The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has alerted the President and Congress that leadership at the Niagara Falls, N.Y. Air Reserve Station Fire Department (NFARSFD) submitted falsified records for firefighting and safety training that employees never received. NFARSFD provides fire protection and emergency response services to the Niagara Air Reserve Station, 914 Air Refueling Wing (ARW), including response to medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, rescue calls, and incidents involving hazardous materials. A former NFARSFD firefighter-turned whistleblower disclosed to OSC allegations of systemic fraud in the Department’s training and certification program, which OSC referred for investigation.
A report by the Air Force largely substantiated the allegations, finding that from 2017–2019, over 120 NFARSDF employees received credit for trainings they did not attend, 41 instructors submitted false training documents for validation, and six NFARSFD employees improperly verified false training documents. The evidence showed many NFARSFD employees – both students and instructors – on leave during the reported training courses, which they could not have reasonably taken or taught. Students also received credit for multiple training courses that overlapped, including courses taught by different instructors that occurred on the same date and time.
According to the report, the conduct of three NFARSFD officials constituted gross mismanagement because untrained emergency...
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