IN Captain's Fire Credentials Permanently Revoked Amid Cheating Scandal
A Muncie captain's state fire certifications have been permanently revoked following a multi-agency probe into cheating.
In addition, Troy Dulaney's EMT certification was stripped for seven years, WTHR reported.
Dulaney, a 19-year veteran of the department, was at the center of an investigation into widespread cheating that dated back to 2018.
He has 15 days to appeal once the Indiana Board of Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education's (IBFPSE) decision is officially published.
Wayne Township Capt. Pedro Caceres told reporters that the board's decision was necessary.
“He violated that trust and that is the foundation of public service. It clearly sends a message that we are not here for ourselves but for those who we serve.”
Fire officials also said it's vital that firefighters and EMTs who respond to calls are properly trained.
“Interviews with past students and colleagues reveal that students felt pressured to engage in this quid-pro-quo exchange of test questions because Dulaney was in a position of authority at Muncie Fire Department, and they feared repercussions if they did not give Dulaney what he wanted,” Indiana Department of Homeland Security Assistant General Counsel Hillary Egan told the 12 member IBFPSE Tuesday.
While students did not request the test information from Dulaney, eight Muncie EMT recruits were punished by IDHS for responding to the captain’s request for testing information and/or failing to report the cheating. The recruits were placed on probationary status for two years and must re-take their EMT exam. Each was fined $100 fine.
Egan also told the group that their probe showed students in other courses also were given the advantage. Upon hearing that was the case in a Rope Rescue Operations class in April, her agency wrote a new exam.
The entire class failed.
“This emphasizes the seriousness of Dulaney’s conduct and suggest that students were relying on memorizing the answers to the test questions they received prior to the exam and may not have been competent enough to pass the exam without knowing the questions and answers in advance,” she said.
The vote was supported by both the current and former presidents of the state firefighter’s union, members of the board.
