Two volunteer firefighters in Prince George’s County, Maryland, were indicted Tuesday for an altercation last December in which both allegedly assaulted a career firefighter from another local firehouse.
WTOP Radio reported Tuesday that Jeffry Miller and Chris Kelly, volunteers from the West Lanham Hills Volunteer Fire Department, were indicted on assault and misconduct charges in a Dec. 8, 2015, incident at the scene of a house fire in nearby Hyattsville. The website for WLHVFD lists Mr. Kelly as the fire company’s 1st vice president.
According to State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks, Mr. Kelly blocked career firefighters from another station from entering the scene of a house fire before striking the unnamed female career firefighter. Mr. Miller similarly assaulted the same firefighter after she again tried to enter the premises, according to the prosecutor.
Last December NBCWashington.com reported the dispute appeared to have been a “turf battle” gone physical, the volunteer firefighters hailing from the station closer to the scene of the blaze but the career firefighters having arrived on scene first.
For its part, the Prince George’s County Fire Department said in a statement on Tuesday that Mr. Kelly and Mr. Miller “were removed from emergency operations when the initial incident occurred and will remain so until the case is adjudicated.”
“We regret the shadow cast upon our Department by this unfortunate incident,” added the agency, reported WJLA.com.
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