Bliss! Firefighters out of hot seat for posting wedding invite online

The city manager of Garfield has warmed to the idea of allowing two local firefighters to post a wedding invitation on Facebook that ignited controversy last week.

Two Garfield volunteers firefighters, Paul Mellor, 27, and Danielle Szep, 26, were told to remove a photo of wedding invitation that featured an image of their respective fire department turnout coats. They were initially told they could face disciplinary action if the photo wasn't removed from Facebook.

The soon-to-be-married couple posted the picture on March 17, and later learned that it  apparently violated a rule prohibiting the use of fire department equipment on social media platforms.

According to Mellor, the couple knew some type of social media policy existed but the specifics weren’t clearly defined before the picture was posted.

Monday morning, however, City Manager Thomas Duch told NJ 101.5 that the couple has now been informed that using the picture is permissible.

Duch said his initial concern had to do with volunteers using pictures of people grieving and in pain because of a fire. Duch told NJ 101.5 that he encourages his fire chiefs to allow photos such as the one Mellor and Szep posted, in order to promote the  department in a positive light.

Mellor said he was happy about the city manager's decision.

"I'm glad that there was a solution to the problem and not only for me but for all other members of the department too that don't have to be afraid to post positive pictures on social media," Mellor told NJ 101.5 on Monday.

The two volunteer firefighters are getting married to May 21. They became engaged during a fire department event.

Dan Alexander contributed to this report.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.