Probe: FFs Didn't Spray Homeless MO Man

A Kansas City Fire Department investigation has concluded that firefighters did not douse a homeless man with water while putting out a fire on New Year’s Day.

According to reports, a homeless man said his body and belongings had been doused with water by firefighters working to extinguish a fire he made to keep warm underneath a bridge west of 20th and Locust streets.

The average temperature that day was 20 degrees, and a homeless advocate who says she found the man freezing in wet clothes filed a formal complaint with the department.

“The inquiry finds no violations of KCFD policies or expectations on the part of the firefighters who responded, and that they did not spray any persons with water,” a statement released Friday by the department read.

A man was asked to move while firefighters worked, and personal items were doused with water, officials said.

A release said the department interviewed each firefighter at the incident. Police officers also confirmed that no person had been doused with water.

In November, a fire in a homeless camp caused millions of dollars in damage to a bridge near Beardsley Road. In January 2018, a homeless person died in an encampment fire near 20th and Locust streets.

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