NYC probes FDNY hazing allegations

New York City's Department of Investigation is reportedly looking into allegations of hazing within the FDNY.

The DOI is randomly interviewing rookie firefighters with two years on the job to determine whether "a culture of hazing" exists within the department, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

The probe comes two months after Firefighter Gordon Springs filed a lawsuit against the FDNY, alleging that he was hazed in a humiliating incident on his first day on the job in 2015. According to his complaint, firefighters at Ladder 35 Engine 40 dangled their genitals in Springs' face.

Since his lawsuit was filed, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro has vowed to crack down on hazing within the FDNY. Soon he'll meet with 900 of the department's ranking officers to address the issue.

"We will make very clear in our revised policy what is and isn't hazing, so no one can say I was unaware of that, and we have the ability to enforce up to termination, people who violate department policies," Nigro told reporters earlier this week.

As for the DOI's probe, Springs' attorney Paul Liggieri said it's "a day late and a dollar short."

"You would think the city's oldest investigative agency, that they would have opened an investigation as soon as the sexual assault and harassment happened to my client, they failed to do that," Liggieri said.