Meridian city employee says she was fired for objecting to phony fire-response times
A former Meridian Fire Department employee said the department falsified fire response times while seeking an accreditation from an international public safety agency.
Heather Griffin, a former community risk reduction specialist with the Meridian Fire Department, has sued the department, the city of Meridian and the Meridian Rural Fire Protection District, saying that a deputy Meridian fire chief ordered her to falsify department response data and retaliated against her. She said she was removed from the accreditation project, isolated from coworkers and eventually fired.
Griffin alleges wrongful termination and deprivation of property and liberty interest without due process. She is asking for a reinstatement of her employment with the department and monetary relief that would be proven at trial, said her attorney, Brian Ertz, of Boise.
Stephany Galbreaith, spokesperson for the city of Meridian, told the Idaho Statesman in an email that the Fire Department disputes Griffin’s account. She said the department received its accreditation on Monday from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, a program of the Virginia-based Center for Public Safety Excellence.
“This accreditation represents the hard work and dedication of the Meridian Fire Department, and we firmly disagree with the complaint and allegations made and will be addressing those issues in court,” Galbreaith said. “Accreditation was received for meeting the extensive criteria established through CFAI’s program, which is validated through assessments and technical reviews by their organization.”
Meridian fire employee asked to use false data, lawsuit said
“When a deputy chief falsifies or otherwise meddles with fire response time data, that has a significant impact on the community at large and the safety of Meridian residents,” Ertz told the Idaho Statesman by phone.
According to Griffin’s lawsuit, filed in Fourth District Court in Boise:
The Meridian Fire Department sought the accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, a nonprofit that serves fire departments.
Griffin, who was hired in January 2023, was tasked with compiling fire response-time data for the accreditation. In May and June 2023, Griffin and her colleagues presented their data to Deputy Meridian Fire Chief Charlie Butterfield.
“On multiple occasions beginning in May and June 2023, Deputy Chief Butterfield was dissatisfied with the data as presented by Mrs. Griffin and her colleagues and instructed (her) to modify the data by omitting unfavorable data, emphasizing other data and manipulating both the data and the presentation of data to ensure favorable outcomes in the … document that would be presented to the accreditation body,” the lawsuit said.
Between June and July 2023, Griffin told Butterfield that the data sets she was using for the accreditation were misleading and the data had been falsified. She believed that violated Idaho law.
But Butterfield ordered her to use them.
Butterfield did not immediately return an email from the Statesman for comment.
Meridian fire department retaliates against employee, lawsuit said
The lawsuit continues:
On July 26, Griffin reported her concerns to the city’s human resources department.
She believed that Butterfield contacted her previous employer that same day in search of negative professional information about her. After learning that, Griffin “experienced extreme emotional suffering” and took medical leave at the direction of her doctor.
When Griffin returned from leave nearly four weeks later on Aug. 21, Human Resources Specialist Christena Barney told her that the city would not investigate her allegations. The lawsuit did not explain why officials declined to investigate.
After that, the department changed her work schedule, deprived her of work flexibility that is enjoyed by her colleagues, isolated her by relocating her work space into a health-hazard trailer, and removed her from the accreditation team and other projects.
On Oct. 2, 2023, the department issued Griffin a written warning that said Griffin had not properly used her paid time off to attend training and medical appointments. The lawsuit said the warning was false and “excessively vague and opaque allegations.”
Later, on Nov. 16, 2023, the department issued Griffin a notice of suspension due to “insubordination” relating to her use of the paid time off. On Dec. 7, the department fired Griffin based on the allegations in the suspension notice and new allegations.
The lawsuit said the allegations are “false and pretextual. Defendants are retaliating against Mrs. Griffin for activities protected under the Idaho Whistleblower Act and for other protected activities.”
On Feb. 15, the city and fire department told Griffin’s former colleagues that she had broken into Meridian City Hall at night to steal belongings from her desk. Griffin denies stealing.
What happens next?
The lawsuit said the Meridian Rural Fire Protection District was named as a defendant because it shares authorities and financial responsibility, and jointly employs workers, with the Meridian Fire Department. The city shares its fire chief, Kris Blume, with the district.
Griffin says she suffered emotional anxiety, depression, physical illness, a loss of wages, opportunity for professional development and training, and a loss of benefits.
The city of Meridian learned of Griffin’s lawsuit on Friday, Feb. 16, and is expected to respond to it through Bruce Castleton, a Boise lawyer. Griffin has requested a jury trial.
Griffin told the Statesman by phone that she did file a claim against the city about the falsified response time data, but they “did not take me seriously.” State law requires people to file claims before suing a government entity, to give the entity a chance to resolve the claim before it goes to court.
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