Overview
- Over the weekend the St. Lucie County Fire District terminated three senior firefighters and suspended two others after an outside-law-firm investigation recommended discipline.
- The investigative summary concluded senior personnel had modified a bug zapper and used it to administer electric shocks to apprentice firefighters during 2024 incidents captured on video.
- A Fort Pierce Police report reached a different conclusion, saying the videos showed coworkers “entertaining each other,” that the participants said they were not victims, and that no criminal matter was found.
- IAFF Local 1377 has demanded arbitration for all five members and says the investigation was biased, noting the same law firm that did the probe now represents the district in arbitration.
- The district says prior complaints and a 2025 culture review of Station 1 informed its actions and it will present documented facts in arbitration, with outcomes likely to affect staffing, morale, and legal costs.