The chief of the Amsterdam fire brigade has been receiving death threats from a section of his own fire service, the public prosecutor has confirmed to newspaper Algemeen Dagblad which is investigating the case.

Leen Schaap was installed as chief of the capital’s fire brigade in 2016 by the late Eberhard van der Laan to combat the ‘closed macho work culture’ in the fire brigade in which sexism and racism were tolerated, the paper writes. Schaap’s attempts to ‘clean up’ was met by hostility and he was even prevented from entering the fire stations.

Schaap reported two instances of death threats, which are thought to come from firemen who are members of a motorcycle gang. Police have not made any arrests yet but interrogation of a number of firemen showed that plans were afoot to collect money to have the fire chief killed, the paper said.

Facebook entries by former firemen also contained threatening content. Police sources told the AD that Schaap is now under constant police protection.

Leen Schaap is not commenting on the threats. ‘I have had bucket loads of shit poured over me in the last few years and the end is not in sight,’ he told AT5 in April. That was also the time when he called the fire brigade’s participation council the ‘mafia council’.

Works council chair Stephane Konings said it was ‘strange’ the works council had not been told about the threats, the AD reported.