San Francisco Firefighter Seeks $125 Million Over Injuries Sustained at 2009 Fire

A San Francisco firefighter injured in 2009, has filed suit claiming the city’s racist practices and negligence led to his catastrophic injuries. Michael Estrada filed suit today pro se in US District Court for the Northern District of California alleging civil rights violations under 42 USC §1983, gross negligence, race discrimination. He is seeking $125 million in gold as damages.

The suit alleges Estrada was injured May 21, 2009 “when approximately 800 pounds of burning building material collapsed on him during the ‘Revere Street Fire.’” Estrada claims he suffered a traumatic brain injury with permanent cognitive effects; amnesia; a cervical spine fracture; multiple orthopedic injuries; and psychological injuries rendering him physically and mentally unable to the bring the lawsuit sooner. He is asking the court to toll the normal statute of limitations based upon his incapacity and delayed discovery of evidence.

Quoting from the complaint:

  • The discriminatory environment within SFFD directly contributed to unsafe conditions that led to Plaintiffs injuries:
    • Selective enforcement of safety protocols based on race;
    • Disparate treatment in command decisions;
    • Inferior equipment and support for minority firefighters;
    • Hostile work environment affecting safety communications.
  • The discriminatory culture within SFFD directly contributed to Plaintiff s injuries through a pattern of exclusion and compromised safety practices.
  • During his service at multiple San Francisco fire stations, Plaintiff experienced systematic isolation and exclusion from critical communications due to the department’ s entrenched “boys club” culture that favored white firefighters.
  • This discriminatory environment culminated at the Revere Street fire, where Assistant Chief Audrey Lee, a highly experienced Black command officer, was unusually and unnecessarily relieved of his duties by Deputy Chief Gardner.
  • This unprecedented command change, motivated by racial bias rather than operational necessity, directly disrupted the incident’s communication chain and safety protocols. Chief Lee, with over 35 years of command experience, had established initial safety parameters that were abandoned after this discriminatory command change.
  • The removal of a Black incident commander, combined with the department’ s historical pattern of marginalizing minority firefighters, directly led to the breakdown in safety protocols that resulted in Plaintiffs catastrophic injuries.

Here is a copy of the complaint:

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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