Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
An administrative assistant with Frederick County (Virginia) Fire and Rescue has filed suit against the county, County Administrator Michael Bollhoefer, and Fire Chief Steven Majchrzak seeking $10 million in damages for retaliation, violation of the state’s whistleblower protection law, and defamation. The 32-page complaint sets forth a complex set of facts alleging that a “marine boot-camp” style training academy nearly killed her son in 2022, and contributed to the death of another recruit in 2023.
Casey Blake filed suit in US District Court for the Western District of Virginia alleging that her son, Nick, suffered abusive treatment while undergoing physical training in the department’s recruit academy in March, 2022. The physical training was so arduous that he collapsed, was transported to the hospital, and left with a permanent cardiac condition that prevents him from ever being a firefighter. She claims that when she brought the abuse to the department’s leadership, they refused to investigate the matter.
On July 5, 2023, another recruit, Ian Strickler, died while undergoing the same physical training that injured Blake’s son. When the department’s leadership concluded that nothing could have been done to prevent Strickler’s death, Blake reach out to Strickler’s family and later the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program (VOSH) to ensure they understood it was not an isolated incident. While she initially reached out anonymously, it soon became obvious where the information was coming from. That resulted in her being ostracized and retaliated against.
The suit alleges retaliation for the exercise of her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights actionable through 42 U.S.C. §1983; violation of Virginia’s Whistleblower Protection Act, Va. Code Ann. § 40.1-27.3; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and defamation.
Here is a copy of the complaint:
