Jan. 14—A federal investigation found officials with the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station's fire department filed falsified firefighting and safety training records, crediting employees for training they never received over a three-year period.
The investigation was prompted nearly three years ago by an unidentified former member of the fire department who became a whistleblower, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
"These trainings are intended to instruct first responders on procedures and protocols to handle life-threatening emergency situations," said Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner. "It is unconscionable that so many employees and instructors whose job is to save lives would be complicit in this type of fraud."
The investigation found that from 2017 to 2019, over 120 fire department employees received credit for trainings they did not attend, 41 instructors submitted false training documents for validation, and six fire department employees improperly verified false training documents.
"The evidence showed many (Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Fire Department) employees — both students and instructors — on leave during the reported training courses, which they could not have reasonably taken or taught," the Office of Special Counsel said. "Students also received credit for multiple training courses that overlapped, including courses taught by different instructors that occurred on the same date and time."
The fire department provides fire protection...
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