Fire chief tackling ‘macho’ culture threatened by staff
A DUTCH fire chief appointed to eradicate a culture of “racism and bullying” is facing deaths threats reportedly made by members of his own staff.
Commander Leen Schaap was parachuted in from the police service to head up the Amsterdam Fire Department and tackle the “macho” culture in the organisation two years ago.
However, Mr Schaap’s attempts to modernise the fire brigade has been met with resistance, with the division in the department spilling out into negative national press coverage and some firefighters reportedly barring him from entering their barracks.
Dutch prosecutors are investigating the two death threats sent to the former police chief in February and March this year, and several firefighters have been interviewed over an alleged fundraising campaign to have Mr Schaap knocked over by a car, Dutch daily newspaper AD reported.
Mr Schaap has been placed under police protection after another threat allegedly made by firemen who are members of a biker gang, the report adds. No arrests have been made. Threats have also been made against the fire chief on social media. “Enough of this man,” wrote one critic, alongside a photo of a sheep torn to pieces, referencing the meaning of his surname in Dutch.
Eberhard van der Laan, Amsterdam’s former mayor, wrote there was a “closed culture in which racism, discrimination and bullying takes place” in a scathing letter to the city council last year, based on a report by Mr Schaap.
Trade unions representing the firefighters responded to Mr Schaap’s controversial statements in the media by calling for him to face an investigation for a “dereliction of duty”.
Responding to the criticism of his leadership, Mr Schaap said earlier this year: “I’m not a baby… This affects me but doesn’t infect me.”