Firefighter Injured by Bottle Rocket Suing Chief, City for Wrongful Firing

City Council unanimously approved July 14 paying an outside law firm up to $10,000 to defend Fire Chief Bill Kalbaugh and the city in a lawsuit brought by a firefighter who was fired after losing an eye from a bottle rocket injury in 2008. 

The federal suit was filed in May with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Fisher & Phillips LLP will represent the chief.

Former Stow Firefighter/Paramedic Anthony Rorrer is accusing the chief of discrimination; failure to accommodate and retaliation under the Americans With Disabilities Act; failure to accommodate and retaliation under the Ohio Civil Rights Act; as well as First Amendment retaliation.

Rorrer's attorney, Dennis R. Thompson, was not immediately available for comment.

Rorrer worked as a Stow firefighter from 1999 to 2010. His employment was terminated in January 2010. Rorrer now works as a firefighter for the Tallmadge department.

In 2008, Rorrer was hit in the eye with a bottle rocket at a party he was hosting on the Fourth of July.

Rorrer says in his suit that he was fired because of his disability, although he had permission from a doctor to work.

The Tallmadge Fire Department bars Rorrer from operating emergency vehicles, according to court documents.

Rorrer is seeking job reinstatement; reinstatement of sick time, personal leave and vacation time; back pay; compensatory damages; and punitive damages, among other requests.

Kalbaugh referred questions to Law Director Brian Reali. 

"I'm very confident the city will prevail," said Reali. "The allegations are false and reckless. I feel confident the city and fire chief will be completely vindicated."

Ohio law allows municipalities to defend employees, he said.

"Our whole duty here is to back our fire chief," said Council President Janet D'Antonio. "Everything was done in the line of duty. My non-attorney opinion is that this is a frivolous lawsuit and it won’t go anywhere anyway."