CHICAGO -- NBC5's Phil Rogers reported on Tuesday about exclusive details of an investigation under way in the Chicago Fire Department involving allegations of inspectors being paid "under the table." The following is an edited transcript.

Rogers: "This has the potential to be a significant scandal within the Chicago Fire Department. It was discovered by department officials, and has led to a major investigation in the fire prevention bureau. We are told that the department feels public safety was never compromised, but that half a dozen departmental inspectors are accused of accepting payments, and that all could face dismissal.

Video: Inspectors Face Inquiry

"Any time the Chicago Fire Department has to fight a high-rise fire, it is a fire pump which pushes the water to the upper floors, and drives the sprinklers throughout the building.

Bill Dalton, Sprinkler Fitters Local 281: "I mean, the sprinkler's fine. We have to have the sprinklers, but this has to get the pressure up to the sprinklers to extinguish the fire and save lives."

Rogers: "Every Chicago high-rise has one, and every one of those pumps is to be inspected annually. NBC5 has learned that at least six inspectors in the pump section of the fire prevention bureau have been pulled from the street, placed on leave, and could face firing, after it was revealed they had been taking direct personal payments to perform pump inspections on weekends -- with businesses making out checks directly to the inspectors themselves to cover their overtime.

"And that's where this gets very curious. A source close to the investigation tells NBC5 these inspections were on the books. The city fees, usually $300 per inspection, were being paid in advance. That would indicate someone was dispatching these inspectors, who apparently knew the additional payments to inspectors were being made. It is important to note, inspection of the high-rise fire pumps is required yearly by law.

Dalton: "This (the pump) is the heart of the sprinkler system. Without that thing being maintained and inspected yearly, or even weekly, just to make sure everything is flowing properly, the system is out of service.

"We are told (Tuesday night), that management officials at numerous buildings who made the payments are cooperating, but there is no suggestion that any test outcomes were ever changed. In fact, some of the tests in question actually failed.

"Fully a third of the pump inspectors are involved in this investigation, which we are told may involve inspections going back at least two years. No formal departmental charges have been filed against anyone, but the inspectors have been placed on administrative leave."