Houston Fire Department Fires 12 Cadets for Racist Social Media Posts, at a Cost of $1.2 Million

A Texas fire chief dismissed a dozen firefighter cadets from a training program for inappropriate behavior on social media. Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz from the Houston Fire Department made the announcement Saturday, confirming 12 cadets were terminated for behaviour "inconsistent with the code of conduct."

An anonymous source cited by KHOU disclosed that the cadets formed a private group chat on Instagram where they shared "racist and hateful behavior". A member of the cadet class reported his fellow cadets, ensuing the investigation.

In a written statement, Muñoz confirmed that an internal investigation had been conducted, leading to the dismissal of the cadets.

"HFD was made aware of behavior by a group of 12 cadets, who were not yet sworn members of the Department, that is inconsistent with the code of conduct. Investigations by both HFD's Professional Standards division and the City's Office of Inspector General were conducted, and the cadets in question were terminated."

The cadets involved in the group chat were terminated on Friday, April 18, six days before their graduation ceremony. According to HFD, an important part of the cadet's eight-month program involves anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training.

KHOU's anonymous source added that after the fire department was made aware of the group chat, cadets repeated the anti-discrimination training. However, no one rectified the situation, and the fire chief ultimately decided to terminate them before joining his department.

A total of 39 cadets were part of the group before the terminations. Only 27 graduated and made it to the swearing-in ceremony. With approximately $100,000 invested in training each cadet, city officials lamented the $1.2 million lost following the dismissals.