Firefighters suspended after brawl
The FDNY suspended eight firefighters Wednesday for their involvment in a racially charged bareknuckled brawl hours after the department’s Medal Day ceremony, officials said Wednesday.
Seven firefighters and an FDNY lieutenant were all suspended without pay roughly a week after a racial slur sparked a boozy brawl at Billy’s Bar near Yankee Stadium.
The suspensions will last 30 days, officials said.
The firefighters came from Engine 68, Ladder 49, Ladder 44 and Rescue 3, sources with knowledge of the case said.
The fight broke out as Rescue 3 feted one of their own.
Firefighter Matthew Murphy was awarded the Vincent J. Kane Medal and the Brummer Medal for heroic acts at two separate Bronx fires.
Several fire companies had rented out Billy’s Bar on June 6 to celebrate following the ceremonies, where FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro and Mayor de Blasio honored the smoke-eaters.
Fists started flying, sources said, following a day of boozing when a member of Rescue 3 called a firefighter from Engine 68 a “n----r.”
The punch-up got so wild that bouncers from Billy’s Bar sprayed one firefighter with pepper spray to calm the melee, according to sources.
Cops were called to the scene and broke up the fight, but didn’t arrest anyone.
A video of the aftermath shows a pack of firefighters in their dress blues — with their shirttails hanging out and their sleeves rolled up — still arguing and being restrained by police.
One firefighter can be seen in the recording shoving a cop who was trying to calm the fracas.
A short time later, three drunken white members of Ladder 49/Engine 68 went to Rescue 3 on Washington Ave. in Claremont to continue the fight — but were beaten up and sent home.
The city’s Department of Investigation is also looking into the melee. One source said investigators have acquired video of the attack, including the tussle at Rescue 3.
The NYPD has launched an investigation into why police didn’t arrest anyone, even after a video taken of the aftermath and posted to social media shows a soused firefighter shoving a cop in the street.