By Austin R. Ramsey
Lexington Herald-Leader
MARTIN, Ky. — An Eastern Kentucky volunteer fire department issued a public apology Wednesday after a member posted video on social media over the weekend from the scene of a car accident involving injuries.
The Martin Volunteer Fire Department published an apology statement on Facebook addressed to the Left Beaver Fire-Rescue volunteer department, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and all other agencies and individuals involved in a two-car collision Saturday around noon on Kentucky Highway 680 near the unincorporated community of Minnie.
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Martin Fire Chief Ben Meade told the Herald-Leader a member of his squad posted video recordings he took on his personal cell phone, a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and internal department policy.
“We take patient privacy and public trust extremely seriously,” the department said in its Facebook post. “The actions of this individual were unacceptable, and the situation is being addressed internally through the appropriate disciplinary and corrective processes to ensure this does not happen again.”
It is unclear if the video has since been removed, though the Herald-Leader was unable to find the post in a review.
Meade would not disclose who the firefighter was nor whether they were still a department member. He said he personally urged the member to take down the post online and posted the department’s policy, which all members are required to sign before joining the force.
“It states clearly in our bylaws that you cannot record from a personal device at the scene of an accident or active structure fire, and that was violated here,” Meade said. “We felt like we needed to apologize to the other departments involved.”
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