Union seeks arbitration over St. Lucie firefighter terminations
By Justin Breckenridge
July 17, 2026 at 12:01 PM EDT
This article has since been updated to reflect the Fire District’s released statement and pertinent investigation information.
Local residents and a county commissioner questioned the St. Lucie County Fire District's decision to terminate multiple firefighters after an internal investigation into allegations of hazing involving videos of firefighters engaging in workplace activities.
The discussion was sparked at a recent Fire Board meeting, when Commissioner James Clasby, who also serves on the Fire District's board, shared his interpretation of the videos and encouraged the district to resolve the matter before it proceeds to arbitration.
"I'm told it was part of a studying exercise. When they got an answer wrong, they shocked themselves with a nine volt battery shocker," he said. "If you were to watch the videos, it is not hazing, in my professional opinion. And I think that the fire chief has a fiduciary responsibility to not take this to arbitration and come to a peaceful resolution prior to, to save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially, and the local, for that matter. There's lots of other issues that they need that money for, and this is not one of them. I would really ask the chief if he could do something to come to a peaceful resolution, and we just get past this."
Clasby also referenced the Fort Pierce Police Department's investigation into the allegations, reading portions of the responding officer's report during the meeting.
"No criminal matter behind the alleged hazing. In the videos I observed, I found co-workers entertaining each other. Although they chose unusual activities to engage in, they were ultimately done by their own will and had no malicious intent," he read. "All individuals originally listed as victims advised are not victims and wish not to continue the investigation."
During the discussion, Clasby asked Fire District attorney Kim Sabol whether the board had the authority to investigate the personnel decisions.
Sabol said the board does not have that authority and that its personnel oversight extends only to the fire chief, the district's attorney and the clerk-treasurer. Any action taken would be in violation of the charter.
The firefighters' union said it is challenging the disciplinary actions through the contractual grievance process.
"We were unsuccessful in the grievance process to move forward on those grievances, and we have all five are in the process right now as we speak of moving to arbitration," union representative Matt Coney said. "It's the union's position that these were wrongful terminations and wrongful disciplines, and we were moved forward to enforce the contract. This is extraordinarily a frivolous situation that does not need to be before you guys, or even on the fire chief's desk. It didn't need to be that far."
Several residents also addressed the board during public comment, including Joe Lowry, who asked district leadership to reconsider the terminations.
"We've all worked for different outfits. I worked for an outfit after coming out of the Marine Corps for 34 years. There was always some goofing off, and we always had some serious times," he said. "I think the board needs to look at this a little bit further, along with the chief, and try to reconsider about these three gentlemen that were fired."
In addition to the police investigation, the Fire District conducted its own internal investigation before the firefighters were terminated.
The St. Lucie County Fire District said Saturday that an independent investigation into workplace misconduct at Station 1A resulted in the termination of three employees and the suspension of two others after video evidence surfaced showing senior personnel using a homemade electrical shocking device to haze subordinate firefighters.
District officials said the videos, which were turned over to administrators in March 2026, documented incidents that occurred during shifts in March and September 2024. The district said the investigation concluded, by a preponderance of the evidence, that probationary and apprentice firefighters were subjected to hazing by senior firefighters and supervisors.
District officials said the discovery prompted Fire Chief Jeff Lee to refer the matter to outside attorney J.K. Keller of Allen, Norton & Blue to avoid any appearance of bias because some of the employees under investigation had previously filed complaints against district leadership.
Keller recommended notifying law enforcement, the Florida Department of Health and launching a formal administrative investigation. According to the district, the investigation was separate from a 2025 workplace harassment inquiry that did not substantiate policy violations but led to non-disciplinary personnel reassignments intended to improve workplace culture at Station 1A.
The district also released a 2025 workplace culture assessment by attorney Susan Gainey, which found no substantiated harassment violations but described Station 1A as having a culture marked by intense peer pressure, social exclusion, aggressive banter and "light hazing" that blurred the line between camaraderie and misconduct.
Gainey recommended reassigning personnel, counseling supervisors and expanding leadership and conduct training to address what she described as an exclusionary environment that affected morale and recruitment. District officials said the later discovery of the 2024 videos validated concerns identified in the earlier assessment and represented the first disciplinary action related to the alleged hazing incidents.
