Firefighters Suspended For Harassing Recruit
Four Baltimore County firefighters are accused of harassing and sexually assaulting a young male recruit.
The four men in question are 21-year-old Joshua Burkins, 20-year-old Andrew Burkins, 20-year-old John Hefner, and 19-year-old Colby Ogrysko.
The four men used to work with the Fallston Volunteer Fire Company in Maryland, but are currently under suspension after allegations arose of them abusing a 17-year-old recruit.
The recruit, who’s remaining anonymous in the press, says that three of the four held him down to his bunk one night while yelling gay slurs at him. But that’s not all, they also tried to rape him using two wooden door wedges.
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After that night, the victim then continued to work with the other men until Joshua Burkins, who wasn’t there the prior night, called from the firehouse only to shout more homophobic slurs while over the phone.
Again, the three men have be suspended from volunteering with the Fallston Volunteer Fire Company, and also Josha Burkins has also been suspended without pay from the Essex firehouse where he worked as a EMT Firefighter.
This is especially sad because the Burkins brothers are members of a large family of firefighters. Their mother, father, step-father and uncle are all important members of the Baltimore County fire operations service.
The Baltimore County Fire Department is currently undergoing an internal investigation to find out more about the situation between the five men.
