Firefighters fired over racial incident

HOUSTON (AP) - Three Houston firefighters have been fired after they were accused of entering a racial epithet into a patient's electronic emergency medical report.

Acting Fire Chief Rick Flanagan said Wednesday the men were fired after an investigation into the March 7 incident. Fire officials identified them as 33-year-old firefighters Spencer Allred and Randal Ricks and 27-year-old engineer/operator Ryan J. Smith.

The head of the firefighters union tells the Houston Chronicle the firings are a "travesty" and says the department failed to determine who actually was responsible.

Last year, the lockers of two female firefighters were scrawled with racial and sexual slurs. It wasn't determined who was responsible for the graffiti.