some were actually taking the money. . . . Whoever was scheduling them to work on weekends knew they weren’t on the clock and that some other arrangement was being made,” Langford said.
The equipment is inspected annually with a water-pressure test witnessed by a fire inspector. Building owners pay a $300 inspection fee and send a check to the Fire Prevention Bureau that is forwarded to the city’s Revenue Department. Once the check is in, an appointment is scheduled. Individual inspectors do not handle money. Until recently, they did not work weekends.
The 10 inspectors are accused of conducting or arranging inspections on weekends, when the test that generates a heavy flow of water would be less disruptive.
