Brass upset over Detroit firefighters’ burning home photo

DETROIT – A photo posted on social media showing 18 Detroit firefighters posing in front of a home engulfed in flames was “inappropriate and unprofessional” and will result in disciplinary action, the city’s fire commissioner said.

The photo was posted Tuesday just before midnight on the Facebook page “Detroit Fire Incidents Page.” It included a caption: “Crews take a moment to get a selfie on New Years!” It has since been taken down.

Firefighters were celebrating a retiring fire battalion chief, Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell said.

“There are a lot of ways to celebrate a retirement,” Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said in a statement. “Taking a photo in front of a building fire is not one of them.”

Jones added, “Behind every fire is a devastated family or property owner.”

Fornell said the photo was taken outside a vacant house city’s west side, where the fire was reported at 6:34 p.m. Tuesday. The house was too dangerous to enter, he said.