Former Long Ridge firefighter sues chief

By Jeff Morganteen
The Advocate Staff Writer
Posted: 01/21/2009 05:27:19 PM EST

Former Long Ridge firefighter sues chief - Topix

STAMFORD -- A former Long Ridge Fire Company firefighter and whistle-blower has sued his former chief for calling him mentally unstable and bipolar in front of other firefighters, court documents say.

Donald Berg, a paid firefighter at Long Ridge for 27 years, was fired in September, about two years after he went to a state agency with complaints about safety violations at the firehouse. As a result of the complaints, the firehouse was fined $1,080 and his co-workers resented him, said Berg's lawsuit, filed Jan. 8 in state Superior Court in Danbury.

The lawsuit charges Long Ridge Chief Robert Bennett with slander for comments about Berg's mental health. Bennett suspended Berg, then fired him in September, according to the suit.

"After being harassed and unjustifiably disciplined, he was slandered by the chief, Robert Bennett Jr., with false statements about psychiatric conditions Mr. Berg has never had, and then fired based on pretexts," Berg's lawyer, Beverley Rogers of Rogers & Tartaro LLP, said in a statement.

Phone calls to Bennett and the fire department, which is named as a defendant, were not returned.

City attorneys were not available for comment.

The lawsuit also names the city as a defendant because Long Ridge Fire Company claims to be a city agency, and Berg alleges that the city failed to supervise or train Bennett.

The lawsuit alleges that the remarks were made at a June 2 fire department meeting at which Bennett threatened to fire Berg because he stopped for pizza after leaving the Long Ridge district to test equipment. Berg and Bennett argued after the meeting, according to the lawsuit.

It claims Bennett told Berg, a driver, that he did not want him taking drugs and driving a fire engine, calling Berg dangerous, mentally unstable and bipolar.

The lawsuit said Berg suffered from minor depression and took medication for it but has never been diagnosed as bipolar or unfit to work.

Berg, on advice of Public Safety Director William Callion, called police because Bennett seemed hostile and was known to carry a concealed firearm, the lawsuit said.

Officers went to Long Ridge and escorted Berg to the fire company's other station on High Ridge Road so he could gather his belongings, a police report said.

Berg, a Newtown resident, received a letter Sept. 29 informing him that he had been fired from Long Ridge, the lawsuit said.

Long Ridge, which has paid and volunteer firefighters, has two stations and covers a large area north of the Merritt Parkway. It is one of the Big Five volunteer companies that handle firefighting in Stamford along with the paid Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters at the downtown stations.

For years, the relationship between the Big Five and the city has been marred by lawsuits, mistrust and battles for control of districts and firefighters. At one time, all of the volunteer firehouses employed paid firefighters, but last year Belltown and Turn of River went all-volunteer and are challenging the city in court.

Long Ridge was locked in a seven-year lawsuit it filed in 1998 after the city sent 16 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into its district because one of the Long Ridge stations was not adequately staffed. A judge ordered the city to remove the firefighters and, in 2004, the city paid Long Ridge a $34,000 settlement.

A consultant hired by the city last year to study fire service in Stamford concluded that it is in a state of emergency for lack of volunteers, lack of trust and lack of a central authority.

In his lawsuit, Berg is suing for slander, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, failure to supervise and train Bennett, statutory indemnification, unpaid wages and breach of contract. A court date has not been scheduled.

-- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 964-2215.