Coral Springs, FL

Coral Springs, FL: (Sep-16-07) Ten firefighters brought a lawsuit against the city, alleging it breached contract when the volunteer fire department was disbanded to make way for paid employees. A second lawsuit was brought against the city by Phillip Rodin, one of those volunteer firefighters, who claimed that he was wrongfully terminated after he allegedly impersonated a police officer making a traffic stop. The suit stated that his dismissal was really retaliation after he spoke up about problems within the department. Rodin denied that he misrepresented himself and said a woman who was driving had tried to run him off the road and he showed his fire department badge because he thought his life was in danger. Rodin was fired in 2002, two months before he lost a bid for a seat on the City Commission. He claimed the incident came 10 days after a meeting with the fire chief where he complained the volunteers were being treated shabbily by the union and management. He told the chief the city was demoting volunteers without cause, unfairly disciplining volunteers, allowed volunteers to be harassed and subjected to derogatory comments, assigned menial tasks, and their equipment was tampered with, including putting holes in air tanks.

The city did not admit to any wrongdoing in that case. In addition to Rodin, the other former firefighters who had sued in state court are: Peter King, Charles Salvi, Craig Coote, Henri Abramowitz, Chris Domzalski, Chris Calma, Giovanni Montero, Scott Matas and John Dowling. In a settlement reached with the ten, the city agreed to $140,000 payout, which includes the men's attorneys' fees. After about $100,000 in attorney costs, the 10 firefighters are expected to collect about $4,000 each. [FIREFIGHTING NEWS: VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS]

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Published on Sep-18-07