Florida Flag Dispute Ends

The Seminole maintenance department is now making specially designed clamps to secure flags to the front right fender of fire trucks. This form of display complies with the U.S. Flag Code.

The dispute between firefighters and the city escalated over the weekend when around 20 protesters waved flags on a street corner near the fire station. They protested an order from the city to remove flags from Seminole fire trucks, which they claim was a heated dispute that started months ago.

Seminole City Manager Frank Edmunds disagrees the argument started months prior and commented with, “I’m not even sure that (the flag) was ever an issue.” He takes the position the flag was not the issue, but the true root was employees taking liberties with city property without receiving departmental approval.

Edmunds asserts employees were asked to submit requests for permission to display flags on vehicles, but no one complied. Instead, one firefighter displayed a flag in the window of a truck, forcing Fire Chief George Bessler to remove it.

Following the removal, an employee posted a social media comment that drastically escalated the event. However, since then both sides came to an agreement, and the flags will be allowed to adorn trucks, but in a proper and respectful manner.

Source: Firehouse

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