*Volunteer firefighters from a Philadelphia-area station thought their Zoom call was disconnected and proceeded to use the N-word and other racist language to disparage an all-black fire company, and mock the name of an 8-year-old Black girl who was fatally shot by police last year.
ABC Channel 6 reported that firefighters from Delaware County’s Briarcliffe Fire Company Station 75 thought their conversation following a virtual meeting in late January was private. But their colleagues from the Goodwill station were still in the call.
And hit record.
“A bunch of f*cking n*ggers down there,” one Briarcliffe firefighter can be heard saying in reference to the all-Black Darby Township Fire Company. The Briarcliffe firefighters also called Darby’s chief a racial slur and a “piece of sh*t,” complained about Black firefighters being lazy, and discussed there being too many African-Americans living in the area.
“That’s the f*cking problem,” one Briarcliffe firefighter said. “Blacks are taking over sh*t.”
They also mocked Fanta Bility, the 8-year-old Black girl killed by police in Delaware County in August 2021. Three police officers are facing charges in connection with Fanta’s death.
“Fanta soda, yeah, orange or Fanta grape,” one Briarcliffe firefighter reportedly said on the call while laughing.
Briarcliffe Fire Company Station 75 was shut down Wednesday in response to the audio. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Darby Township commissioners, who pulled the plug, have asked the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office to investigate the call for possible criminal charges.
Watch Channel 6’s and CBS Philly’s reports below.
