South Carolina Fire Fighter Unfairly Terminated

October 31, 2006 – A South Carolina fire fighter has been unfairly fired after being injured on the job last year. With the support of the IAFF, Anderson City, SC Local 4450 President Roger Odachowski is taking powerful action.

“The purpose the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is not to give employers a means to terminate workers,” says Walt Dix, IAFF 12th District Field Service Representative. “It appears that, because Roger is a local president, the City is using this situation to weaken the union’s power and influence. We are exploring legal action, as well as contacting U.S. and state senators and representatives and the media about this unfair action.”

Odachowski was injured on Thanksgiving Day 2005 while responding to a commercial structure fire. He and another fire fighter went in to search for victims and find the source of the fire. As they made their way out through thick smoke, the two fire fighters fell, and Odachowski injured his ankle.

After months of failed attempts to treat the ankle, an orthopedic surgeon found significant cartilage and tendon damage. Odachowski continued to work until his scheduled surgery on May 11, 2006. City of Anderson officials told him that he would have to go on FLMA leave during his recovery, and that if the ankle was not healed within 12 weeks, he would be terminated – which he was.

“This is not my choice,” says Odachowski. “All I want to do is get better and start fighting fires again.”