The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department is dealing with a controversy that has generated a different kind of heat. An ad on an escort website has recently surfaced featuring different women posing suggestively on equipment at an Atlanta fire station.
In one photo, one woman poses suggestively on a fire truck, while in another, the same woman dons a firefighter’s vest. In others, various scantily clad women don fire helmets and other rescue gear. Insignia clearly indicates that the photos took place inside Atlanta Fire Station 2.
The fire department has responded to the ads, according to Fox 5:
“The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department will launch an internal investigation into the matter, and will take decisive action based on the outcome of the investigation,” read a statement from an Atlanta Fire Department spokesperson.
According to firefighters, it’s not unusual for citizens to visit fire stations, where firefighters will often take them on a tour of the facility and allow them to take photos with equipment. What is out of the ordinary is the nature of these particular shots.
The ads appeared on the escort site Backpage.com, and they have since disappeared from the site. According to another news station, WXIA, the ads contained language such as, “Available now. Come experience this hottie” and “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” and indicated that the women were 22 and 24 years of age.
Representatives for Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said that the city has launched an investigation and will take “appropriate action” as needed, but the mayor hastily cancelled an interview with a news reporter when he learned that the interview would include questions about the photos.
The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department has been no stranger to controversy over the last couple of years. Last year, Mayor Reed sacked Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran over a book the chief had written in which he expressed his belief that marriage should solely be between a man and a woman. That incident led to a push for religious liberty legislation in the state. Fortunately for the city, the photo controversy should have a shorter life span.
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