By David Gambino
The Decatur Daily
DECATUR, Ala. — A former Decatur Fire & Rescue firefighter trainee claims she was injured during training — less than a week before the Alabama Fire College began investigating the recruit school — and then fired for seeking workers’ compensation benefits, according to a civil suit filed Thursday against the city of Decatur.
Plaintiff Hannah Stephens was employed by the city as a firefighter trainee when “in the line and scope of her employment ... plywood was placed on the back of (her) neck while a coworker walked on such piece of wood, causing her to sustain an injury to her neck and right shoulder” on Sept. 24, according to the suit filed in Morgan County Circuit Court.
Twenty-one firefighter recruits began training with Decatur Fire & Rescue on Sept. 3, and the class was abruptly sent home on Sept. 27 . On Sept. 30, representatives of the Alabama Fire College — responsible for facilitating firefighter training and certification — began interviewing recruits and staff. The Fire College’s investigation found “no major violations,” according to Decatur Fire & Rescue Chief Tracy Thornton, and training resumed on Oct. 3.
“We are not informed of any litigation yet,” City Attorney Herman Marks said in an email Friday. “We have no further comment at this time.”
Stephens and her attorney, Channing Brashaw, did not respond to requests for comment.
“As a result of Plaintiff exercising her rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act of Alabama, Plaintiff was terminated from her employment in violation of Section 25-5-11.1 of the Code of Alabama prior to her reaching maximum medical improvement,” the suit claims.
The statute prohibits employers from terminating an employee for seeking workers’ compensation benefits or for filing a written notice of safety violations.
Stephens received medical treatment for a “temporary total disability of the body,” according to the suit, which claims she was paid “some but not all” of the benefits to which she was entitled.
The suit claims the city “forced her to resign and/or (be) terminated” and, as a result of “wrongful termination,” Stephens “sustained severe emotional distress, including but not limited to extreme financial distress, anxiety, and depression.”
The suit also claims Stephens’ employment record was tarnished, affecting future opportunities for employment. Stephens is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a jury.
“Said conduct was intentional and malicious and done for the sole purpose of causing Plaintiff to suffer humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress,” the suit claims.
The suit requests the city of Decatur provide documentation related to Stephens’ termination, including the city’s employee handbook and policy and procedure manuals, within 45 days.
It also requests “any and all correspondence between Chief Chris Phillips and Plaintiff on Facebook Messenger, specifically from the date Plaintiff was hired on July 1, 2024 , through the present.”
Phillips was the chief of training for Decatur Fire & Rescue while Stephens was a trainee. At the time of publication, the city did not respond to a records request seeking training-related disciplinary action, if any, taken against Phillips.
Fire College investigation
Right-wing website 1819 News quoted State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R- Trinity, criticizing Decatur Fire & Rescue’s training on Oct. 2 . The website said Yarbrough met by phone with Stephens, Decatur Fire & Rescue staff, and the president of the Alabama Fire College to discuss the training.
Yarbrough did not respond to requests for comment regarding Stephens or Decatur Fire & Rescue’s recruit school.
On Friday, Thornton elaborated on the changes the recruit school made following the Fire College investigation, which mainly centered on “SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) week” wherein recruits start each day by becoming acclimated to the breathing apparatuses while completing various tasks known collectively as the “consumption course.”
“It’s a lot of different obstacles that they have to do on the course wearing full turnout gear,” Thornton said. “It’s pulling weighted tires to the top of a building, rolling and unrolling hoses, carrying SCBA bottles, moving ladders — all kinds of stuff like that.”
The Fire College instructed the recruit school to cease a consumption course activity that required trainees to pull a hose to the top of a building, as it was not part of their required certification, according to Thornton.
“The other thing that they said we had to do was the number of laps that we did on the consumption course,” Thornton said. “We had to follow the guidelines exactly like what they had in the book. We did it, but ours was a little bit different than what they had set up.”
The final correction the Fire College made, according to Thornton, was prohibiting the recruit school from encouraging trainees to quit.
“They said we can’t try to talk to somebody about quitting,” Thornton said. “If they want to quit, it’s their choice. We can’t encourage anybody to quit. We can’t tell them, ‘If you want to quit, you can quit.’ We can’t do anything like that.”
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