Cal Fire employee was groped by a coworker. 3 years later, she finally has her life back
Editor’s note: The following story contains sexual assault and suicidal ideation.
Carrie Young loved her job at Cal Fire.
The 37-year-old joined Fire Station 15 in Los Osos in 2018 as a battalion chief’s assistant, she said, working to communicate between between Cal Fire and the Los Osos Community Service District.
It was her first 9-to-5 job after working in the service industry for about a decade. She liked the stability.
Young described her coworkers as like brothers, and felt the station was a healthy work environment.
That changed on Dec. 2, 2020.
That was the day James Peter Thomas, a fire captain at the time, sexually assaulted her. Young said her life hasn’t been the same since.
Thomas, 59, was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery in January 2021. He pleaded no contest to the charge in May. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 27.
Young then sued Cal Fire in November 2021, alleging her assault could have been prevented if previous sexual harassment by Thomas had been taken seriously. That lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount on Aug. 31 after she filed a $1.75 million negligence claim against the agency.
How Cal Fire captain sexually assaulted coworker
Young had only met Thomas a few times before he assaulted her, she said, adding that he was one of the “overtime guys,” meaning he usually worked shifts outside of typical office hours.
On that day almost three years ago, Thomas walked into Young’s office, she said, and she said “hi” and gave him a hug. That’s when he reached up her shirt, groped her breasts and pulled on her nipples.
According to court documents, Thomas immediately told Young that he “had never felt nipples like that before,” and he continued to return to Young’s office and ask if he “could do it again” throughout the workday.
Before the day ended, Thomas shared personal and explicit information about his sexual activity with Young, court documents say, and also told her he “didn’t know why I did that,” in reference to his assault on her. He also gave Young his personal cell phone number before leaving that day.
The next day, Young told The Tribune, she told one of the firefighters about the assault, and he reported it up the chain. That’s when her supervisor pulled her aside to ask for more details about the incident.
At first she was upset at her friend, she said. She didn’t want to start a problem and was still processing what had happened.
But her coworkers and battalion Fire Chief Paul Provence ensured her she had their support and that what Thomas did to her wasn’t right. Three days later, Thomas was arrested.
Woman fell into homelessness during sexual assault case, she says
The trauma of what had happened was something Young couldn’t shake, she said.
“I would just start crying every day at work,” she said.
In the aftermath, Provence allowed her to work from home — she said he wanted her to prioritize her mental health — but eventually work became too much.
Young stopped being able to go to work in May 2021 — she was experiencing suicidal ideation — and filed a worker’s compensation claim with Cal Fire. Her goal was to return to her job once she had healed.
But the worker’s compensation checks were sporadic, Young said, and after she had used up all of her vacation and sick leave, she stopped receiving a paycheck.
Instead, she lived off of disability, but she couldn’t apply for additional state funding because it was impossible to accurately quantify a monthly income amount thanks to the unreliability of worker’s compensation.
Cal Fire would not cover the therapy they said she needed, Young said, and she ended up paying for it herself.
To cope, Young said she struggled with substances and eventually the financial challenges pushed her into homelessness.
In October 2022, almost two years after the assault, she put in her notice for her apartment before she would be evicted and purchased a van. When the van died, she purchased a white-and-blue truck. That was her home until just this month.
It wasn’t until last week that Young realized she could never return to work at Cal Fire. She always wanted to — it was the best job she’s had — but it’s not the right environment for her healing, she said.
She formally resigned from her job in July, Young said.
“I fought for my job for so long, and there was no way of getting it back,” she said.
In an emailed statement to The Tribune, Cal Fire spokesperson Nick Schuler said the agency cannot comment on specific allegations.
But generally speaking, he said, the State Compensation Insurance Fund has 90 days to make a liability determination in which the employee is eligible for up to $10,000 of medical treatment. If the agency is found liable, then the fund covers 22 days of full net pay, then two-thirds of average weekly wages for 52 weeks. If the employee cannot return to work after the initial 52 weeks because of the injury, they are entitled to two-thirds pay for up to another 52 weeks.
Shuler said the State Fund relies on medical notes to verify approved lost work time, and “deficiencies in medical reporting can impact timely issuance of benefits.”
