Claims of racism and abuse at the Calgary Fire Department

CALGARY (CityNews) – Allegations of racism and discrimination at an already stressful job.

A group of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour call for change inside the walls of Calgary’s fire halls saying they endured years of trauma at what’s supposed to be a “safe house.”

The city’s fire chief speaking about claims that he and management allowed the abuse.

“I was a visible minority, you can tell I was by my 5-foot-7 height and my brown skin and I was told by one of the captains that he had some concerns for my physical safety because I was going into fires as team leader, noselman and they were talking about leaving me in the fire.”

Shannon Pennington said racial slurs and discrimination started in fire school and spanned his 26-year career with the Calgary Fire Department, but other BIPOC members had it worse, resulting in some who died by suicide.

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“I phoned chief Dongworth and he didn’t believe me. I interviewed the family and the family told me about the bullying and harassment that he got as a rookie, and he lasted pretty close to three years, ended up in the Foothills hospital in his first experience. He was waterboarded, hung in a hose tower and spun around for three hours. He soiled himself, he had to go upstairs and had to change his clothes. He finished his shift and reported to Foothills hospital psychiatric wing on his way home,” sid Pennington.

“The events are all under investigation, most of them happened a little while ago,” said Chief Steve Dongworth. “When I was appointed as chief, my number one commitment was to advance the culture of the Calgary Fire Department.”

Current and former members penned a letter detailing experiences with nine calls to action the firefighters union said it’s committed to.

They include anti-racism training, acknowledging the department has a toxic workplace, and having a third party investigate complaints.

“We need to reflect–are the systems working? We’ve done a ton of work but we need to continue to do that work,” said Matt Osborne with Calgary Firefighters Association. “Because if there’s people that aren’t feeling supported, we need to make sure we’re opening up. Making sure that they have ways to come forward, and there’s as many ways to come forward.”

Pennington, who spoke about the issue at City Hall in last summer’s anti-racism hearings, said Dongworth and management have been ducking the problems for years and firefighters were told they’d be fired if they reported abuse.

“We survey our people, we have a council of diverse individuals, we’ve had that since the time I’ve been chief,” said Dongworth. “I’m a white male, I don’t necessarily know what the issues are or how best to handle them, I’m certainly accountable to them. I don’t believe we’ve hidden these things.”

Pennington added women in uniform are also victims, facing discrimination and sexual abuse.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Monday he expects answers from the chief, but Pennington said the mayor and the city need to take responsibility too.

“When you’re a firefighter on the frontlines and you have to make life-and-death decisions about yourself and your crew members and the public at large, why would you have to be burned with this crap when you go back to the safe house?”