>The Las Vegas fire chief announced plans Thursday to install surveillance cameras and limit visitation at all 20 stations to prevent sexual misconduct within the department.
>“Misconduct of any kind is not tolerated,” Chief William McDonald said at a morning news conference. “There is a zero tolerance in Las Vegas Fire and Rescue for this kind of behavior. We all take the allegations very seriously, and I promise you that each allegation we receive will be thoroughly investigated.”
>The chief previously had rejected interview requests from the Review-Journal about the recent arrest of Capt. Richard Loughry, who is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old prostitute inside Station 47. Loughry faces eight felony charges.
>McDonald referred to another “isolated incident” of a firefighter having sex at Station 5 about two years ago. He declined to reveal that firefighter’s rank at the time but said the person was fired.
>Ex-EMT comes forward
>After learning about Loughry’s arrest, former Las Vegas resident Mallissa Barthule told the Review-Journal she had more than 50 sexual encounters at fire stations with at least seven firemen over the course of several years. Barthule, who now lives in Texas, worked for seven years as an emergency medical technician for the private ambulance company AMR.
>Barthule shared text messages, Facebook exchanges and journal entries documenting her trysts at Las Vegas fire stations.
>Barthule alleges she was having sex with a Las Vegas firefighter inside the turnout room at Station 5 a few years back when a rescue call rang out.
>“He pulled his pants up, threw his boots on and left,” she said.
>Chief Matthew Morris and human resources director Jennifer Fennem, who have worked with the city for more than 20 years, said no investigations of sexual activity have been launched at any of the fire stations.
>Authorities claim Loughry paid the teen girl $300 for sex at his station, where assessment has begun for the installation of surveillance cameras. Officials are gathering estimates on the total cost of installing cameras, Riggleman said.
>Barthule said she knew Loughry in passing but didn’t know he was having sex at the station. She said she was not aware of prostitutes visiting stations.
>In the emergency response world, she said, there’s a running joke: “Why do firefighters go to work? So they can call their girlfriends.”
>Barthule worked for AMR between 2003 and 2010, when she was fired as a result of her addiction to pain medication.
>“I’m not embarrassed about anything I’ve done,” she said. “It’s part of my road. It’s part of my journey. I’m honest and truthful about it.”
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/woman-alleges-sex-is-common-at-las-vegas-fire-stations/
