Manuel Fernandez, a former Miami-Dade Fire Rescue lieutenant, was arrested for allegedly placing hidden cameras in fire station bathrooms and secretly recording over 600 video clips of both female and male personnel.
Fernandez, 55, faces 11 counts of video voyeurism following an investigation that began on April 1, 2023. That day, a fire rescue employee discovered a suspicious wall charger with a USB outlet plugged into an electrical outlet in the men’s bathroom at Fire Station 69 in Doral. The charger was identified as a covert video camera.
The camera was handed over to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Forensics Unit, which found a Micro-SD card containing more than 600 videos featuring 18 employees. The footage spanned from February 11 to April 1, 2023.
According to the arrest warrant, the victims were recorded in private spaces where they had a reasonable expectation of privacy, as the bathrooms were accessible only to employees.
Investigators identified Fernandez in a video dated February 20 adjusting the camera in a men’s bathroom. Another video from March 12 showed the camera in a female-only bathroom at Station 66 in Homestead. Fernandez was the only employee working at both stations on those dates.
When investigators approached Fernandez on April 24, 2023, at JC’s Recovery and Counseling Center in Hollywood, he declined to speak without an attorney.
Fernandez was placed on leave during the investigation and later resigned. On July 2, 2025, an arrest warrant was issued, and he was taken into custody on July 7. He has since posted bond.
