Volunteer firefighter wins lawsuit against county

Jury Says He May Serve

By Effie Bathen, Gazette Staff Writer
December 11, 2002; Page A40.

A volunteer medical attendant with a visual impairment has won his lawsuit against the county to serve as an unpaid firefighter.

Thomas Moore, 34, of Rockville, who also serves as an ambulance driver for the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, said he has "no central vision in his right eye."

Because of that the county Occupational Medical Service found, and the fire commission affirmed, that he did not meet the minimum medical standard it uses for firefighters.

Moore sued in Montgomery County Circuit Court, claiming the county violated his right to serve as a volunteer under the county's own code for disability discrimination.

A six-person jury on Friday supported Moore and awarded him $15,000 in compensatory damages. A final judgment from Judge Patrick Woodward is expected this week said Moore's lawyer, Diane Seltzer.

Moore has had the condition, which he explains is similar to a cataract, since birth. However, his overall vision is stable and corrected to 20/30, which is acceptable under a more recent standard that the county uses as a guideline for firefighters, he said.

Moore is a stay-at-home father of three children under the age of 5 and a night-school law student at the George Mason University campus in Arlington.

In 1992-94 Moore volunteered as an emergency medical attendant for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. In court last week, his long-time ophthalmologist testified that Moore's peripheral vision of 160 degrees is very good. The county's physical application form says 140 degrees is expected, Moore said.

There is no established standard for depth perception, he said.

"Either you bump into things or you don't," argued Moore, who has driven an ambulance in his volunteer service since 1992.

His grandfather is a career New York City firefighter, and Moore entered Rockville's volunteer fire service in 1999 along with his younger brother, Joseph.

Volunteer firefighters require medical approval from the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

The county argued that Moore did not meet a 1987 standard set by the National Fire Protection Association.

But attomey Seltzer argued that the guideline was outdated and in violation of the county employment disability code, which follows the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

That law emphasizes that people with disabilities should not be barred from employment if their disability does not interfere with the ability to perform their job responsibilities, she said.

The county had to prove that visual impairment would interfere with the essential tasks for firefighters.

County officials raised questions about how Moore would perform in a smoky building or on a pitched roof in the dark, or if he was hit with debris in his left eye.

Pete Piringer, a spokesman for Fire and Rescue Services, said the fire commission was "disappointed" in the verdict, but had tried to balance the medical standards with recent changes in law.

"The objective was to protect the individual involved -- the firefighter -- and the general public, which we're called to help," he said. "Obviously, the jury thought that he could perform the job."

Firefighters often work in hazardous conditions and the commission wants them to be in the best physical condition, Piringer said.

"You would want all of your firefighters to work to the fullest. You would want Robo-Firefighter, but that's not the case," he said.

Moore filed the suit because he wanted the challenge of being a firefighter, he said.

"It's the opportunity to help people in emergencies, when they need help more than any time in their life," he said.

Seltzer said the inflexibility in the interpretation of the medical standards also fuels an ongoing conflict between the career and volunteer services. She said she had seen cases in which the fire service restricted a volunteer from becoming a career firefighter.

"I've seen them do this in the career service as well," she said.

She estimated that the case would cost the county up to $70,000 in court costs and legal fees.

Rockville Fire Chief Wm. Alan Hinde, who has worked alongside Moore for almost five years, was among those who testified in support of the volunteer.

Hinde was "ecstatic" at the jury decision, he said.

Moore is a good leader, good example and an "outstanding member" of the fire service, he said. "He's the kind of person we live and die to get into our service."

Hinde hoped the county could rethink the process of accepting badly needed volunteers, he said.

"Sometimes, we get set in our ways and our own vision gets narrow focused," he added.