Young said she’s received worker’s compensation sporadically since she had to take leave in October 2022. Now that she has resigned from her position, she said, her lawyer is still working with Cal Fire to figure out a worker’s compensation settlement.
Former Cal Fire employee settles sexual assault case
The legal process, particularly in civil and worker’s compensation cases, retraumatized Young at every step of the way, she said.
“My life was picked apart. Nobody wants to do that. That’s the absolute worst possible thing,” Young said. “But once it’s started, you don’t have a choice.”
Young said records from her entire life — including her gynecology history — were subpoenaed. Every decision she made was questioned, she said, and Cal Fire tried to attribute the stress the assault caused her to “everything” in her past.
This included pulling up a bikini picture she posted on social media and asking if her father would be proud of her, she said.
“It was literal torture,” she said.
Young was surprised with the agency’s legal response, she said, because her colleagues from Fire Station 15 stood with her. They would attend hearings, testify when needed and acted as Young’s emotional “rocks” throughout the process.
Toward the end of the legal proceedings, Young said she had to clutch a stuffed animal to get through them. She just wanted the near three-year legal process to be over.
So she told her lawyer to settle the case, and he did.
Cal Fire captain convicted of sexual battery has history of sexual harassment, lawsuit says
Young feels Cal Fire never took accountability for the agency’s role in her assault.
According to the lawsuit, Thomas previously violated Cal Fire’s policy when he allegedly made “unprofessional, harassing and sex-based comments” to another employee in 2017. It is unclear whether Thomas was disciplined in that case, but he remained employed with the agency.
This allowed Thomas’s behavior in 2017 to escalate to sexual assault, the lawsuit claims.
Schuler did not comment on previous or current complaints against Thomas as of Friday afternoon, but said Cal Fire’s internal Equal Employment Opportunity Program “plays a pivotal role” in combating workplace discrimination, which includes sexual harassment.
When there is a sexual harassment complaint, Schuler said, the program launches an internal inquiry to determine if any workplace policies or regulations were violated.
The department works with law enforcement if their investigation reveals potential criminal offenses, Schuler said.
When law enforcement initiates a criminal case, the agency’s standard practice is to pause the internal investigation. Schuler said this is to allow the criminal investigation to proceed independently without interference “to ensure a thorough and unbiased criminal investigation.”
Schuler said the agency then evaluates the findings from both the criminal and internal workplace investigations to determine the appropriate action to take in accordance with workplace policies and applicable laws.
“This approach is designed to safeguard the rights of both the complainant and the accused, while ensuring that criminal activity is diligently addressed by law enforcement authorities,” he said.
According to Transparent California, Thomas was still on Cal Fire’s payroll as a fire captain as of 2022, earning $421.29 in “other pay” that year. He earned $18,017.52 in “other pay” in 2021 and $352,475.34 in regular, overtime and “other pay” in 2020.
It is unclear if Thomas is still employed by Cal Fire. With his no-contest plea, he faces a maximum six-month sentence, $2,000 fine and sex offender registry.
Former Cal Fire employee continues to heal
Young received her settlement — an undisclosed amount that is enough to get her on her feet — in mid-September. She plans to continue therapy and receive mental and medical treatment for the trauma she’s endured.
But for now, she wants to take break and just enjoy the moment.
“I think the freedom to live your own life is a big deal,” Young said. “I have not had agency over my own life in almost three years.”
She doesn’t know when she’ll be ready to work again, she said, but when she is, it will be for herself. Maybe as an artist, she said. Maybe something else.
She spends her days with her short yet stocky pitbull chihuahua mix Mary J. — the dog Young adopted from Woods Humane Society after her therapist told her she needed an emotional support animal.
The dog somehow intuitively knows exactly what to do when Young experiences and anxiety or panic attack.
The two are currently staying in Cayucos until her new apartment is ready in Los Osos.
It’s the first time she’s had a roof over her head in a year.
How to get help
If you or someone you know are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. The hotline offers a range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member, help finding a local health facility, legal and medical advice and referrals for long-term support.
Survivor support and resources are also available through Lumina Alliance at luminaalliance.org or their Crisis and Information Line at 805-545-8888.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 988. You can also call the Central Coast Hotline at 800-783-0607 for 24-7 assistance. To learn the warning signs of suicide, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
