By Rochelle E.B. Gilken
Palm Beach Post (Florida)
Copyright 2006 The Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
Two West Palm Beach firefighters are under investigation for falsely saying that they did the training required for a better job, city officials said.
The firefighters are now on paid leave while the city’s police department looks into whether they broke the law. The state attorney’s office will also review the case this week. Their names were not released, but both have worked at the department for several years, said city spokesman Chase Scott.
Spokesmen for the police and fire departments referred all questions to Scott.
Scott said the firefighters are trained emergency medical technicians, but they were recently taking classes to become certified paramedics — a more skilled and higher paid position.
EMTs go to school for four months, while paramedics train for a year and can do more invasive work such as inserting tubes and administering medication. Paramedics also earn about 15 percent to 20 percent more.
The firefighters are accused of claiming they completed all the hours needed to be paramedics without actually finishing the work, Scott said. He said questions were raised a few weeks ago, before the firefighters had a chance to do any work as paramedics.
“I think it’s important to note the issue was simply regarding education and training and that the public safety was not compromised in any way,” Scott said.