12 Houston Fire Department cadets terminated for sharing racist, hateful memes in Instagram group chat

12 cadets at the Houston Fire Department were terminated after an Instagram group chat surfaced where they were sharing offensive and hateful content.

The move was announced by Houston Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz, who called the behavior “inconsistent with the [HFD] Code of Conduct.”

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HFD sources did not disclose the specific nature of the chat’s contents, but they said it contained “inappropriate memes and images.”

“Racism and hateful behavior have no home in Mayor Whitmire’s administration or the Houston Fire Department,” Chief Muñoz added.