A Florida fire captain was suspended without pay for 24 hours for posting a video to Snapchat from the scene of a house fire that killed an elderly woman late last year. Discrepancies also were found between Polk County Fire Rescue officials and 9-1-1 dispatch logs concerning the fatal blaze, WFLA-TV reports.
The fire broke out Nov. 23 and Loretta Pickard, 76, called 9-1-1, tell dispatchers for 20 minutes that she was trapped inside the burning house that was filling with smoke. Pickard was told that firefighters knew she was in the home.
County officials told the WFLA that firefighters couldn't enter the house because it was too hot. But logs show that firefighters didn't attempt a rescue and instead fought the fire from the outside even though dispatchers told them several times that Pickard was inside, according to the TV station.
Capt. James Williams also was suspended without pay for a day for sending a Snapchat video from the fire.
"It's violation of our policy and as a result he was suspended for 24 hours without pay," Deputy County Manager Joe Halman Jr. told WFLA.
