Sexist & lurid online comments come to light after Fairfax County firefighter’s suicide
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UPDATE
This (Saturday) morning, the following statement was posted on the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department website:
UPDATE: Fire Chief Bowers Issues Statement Regarding Nicole Mittendorff
I would like to take a minute to address the local web forum posts that so many of you have been discussing regarding Firefighter-Nicole Mittendorff. We at Fairfax Fire and Rescue are aware of the posts and are looking into the matter. I assure you that my department can not and will not tolerate bullying of any kind. At this time, we are respecting the privacy of Firefighter-Paramedic Mittendorff’s family, and providing support to the men and women of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department who are grieving under these challenging circumstances. We will thoroughly investigate this matter and take any appropriate actions needed. However, right now we ask that we be allowed to grieve the loss of one of our own.
– Fire Chief Richard Bowers
EARLIER
The Medical Examiner announced Friday that Nicole Mittendorff, the missing Fairfax County firefighter, died by suicide-hanging.
This news comes on the heels of concerns that she was a victim of bullying.
Police found a suicide note in Mittendorff’s car Thursday afternoon after discovering her body. The details of that suicide note remain unknown.
In the past several hours however, we have become aware of online message boards in which Mittendorff’s name has been used in an extremely negative manner.
Some of the posts purported to have been written by members of the Fairfax County Fire Department, where she worked for three years.
We have been told the department is aware of this online activity, but today they focused solely on coping with this very recent tragedy.
The body found Thursday afternoon at Shenandoah National Park has been confirmed to be the body of missing Fairfax County firefighter Nicole Mittendorff, the medical examiner’s office said.
Mittendorff’s body was found after six days of searching the area near the park where her car was found. Her body was found about a mile from the Whiteoak Canyon parking lot.
According to police, a suicide note was found in Mittendorff’s car. Investigators do not suspect any foul play in her death.
Investigators are still piecing together a timeline to determine when Mittendorff arrived at the park and when she died.
In the wake of her death, some people are expressing outrage over sexist online comments about Mittendorff and other Fairfax County female firefighters.
“It was pretty raunchy. It was raunchy. It was offensive. It was disrespectful. It was ridiculing,” said retired federal government worker and Fairfax County resident Jane McKinley. She saw the postings on the community forum Fairfax Underground while searching for more information about Mittendorff.
The postings appear to be from fellow firefighters, though they are anonymous.
“I was alarmed and wanted to let the public know that there was this blog out there that was defaming these female firefighters and medics, not only Nicole but others as well,”
Fire department officials tell WUSA9 that they are aware of the lurid and sexist postings on the forum and are looking into them. But McKinley says an investigation is needed to determine if the people posting the sexist comments are county employees. If they are, she said disciplinary action should be taken.
“There was a poster that kept insisting on revealing photos of Nicole. He kept asking over time,” and another poster said he did have photos. McKinley said the level of detail about fire stations, lockers, contents of women’s lockers and dates of fundraisers makes is seem like the posters are firefighters.
She found it very disturbing and worries that it could be part of a hostile workplace environment.
“If these really are firefighters, it sounded like this is an environment that has been created in the workplace that is completely unacceptable. These are public servants?” McKinley said.
The postings began several years ago, not long after Mittendorf began her career with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue department and Fairview Station 32. It’s not known if Mittendorff saw the postings, but McKinley thinks it’s likely. She’s concerned the cyber-bulling may have played a role in her death.
“If you already have other factors going on, you’re in a very stressful job. If you are feeling maligned and disrespected by the people you’re with, and your life depends on, I can imagine it can undermine your self-esteem,” said McKinley. “You can’t be immune to day in and day out being disrespected.” She said that the federal government requires constant training about sexual harassment and hostile workplace environments and suggested Fairfax could use more training.
Fairfax County officials declined to be interviewed on the subject today. County spokesperson Tony Castrilli sent this statement:
“During this difficult time we are respecting the privacy of Nicole Mittendorff’s family, and providing support to the men and women of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department who are grieving under these challenging circumstances. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, or is looking for support, call PRS CrisisLink, 24/7, at 703-527-4077 or text CONNECT to 855-11.”
