Female Old Bridge Firefighter Alleges Sexist Jokes, Mistreatment

OLD BRIDGE, NJ — A female volunteer firefighter is suing the South Old Bridge Volunteer Fire Company, alleging that inside the firehouse she frequently overheard male firefighters talking about the women they slept with, showing pornographic videos to each other and that one firefighter in particular made sexual comments at her expense.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 30 by Lisa Lent.

Lent is a volunteer firefighter with the South Old Bridge Fire Company.

She specifically named South Old Bridge Volunteer Fire Co. President Tom Howard, Fire Chief Richard Dunn and Deputy Chief Jeff Sellmeyer in her lawsuit.

She said the worst of the sex jokes came from Howard, but she said Chief Dunn and Deputy Chief Sellmeyer did nothing to stop his behavior.

South Old Bridge Fire Company referred all questions about the lawsuit to their lawyers, the law firm of Mets, Schiro & McGovern. Dunn unsuccessfully ran this year for a seat on the Old Bridge Board of Education.

Lent is seeking financial damages in her lawsuit, filed under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

"This utterly deplorable behavior includes many male employees ... openly discussing the women they 'f—', and the women they believed had 'big b—' and a 'big a—'," read her lawsuit. "Moreover, many male employees .... repeatedly referred to women as 'whores,' and several male employees passed around pornographic videos to each other in the workplace, thus humiliating (Lent) and other employees."

She said it was on May 21 of this year that the sexist atmosphere "reached a nexus," when she and the other firefighters took a bus to attend a firefighting conference in Harrisburg, PA.

"Throughout the day, one defendant (Howard) peppered plaintiff with increasingly vile and misogynistic commentary about women being sex objects, such as 'She was a good f—,' 'She was a lot of fun' and 'She’s a pig, I wouldn’t touch that.'"

"This deplorable and degrading behavior only escalated when defendants began drinking alcohol on the bus ride home. When the group stopped for dinner, (Howard) forced his captive audience, including plaintiff, to endure his sexist musings. Then, he began to make inappropriate, hypersexual and misogynistic 'jokes' about (Lent). When she demanded he cease his inappropriate conduct defendant Howard viciously responded, 'You wouldn’t say no if the chief tried to f— you.' Needless to say, Lent was shocked and deeply embarrassed by the public harassment she was forced to endure."

Lent said Howard's comments on that bus ride were so deplorable, the bus driver apologized to her that she had been treated so poorly by her coworkers throughout the day, with the driver telling her at the end of the ride, “I’m so sorry they treat you this way.”

Lent also said that Fire Chief Dunn and Deputy Chief Sellmeyer witnessed Howard's comments on the bus that day and refused to intervene or tell him to stop.

She said days later, Dunn and Sellmeyer both apologized her to and for their lack of trying to stop what Howard said on the bus.

She also said Sellmeyer tried many times to discourage her from filing a formal complaint against Howard, warning her that if she were to file a complaint, Old Bridge firefighters would “look at her differently,” and possibly retaliate against her.

Sellmeyer also encouraged Lent to “let it go” because Defendant Howard “was drunk," according to her lawsuit.

On June 16, Lent said Dunn sent her a letter vaguely stating the Old Bridge Fire Co. would implement a “Three-Point Action Plan," but no actual corrective action was taken. Howard was never disciplined, suspended or demoted.

Lent said she filed a formal complaint against Howard and she was then retaliated against, with Howard filing his own complaint against her.

After filing her formal complaint against Howard, Lent said she was told by other firefighters she should stop responding to calls and she should quit being a volunteer firefighter.

This is a statement Lent herself submitted in her lawsuit:

"I would like to start off by saying that since I joined in December 2020, I have absolutely loved being a firefighter. Every responsibility of the job itself has been a wonderful experience. Learning about firefighting and experiencing the job duties has been so rewarding. With that being said, unfortunately my job duties are not the only factor that goes into someone’s experience.

The 'brotherhood' South Old Bridge Volunteer Fire Department outwardly displays is not something I have fully experienced. There are some members that ruin it for all.

Unfortunately, on May 21, during a Fire Department outing it crossed the line. Toward the end of the day, several high-ranking individuals became highly intoxicated during our early group dinner. They became increasingly loud, obnoxious and vulgar in conversation. In addition they repeatedly supplied a minor alcohol, later encouraging him to participate in taking beer mugs from the restaurant without paying for them. As disgusting as it was at points, I pretty much ignored the conversation and rolled with it.

When it became a little too much for me, I took a walk. I actually got up from the table four times during the meal so I could take a break from the conversation. One firefighter, who knows the protocols at my regular job, joked several times how “this is a red card conversation." In my professional line of work when someone is inappropriate, out of line and needs to be written up, investigated or sanctioned we issue a “red card." So clearly this firefighter was well aware that the conversation was out of line.

At one point, the conversation turned to talking about a video (I can not confirm what type of video it was) that I didn’t want to see. I made passive “vomit” noises to jokingly indicate I wasn’t comfortable with seeing the video. At this point a high-ranking member, said a sexual in nature comment in reference to myself and the Chief. The second he started saying the comment, I yelled “NO” four times. Finally I yelled at him “Are you going to be able to finish your beer once I break your jaw, stop talking." Although aggressive, this was the only way I felt I could make my point extremely clear. He mumbled a few more comments about “beer muscles” and then returned to speaking to other people at the table. Shortly after we left and returned to the bus.

The harassment continued on the bus. The sexual comments, insults and conversation in reference to my comment continued more than halfway home. I felt extremely uncomfortable and would have left, if I could. The firefighter who mentioned the “red card” earlier, mentioned it again in which I openly told the entire bus that this entire trip is an outright lawsuit and way passed a “red card."

Although the harassment and comments predominantly came from only a few members none of the other seven members said a single word to stop it. They all sat there and listened to insults and degradation I had to endure. Once the intoxicated individuals ran out of alcohol, they repeatedly harassed the driver to stop so they could purchase more. When we stopped for them to purchase more alcohol, I went into the store to use the bathroom. The harassment was so terrible on the bus, I couldn’t even pass them to use the bus bathroom. It seems while I was inside the store bathroom the Chief did speak up and ask them to stop.

Up until that point not one member said a single comment in my defense or tried to quiet the inappropriate behavior. There is a fine line between “boys will be boys” and inappropriate and illegal behavior.

When the trip was over, the bus driver apologized to me for their behavior and said “I am so sorry they treat you this way.”

I am fine with a lot of things. As I previously mentioned I will either remove myself from the conversation or ignore “stupid” talk. But the second the comments turned directly about me, especially in reference to another member it became too much."