Local residents and a county commissioner questioned the St. Lucie County Fire District's decision to terminate multiple firefighters after an internal investigation into allegations of hazing involving videos of firefighters engaging in workplace activities.
The discussion was sparked at a recent Fire Board meeting, when Commissioner James Clasby, who also serves on the Fire District's board, shared his interpretation of the videos and encouraged the district to resolve the matter before it proceeds to arbitration.
"I'm told it was part of a studying exercise. When they got an answer wrong, they shocked themselves with a nine volt battery shocker," he said. "If you were to watch the videos, it is not hazing, in my professional opinion. And I think that the fire chief has a fiduciary responsibility to not take this to arbitration and come to a peaceful resolution prior to, to save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially, and the local, for that matter. There's lots of other issues that they need that money for, and this is not one of them. I would really ask the chief if he could do something to come to a peaceful resolution, and we just get past this."
Clasby also referenced the Fort Pierce Police Department's investigation into the allegations, reading portions of the responding officer's report during the meeting.
"No criminal matter behind the alleged hazing. In the videos I observed, I found co-workers entertaining each other. Although they chose unusual activities to engage in, they were ultimately done by their own will and had no malicious intent," he read. "All individuals originally listed as victims advised are not victims and wish not to continue the investigation."
During the discussion, Clasby asked Fire District attorney Kim Sabol whether the board had the authority to investigate the personnel decisions.
Sabol said the board does not have that authority and that its personnel oversight extends only to the fire chief, the district's attorney and the clerk-treasurer. Any action taken would be in violation of the charter.
The firefighters' union said it is challenging the disciplinary actions through the contractual grievance process.
"We were unsuccessful in the grievance process to move forward on those grievances, and we have all five are in the process right now as we speak of moving to arbitration," union representative Matt Coney said. "It's the union's position that these were wrongful terminations and wrongful disciplines, and we were moved forward to enforce the contract. This is extraordinarily a frivolous situation that does not need to be before you guys, or even on the fire chief's desk. It didn't need to be that far."
Several residents also addressed the board during public comment, including Joe Lowry, who asked district leadership to reconsider the terminations.
"We've all worked for different outfits. I worked for an outfit after coming out of the Marine Corps for 34 years. There was always some goofing off, and we always had some serious times," he said. "I think the board needs to look at this a little bit further, along with the chief, and try to reconsider about these three gentlemen that were fired."
In addition to the police investigation, the Fire District conducted its own internal investigation before the firefighters were terminated.
The St. Lucie County Fire District said Saturday that an independent investigation into workplace misconduct at Station 1A resulted in the termination of three employees and the suspension of two others after video evidence surfaced showing senior personnel using a homemade electrical shocking device to haze subordinate firefighters.
District officials said the videos, which were turned over to administrators in March 2026, documented incidents that occurred during shifts in March and September 2024. The district said the investigation concluded, by a preponderance of the evidence, that probationary and apprentice firefighters were subjected to hazing by senior firefighters and supervisors.
District officials said the discovery prompted Fire Chief Jeff Lee to refer the matter to outside attorney J.K. Keller of Allen, Norton & Blue to avoid any appearance of bias because some of the employees under investigation had previously filed complaints against district leadership.
Keller recommended notifying law enforcement, the Florida Department of Health and launching a formal administrative investigation. According to the district, the investigation was separate from a 2025 workplace harassment inquiry that did not substantiate policy violations but led to non-disciplinary personnel reassignments intended to improve workplace culture at Station 1A.
The district also released a 2025 workplace culture assessment by attorney Susan Gainey, which found no substantiated harassment violations but described Station 1A as having a culture marked by intense peer pressure, social exclusion, aggressive banter and "light hazing" that blurred the line between camaraderie and misconduct.
Gainey recommended reassigning personnel, counseling supervisors and expanding leadership and conduct training to address what she described as an exclusionary environment that affected morale and recruitment. District officials said the later discovery of the 2024 videos validated concerns identified in the earlier assessment and represented the first disciplinary action related to the alleged hazing incidents.