Are aggressive fire chasers fighting with each other & getting in the way in your community?
In Philadelphia, aggressive tactics by some restoration companies and independent insurance adjusters continue to give the industry bad publicity. In the DC area, when I was still reporting, I saw some people doing this work who didn’t use the tactics seen in reports this week on WCAU-TV, but there were others who were quite aggressive and whose ethics were questionable. What’s the situation in your community?
“Well, they get in the way,” said Andrew Thomas, President of the Firefighters Union Local 22. “They can prevent medic units from getting in. Or they can prevent medic units from getting out.”
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Thomas also told the NBC10 Investigators some firefighters have complained about fire chasers trying to get people to sign contracts while they were in the back of ambulances. Fire chasers can also occasionally get aggressive with each other.
“There might be a pushing, argument, things like that,” Mike O’Leary, owner of Protect Renovations, said.
When Hairston asked if the fights ever get physical, O’Leary responded, “Sometimes. Very, very rare.”
The NBC10 Investigators went to the scene of several fires. O’Leary was the only one who spoke with us. He admits he’s been in a fight with the competition, but says it was something personal that spilled over onto the job.
“It doesn’t look good. It doesn’t look good,” he said.
