STATter 911

A clearer picture is emerging about a September 15th incident at a Maryland firehouse that has sparked a criminal investigation and at least two internal probes. 9News Now talked briefly with the 17-year-old boy who was burned and his grandmother. In a conversation by phone from their home in Pennsylvania, the teen, who we are not identifying, said he couldn't talk because he was on painkillers for the burns he received inside the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department.

The boy's grandmother, says her grandson is being treated at a local burn unit. By all accounts, the boy suffered second-degree burns on his buttocks and back. Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department Chief Vince Harrison confirmed on Monday night that the teenager was injured while at the firehouse with at least two of Riverdale's volunteers. According to Chief Harrison: "We did our internal investigation and what was determined was these individuals were messing around with an alcohol based foam. Each of them were playing around and lit themselves on fire, so to speak. This individual got into a situation where he got some on his back, which ignited his pants. Thus, he got a burn to his back".

A similar burn on a fireground would have required a trip to the burn unit at the Washington Hospital Center. For days the teenager was not sent for treatment and the incident was not reported to Prince George's County fire investigators. Chief Harrison said, "There was not a cover up from the fire department standpoint but there was sort of a cover up from the people that were involved."

Depending on who you talk to, the incident wasn't reported to the proper authorities for anywhere from four to seven days after it occurred. Chief Harrison said he was also initially kept in the dark about the incident. He told 9news Now, "I was sleeping in the firehouse that night and I got up and I didn't know about it the next day and had no clue that it happened".

The teenager had arrived from Pennsylvania, in the days prior to the incident, after calling Chief Harrison requesting to be a live-in member. According to the boy's MySpace page he had been a volunteer at the Water Witch Fire Company in Cecil County, Maryland. Sources say he had been expelled from that fire company.

Harrison said he allowed the teenager to ride with Riverdale prior to becoming a member. Harrison claims he did not know the boy was 17-years-old until the teen arrived at the firehouse and filled out the application. Chief Harrison said he then had a phone conversation with the boy's grandmother who said it was okay for the teen to stay at Riverdale.

While a spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department declined to discuss the department's policy on minors, we have learned details from sources familiar with the regulations. Prince George's County does not allow those under 18 years of age, who are not members, to participate in a ride-along. The county does allow those under 18, who receive the proper training and certification, to participate in full firefighting activities.

The county became aware of the incident and began its internal and criminal investigations only after the boy arrived at a nearby fire department. Here is what Chief Harrison said about this: "This boy jumped out of our vehicle when we went to a certain fire department. He jumped out of our vehicle and went to that fire department. And that's when everything spiraled downward".

STATter 911 has learned the other fire house is the Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department, PGFD Station 9. According to the sources, Bladensburg officials believe Riverdale dumped the teen at Station 9. The sources say firefighters at Bladensburg saw the burns on the boy's back and notified county officials.

Chief Harrison denies that the boy's injuries came from a hazing incident, saying: "This was a couple of individuals who did some immature acts and somebody got hurt out of it. We don't support hazing. Our initiations are such that they have no bodily harm done. We might make them run around, pick up some fire equipment from some other stations, but that's about the extent of our initiations these days".

Sources tell 9News Now, that after being called, Prince George's County fire investigators took the boy to an area hospital for treatment before he was sent home to Pennsylvania.

Chief Harrison said the two volunteers involved with the incident have been given 30-day suspensions. Harrison said Riverdale's policies have been changed: "Since that situation has happened, I've suspended all the ride-along programs. We have implemented a new policy that before an individual comes into our organization they have to sit before a sub-committee that will basically recommend them to the department, because we're not going to go through this anymore".

Sources tell 9News Now that the boy's grandmother is now trying to determine who in Prince George's County will pay the teen's doctor bills.

The teen's grandmother said she disputes some of the findings from Riverdales's investigation. She said she is eager to hear what the county has determined. The county internal and criminal probes are said to be still underway.