Racism On Online Forum Directed At Incoming Fairfax Fire Chief

Racist comments on an online forum about incoming Fairfax County Fire Chief John Butler have prompted an investigation into whether they come from county employees. The comments came from Fairfax Underground, the same place where posts about firefighter Nicole Mittendorff came to light after her suicide.

County Executive Bryan Hill said in a statement employees that contributed to the comments will face disciplinary action. "It saddens me that in 2018 our country continues to deal with the hateful actions of a select few," reads the statement, first reported by STATer911.com.

Butler, the black head of the Howard County, Md. Department of Fire and Rescue, is set to become chief of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue on Sept. 1. He has led Howard County's fire department since 2014 and has been with the department since 1993 as a firefighter-paramedic, battalion chief, emergency medical services chief and administrative chief. Butler is also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, serving 21 years and two combat tours.

According to STATer911.com, Interim Fire Chief John Caussin urged employees to come forward with information about who wrote the comments. Butler will not be commenting on the Fairfax Underground posts.

The fire department similarly launched an internal investigation into posts on Fairfax Underground about Mittendorff, who died by suicide in 2016.

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Image via Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue