A member of the Toronto EMS, who is also a firefighter, issued an apology Friday after admitting to posting pictures on the Internet that were taken at the scene of a fire Thursday. The man was off duty at the time of the incident.

Many claimed the photos were in poor taste.

The photos have since been removed from Facebook, but NEWS9 obtained them before they were taken down. The photos include two female members of the department. One shows a firefighter in a silly pose. A second had a captain which read “all dressed up for Valentine’s Day.”

Both photos were tagged to personal accounts.

The women featured in the photos declined to comment on the incident. However, Toronto Fire Department Chief Frank McEwen said the women were not posing for the photos and that they were not aware they would be posted online.

McEwen added that this type of behavior won’t be tolerated.

“It’s not anything this department will tolerate,” he said. “We do, as a fire department, have policies against this type of issue. We’re looking at whether disciplinary action can be taken for him being off duty. He does still – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – represent this department,” he said.

The yet-to-be-identified first responder apologized in a statement.

“I would like to take this change to apologize to the family,” he said in the statement. “The pictures that were posted on Facebook were not meant to be disrespectful in any way. I have worked for EMS for 20 years and the last thing I wanted to do is hurt anyone.

“I regret my decision to post the pictures on Facebook and I sincerely apologize,” he added.

McEwen said he will meet with Toronto’s safety director and the head of the Toronto EMS on Monday to discuss the situation and decide if any disciplinary action needs to be taken.

The women in the photos will not be disciplined.