Orange County battalion chief fired after domestic violence arrest, misconduct reports

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A battalion chief with Orange County Fire Rescue has been terminated following an internal affairs investigation that showed multiple violations of misconduct and an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

David Hollenbach had initially been relieved of duty on Oct. 16 after he was arrested for battery in Seminole County following a domestic dispute with his girlfriend, after she allegedly found love letters written to Hollenbach from another woman, who was a subordinate of Hollenbach. The report claims Hollenbach head butted his girlfriend during the incident.

That arrest prompted the department to launch an investigation into those claims and later the claims of department misconduct was looked into.

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According to a report from an OCFR investigator, Hollenbach had knowledge of inappropriate behavior by department members and did not come forward. He was also allegedly involved in a relationship with the subordinate and didn't disclose it to fire officials.

Hollenbach was relieved of duty without pay on Oct. 24 as the matter was investigated.

The subordinate, who is a noncertified firefighter, later admitted to fire investigators that she was involved in a relationship with Hollenbach and was subjected to sexual harassment by members of the department.

The woman said that while her meetings with Hollenbach were initially work-related, she eventually had sex with him in the parking lot of a Seminole County bar after he asked her out for a drink.

Officials said they later found a text message between the two in which Hollenbach asked her to meet him behind the fire station for a "smooch." Hollenbach said while that text message was a joke, he admitted to giving her hugs and kisses while on duty. Officials said Hollenbach also admitted to having inappropriate relations with a different subordinate while he was a lieutenant.

She said the plan after their sexual encounter was to keep their relationship a secret until they could separate from their current relationships.

In regard to the sexual harassment claims, Hollenbach stated he spoke to several women in the department and believed there was an inappropriate culture within the department. None of those women would go on record with their claims, according to the report, but said that the subordinate he was having relations with said she would receive unwanted lewd pictures and have firefighters grope her.

The report said that one firefighter in particular asked her out several times, despite her refusal.

Hollenbach was originally hired on to the department in April 1999 before being terminated in 2001 and then rehired in 2004.

Fire Chief James Fitzgerald said in a statement:

"It was at my request that a secondary investigation be conducted to review the additional allegations of misconduct that surfaced during the Hollenbach investigation. As the Fire Chief of the Orange County Fire Rescue Department, it is my commitment to hold the members of this agency to our core values of duty, integrity and respect to the fullest. We will not tolerate misconduct within this organization."