Baltimore EMS Cheating Probe Focuses on Instructor
A source familiar with the probe reports that investigators believe one instructor is responsible for providing EMS test answers to 19 fire academy students.
BALTIMORE --
An investigation into cheating allegations at the Baltimore City Fire Academy EMS training program has shifted to a sole instructor who had access to confidential state testing materials, the WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team has learned.
On Tuesday, the I-Team reported that the
training program was suspended
pending the outcome of a cheating investigation. All EMS training instructors at the fire academy were put on
the next day.
A source familiar with the probe told WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter David Collins that investigators believe one instructor is responsible for providing EMS test answers to 19 fire academy students. Fire officials initially said the number of students was 20.
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The source said the trainer distributed a packet of test scenarios to each cadet on June 14. The trainees did not realize these specific real-time emergency situations would be the ones used on the exam. These exercises included a resuscitation station, a trauma station and a station using random medical skills, Collins reported.
The source said investigators discovered the fire academy instructor had access to confidential state testing material because the person also works on a contractual basis as an evaluator for the
Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems
, the state agency that certifies paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
The source said the instructor is the only one at the fire academy with MIEMSS credentials and access to test materials.
When the exam was over, the source said, another MIEMSS employee -- a coordinator responsible for collecting test results and making sure no material is left behind for the next class to see -- spotted a packet of confidential material out in the open. According to the source, investigators believe one of the cadets inadvertently left it behind.
The person familiar with the probe said an investigator proclaimed, "Now that we know one instructor is responsible for this incident, my problem is to determine how deep it goes."
According to a source, eight fire academy instructors remain on administrative leave. The source said the number of cadets that will be re-examined is now down to 16 after a random drug test eliminated three cadets.
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