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Sources: D.C. Firefighters Prepare for Lawsuit
posted 02/17/09 8:02 pm
NewsChannel 8 - Sources: D.C. Firefighters Prepare for Lawsuit
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WASHINGTON - There is a major fight brewing in the D.C. Fire Department as sources report several firefighters are getting ready to take their bosses to court.

D.C. Arson investigators Greg Bowyer and Gerald Pennington will soon try to blow the whistle on the very department that reassigned them to fire hydrant checkers.

"And you remove your two most senior, most experienced investigators...one would have to ask why," Bowyer noted.

Bowyer and Pennington intend to file a multi-million dollar lawsuit that levels a laundry list of allegations against the department -- including retaliation and discrimination.

When this is announced later this week, sources say a number of fellow firefighters will stand with Bowyer and Pennington and call for the removal of D.C. Fire Department Chief Dennis Rubin.

Bowyer and Pennington spoke exclusively to ABC 7/NewsChannel 8 last year, alleging the fire department had botched a number of high-profile cases.

They believe the massive Eastern Market fire was deliberately set and that a potential suspect in the Mount Pleasant apartment fire was let go.

They say after telling numerous high-ranking members of the department of cover-ups and wrongdoings within the agency, they were stripped of their guns and badges and forced to turn hydrants.

"It's a hostile work environment...," Pennington said.

Sources say the suit may allege the D.C. Fire Department recently paid an employee to dig up dirt on Bowyer, but couldn't prove anything.

Sources say the suit may also claim that high-ranking members of the department issued a list of several employees they wanted fired for a variety of reasons.

Bowyer and Pennington say they were approached, but refused to help collect damaging information about the employees on the list.

The investigators will ask for their old jobs back and millions of dollars in damages. When the story was first broke last year, a high-ranking fire official described these investigators as "internal terrorists."

On Tuesday, fire officials declined comment saying they cannot discuss open cases or litigation.

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