Representatives from the Philadelphia Firefighters and Paramedics Union Local 22 demanded Philadelphia's Inspector General turn over its full report detailing an alleged sex scandal among its members and suggested the complete account would reveal the failings of the city's Fire Department.
"Our perception is, absolutely, something is being kept from the union," said Joseph Schulle, Local 22's president.
Allegations surfaced in late January that a female paramedic engaged in sexual acts with multiple co-workers in firehouses throughout the city while they were both on- and off-duty.
Schulle said the union learned 13 members stand accused of sexual misconduct from the redacted version of the report he received. Yet the redacted report only addressed allegations against seven staffers, including two battalion chiefs, a captain, a lieutenant, two firefighters and a paramedic, he said.
Not only did the redacted report fail to include information on the other six staff members, it revealed there was no evidence to indicate any misconduct happened while on-duty or in a firehouse, Schulle said.
"It defies logic," he said. "The department forced this member to file a complaint, charged several members that were not even identified in the complaint and is now considering charging her."
"We didn't even provided the complete copy of the EEOC complaint," Schulle said.
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But Amy Kurland, Philly's Inspector General, told NBC10 her job is to create the report, which she then turns over to the city's legal department.
It is unclear what city agency provided the redacted version to the union. Officials with the mayor's office declined to comment on the matter.
The seven staffers included in the redacted report were charged with disciplinary violations, like conduct unbecoming, while the officers named face a failure to supervise charge, he said.
One of the two battalion chiefs made an effort to help the female employee at the center of this scandal -- leading to a disciplinary violation.
"It was determined by the IG that one of these chief officers was overly concerned with her well-being and participated in off-duty, non-sexual activities with this subordinate employee," Schulle explained. "The IG concluded that his off-duty relationship and his effort to help the subordinate employee with her struggles was evidence of misconduct."
The other battalion chief and two others were charged based on "alleged consensual, off-duty sexual relationships" with the female, Schulle said.
"In these three cases, the inspector general found that there was no substantiated charges of sexual activities within the firehouse or on any Fire Department apparatus," he continued.
Although the accusations were unproven, the Fire Department still charged one of the Local 22 members with having sexual relations within a fire house, he explained.
Philly's Fire Department currently has no policy about fraternization and several sets of spouses work within the department -- some in supervisory roles, he said.
No allegations were made by the female employee at the center of the scandal against the battalion chiefs, said Schulle, who added she was coerced by department officials into making the complaint.
"She was told if she did not file a complaint, she would be required to sign a document stating nothing inappropriate had occurred," he said.
Sources close to the investigation initially said as many as 10 city fire department staffers could face disciplinary action for their role in the sex scandal and at least 40 staffers were interviewed by investigators.
