Montgomery County Fire Chief addresses allegations of department misconduct

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein sent out a memo and spoke out about allegations of misconduct that claimed contract workers and custodians, who maintain and clean the county's fire stations, were being subjected to harassment.

In the memo that was sent to all 2700 department members on Friday, Goldstein detailed some of the alleged behavior which included complaints about unwanted flirtation, vulgar and sexual comments, derogatory comments about neighboring communities and negative comments about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.

On Monday Goldstein spoke on camera about the allegations saying the actions described were "unacceptable and were not within the tolerance of our organization."The Montgomery County Council says they support Goldstein's decision to address the matter and say there should be zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination.

Goldstein said he was not told of any specific incidents regarding particular fire crews, stations or personnel. He did say that if he does learn of any specific personnel connected to these allegations and investigation would be conducted.