3 Firefighter Recruits Quit, 4 Suspended

Three Los Angeles firefighter recruits have resigned and four others have been suspended after a wild party the night before their graduation from the Fire Academy left some of them intoxicated, city officials said Monday.

The recruits had just undergone four months of training at a cost to taxpayers of $100,000 each when they showed up for a graduation ceremony Oct. 22 and were told that they faced an investigation to determine whether they were fit for duty, said Fire Capt. Rex Vilaubi.

Three of the recruits showed up two hours late with the smell of alcohol on their breath and were given urine tests that turned up positive for alcohol consumption beyond the legal limit, Los Angeles Fire Department officials informed the Fire Commission.

Within the last two weeks, those three recruits resigned in lieu of disciplinary action that could have included being fired if they had been found unfit for duty. The other four recruits were given two-week suspensions after they showed up late.

“There were seven recruits involved in a non-department-sponsored incident, which is still under investigation,” Vilaubi said. When asked if alcohol intoxication was involved, he said, “We understand that was the kind of incident.”

Officials said the investigation is continuing to gather facts on what the recruits might have done before the graduation ceremony.

Vilaubi declined to identify the firefighters, citing confidentiality requirements of personnel investigations, but he said the recruits were part of a class of about 60 firefighters in the last of three classes to graduate this year.

Fire Commission President Jay Grodin said he backed Fire Chief William Bamattre’s disciplinary decisions.

“If someone does something like that, they shouldn’t be a firefighter,” Grodin said. “That’s not good judgment.”

Grodin, who attended the graduation ceremony, said the recruits were reminded of department policy requiring them to show up on time and sober.

He was frustrated about the lost investment of taxpayer money.

“I’m disappointed by it,” Grodin said. “You spend all of this money and they go through the training and pass it, and then they blow it.”

Officials with the United Firefighters of Los Angeles union did not return calls about whether they would file appeals on behalf of the disciplined recruits, but Grodin said all recruits are on probation for one year so they are subject to discipline at the will of the department.