Thread: Firefighter Terminated for Bringing a Watermelon to Work

Firefighter terminated for bringing a watermelon to work

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BY DEAN DANIELS/ OCTOBER 9, 2017

Detroit firefighter Robert Pattison, 41, was terminated before his first day on the job for bringing a watermelon to work. He introduced himself to his new colleagues and fellow firefighters at Engine 55 at the corner of Joy and Southfield in Detroit by bringing a welcome gift.


Second Battalion Chief Shawn McCarty calls this welcome gift “a tradition” for Engine 55’s firefighters: “It’s not mandatory, it’s voluntary. You come in bearing gifts. The usual gift is doughnuts, but you are allowed to bring whatever you want to bring in.”


Pattison, who was a probationary firefighter, brought a watermelon with a pink bow on top. However, some black firefighters were reportedly offended by Pattison’s gesture since 90 percent of the firefighters at Engine 55 are black or people of color.





“When you get your first detail at a firehouse you pretty much know what you are getting yourself into,” said Patrick Trout. “So, you would have to say it was probably a bad call.”


McCarty said that some people at the firehouse believe it’s “racially insensitive” to bring a watermelon to a firehouse, though Pattison argued that he did not bring in the watermelon as a joke or with malice and had no intention of offending his colleagues.


Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said in a statement that Pattison was officially fired.



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