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A former Fairfield Twp. firefighter/EMT is claiming he was "treated differently" by the department following an off-the-job injury.

Darren E. Rutledge filed a charge of discrimination with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission in March, six months after submitting his resignation. In the filing, he details a June 10, 2007, at-home injury that forced him to call the township's life squad for transport to the hospital. He said he suffered no long-term effects that would have prevented him from working as a firefighter.

Nearly two weeks later, Rutledge was written up for failing to clean and restock an ambulance during a life squad run. The reprimand requested he sign off to indicate the situation was "completely and thoroughly discussed and explained."

However, Rutledge said no such discussions ever took place. Instead, he claims the reprimand was left in his mail slot for him to find almost a week later.

E-mails between Rutledge and a department lieutenant indicate Rutledge refused to sign the reprimand and sought to clarify his role in the incident via a four-page rebuttal dated Aug. 27, 2007.

In that document, Rutledge maintains that because his training status rendered him an observer, he was not responsible for restocking the ambulance. He said he was not on the observer schedule on the day of the incident, but attended a training session at the Tylersville Road station to learn about fire suppression and search and rescue techniques. Rutledge said he volunteered to be an observer on a squad run to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and cleaned the ambulance out when it reached the hospital. He also claims he and another observer asked medics if they should return to headquarters to empty the trash and restock medical supplies but was told, "no," as the medics did not want to miss the training session.

Both medics were cited as a result of the incident, according to township records.

Rutledge said the department's "lack of response" forced him to resign his post.

"I respect the hell out of what these people do and I did not want to come to this," he said. "I tried as hard as I could to get a response to this and I just couldn't get it resolved."

In a letter to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, township law director Jack Grove declined mediation, wrote that the claim is disputed and cited Rutledge's voluntary resignation.

"All employees subject to discipline pertaining to the incident received equivalent treatment," Grove said in the letter.

Grove has requested a week's extension for a Monday, May 5, deadline to obtain more information necessary for the case, said Township Administrator Michael Rahall.

Although the commission could potentially rule Rutledge has the right to sue, he said those factors did not cross his mind when filing the charge of discrimination.

"This is not about entitlement or money," he said. "It's about principle and clearing my name."

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