Detroit paramedic won't be reprimanded for giving fire victim a blanket

DETRIOT (WXYZ) - Detroit paramedic Jeff Gaglio won't be reprimanded for giving a fire victim a blanket.

That's according to DFD Commissioner Donald Austin.

After reporting it to his supervisor, Gaglio says he was told that he'd be reprimanded for recently giving the fire victim a blanket. The blanket was supposedly DFD property.

"He had just lost his home. He was shivering and cold. I gave him the blanket. I knew they were supposed to be used for that purpose," says Gaglio.

News of a reprimand outraged the community and the story went viral.

Charles Henke started a Facebook page to collect blankets for the Detroit Fire Department.

"Point of it is, if you don't have enough blankets to give to people who need them, we'll provide them," says Henke.

The group gathered more than 350 donated blankets outside DFD headquarters today. They were planning on donating the blankets to homeless shelters if the Detroit Fire department refused to accept them, but then they got a visit from Detroit Fire commissioner Donald Austin.

He says Gaglio is not in any trouble.

"The member is not getting charged. Yes, the charge papers were served unbeknownst to me. They have been shredded," says Austin.

He added, "I can't control everyone every minute of the day. I hope our supervisors understand what our mission is about and demonstrate compassion."

"This is great step. It's not about me. It's about something positive coming out of negative situation. The citizens of the city are going to benefit from this," says Gaglio.

Commissioner Austin says the DFD will figure out how to distribute the blankets.