Five firefighters sacked for making allegedly racist comments

Five Greater Manchester firefighters have been sacked for making allegedly racist comments - and a sixth is under investigation.

As reported by the Manchester Evening News in November, two firefighters were dismissed after an investigation into allegedly racist comments left on a crew WhatsApp group.

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At the time, two other firefighters were facing potential disciplinary action as part of the same inquiry.

All four firefighters were based at a Greater Manchester station.

Now the two that were under investigation have resigned from the service, but disciplinary hearings were held in their absence and concluded that both should be sacked.

In a separate investigation, a firefighter at another station in the region has been sacked - again for an alleged racist comment.

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A sixth Greater Manchester firefighter is also under investigation for alleged racist comments.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: "GMFRS can confirm that a total of four members of frontline staff have left the organisation following internal investigations - two left prior to disciplinary hearing and two were dismissed.

"Investigations are ongoing into an additional allegation linked to the previous case, which has recently been identified. Due to the ongoing investigation it would not be appropriate to disclose further details at this time.

"In a separate case, a frontline member of staff was dismissed following an internal investigation."

An investigation was launched following complaints surrounding comments and words used in a messenger