Firefighter suing for negligent retention “if they had fired me years ago, I would not be hurt today”

Patrick Ozhireniye, or Oz, was injured working a structure fire in early January. Oz suffered a broken hip along compound fractures in his left leg and ankle. According to his doctors Oz will require the use of a cane to walk for the rest of his life.

His injury was the result of a three-foot fall. During overhaul after the fire was extinguished Oz was standing on the front porch of the house enjoying a cigarette. When he leaned on the porch railing, his 480lbs body broke the railing sending the firefighter falling to the lawn.

Chief Ed Gerrets says, “It was the worst sound I ever heard in my life. The creaking of the wood as the screws pulled out, the snapping noise of his bones breaking when his feet hit the ground, then the thud of his body landing on the earth. It was silent for a second then Oz let out this scream. I just knew he was hurt bad.”

Firefighter Oz explains how he fell. “I was facing out at the road with me hands on the railing. When it started to move I knew right away what was happening. I figured if I tried to jump, maybe I could avoid doing a face plant into the ground. So I pushed off with my legs and was able to land on me feet. But the ground was uneven so all my weight was on my left leg.” Oz points at his casts “guess the landing was a bit too much. Snapped the ankle and then did some other damage.”

According to sources inside the fire department there are no mandatory fitness tests for firefighters once off probation. Firefighters do how ever get evaluated on performance during drills and training scenarios. We were told off the record that Oz for the last four years has been getting the lowest evaluation scores for performance during drills. In addition Oz had been coached about fitness, but no corrective action plans have been enforced.

That lack of corrective action is the heart of the law suite Oz is filing against his department.

“They gave me a chance to get back in shape, I did not take it. I should have been fired. But they turned a blind eye to it, just filed the paperwork away and forgot about it. Now my size broke the railing and thus my bones. Doctors tell me I will never walk right. Will be in pain the rest of my life. The Chief wants to be a buddy not a boss so he never disciplines or fires anyone. Now I have to pay the price for his trying to be a nice guy.”

The fire chief is irate with this notion. “I talked about suspension, I talked about re assignment to a desk job, heck I even mentioned we start a mandatory fitness program for everyone. But you know what I was told; the union would file a grievance. He wants to blame someone other than himself, Oz better point the finger at the union. They prevented me from doing what needed to be done.”

Union officials and the mayor’s office refused to comment on this story.