In an email Saturday, Squailia, who is in her second term as mayor, said Suarez’s allegations are “false.” She declined to comment further, citing an “active investigation.”
Suarez seeks damages and court orders reinstating him as fire chief and instructing Squailia not to retaliate against him.
Suarez, 55, is a Hispanic man who became a Fitchburg firefighter in 1995 and was named fire chief in 2021.
“My obligation has always been, and always will be to public safety for the residents of Fitchburg, which was, unfortunately, jeopardized,” Suarez said Saturday in a phone interview. “I presented solutions to fix the public safety issue, but rather than being supported to work to a solution…I was retaliated against.”
Suarez alleges Squailia suspended him on false pretenses involving his inquiries to human resources about absences by some subordinates.
An investigation into those allegations made findings based on a “discrepancy of facts,” and Squailia told Suarez he could either be demoted or be fired, his complaint said.
Suarez told the Globe he declined to accept a demotion and hasn’t received a termination notice.
Suarez alleges his disputes with Squailia began over the city’s use of an emergency notification system known as CodeRED.
The system provides timely public safety notices to Fitchburg residents and businesses through text, phone, social media, and email. The notices include alerts about missing persons, weather emergencies, lockdowns, and evacuations, Suarez’s lawsuit said.
During her mayoral campaign in 2023, Squailia allegedly vowed to eliminate the system to save Fitchburg the $10,000 annual cost, the complaint said.
After taking office, Squailia cut the service and later introduced a replacement, which Suarez’s complaint described as inferior.
Suarez alleges he tried another avenue to restore CodeRED, but was blocked by City Hall.
He also accused Squailia of maintaining her opposition to the system even after a shooting last October put three schools in lockdown and the city had “no reliable mechanism” for notifying students’ families.
Two months later, Suarez said he learned Squailia was restoring the service, but shifted control of the system from his agency to the city’s information technology department.
Suarez’s lawsuit also accuses Squailia of racial bias. He alleges she repeatedly ignored his requests to promote two subordinates to the rank of captain, including one firefighter who is a person of color.
In another instance, Suarez accused Squailia of appointing a white man as police chief over a Hispanic candidate who scored the highest marks on an assessment exam and was ranked first by the selection committee, the complaint said.
The lawsuit also alleged Squailia assigned menial tasks like shoveling snow and emptying city trash barrels to a senior aide who is a Hispanic man.
Suarez’s complaint further said Squailia supported the firefighters’ union in a disagreement over compensation for training sessions on 911 systems.
Suarez said he offered overtime pay to firefighters who had to train on their own time and regular pay to firefighters who could complete the training during their regular shifts.
The firefighters’ union filed a grievance, seeking overtime pay for all members, Suarez’s complaint said. He rejected the grievance, but was overturned by Squailia, the lawsuit said.
Suarez said he wants to return to duty as Fitchburg’s fire chief.
“I am really looking forward to getting back to work to serve my community,” he said.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her @lauracrimaldi.
