By Mary Childress
The Daily Mail
NITRO, W.Va. — A 13-year veteran with the Nitro Fire Department said he was fired from his job Tuesday because he was two minutes late for work.
“I was two minutes late April 14 and was initially given a 48-hour shift as punishment,” said A.J. Shinn. “After I appealed to the hearing board, I was terminated.”
Nitro Council members discussed Shinn’s case behind closed doors Tuesday when they went into executive session following the regular meeting. They’ve decided to pay his salary until a hearing on the matter is held.
The 34-year old single father of three said the department had a long history of being a hostile work environment. Shinn had one previous tardy incident and one insubordination incident.
“They were trying to bully me,” he said.
He began volunteering at Teays Valley Volunteer Fire Department when he was 16 and got on at Nitro when he was 22. He said he was then pressured to resign from Teays Valley by superiors at Nitro, who claimed he couldn’t be a paid firefighter and a volunteer at the same time.
“I was written up for insubordination for parking the wrong way or parking in the wrong slot in the parking lot,” Shinn said. “I’ve probably questioned things too much because when I have, some of the firefighters get right up in your face.”
As punishment for the parking infraction, he was suspended for several shifts without pay, but appealed the ruling and was given 48 hours without pay instead. After that, he said four firefighters went to Mayor Rusty Casto’s office and demanded his termination.
“They told the mayor it would be Armageddon if I came back to work,” Shinn said.
Things were relatively quiet for Shinn up until March when he received a shift off work without pay for being late. He said his power had gone off in a storm, silencing his alarm clock.
On the morning of April 14, he was headed into work from his Scott Depot home when he ran into traffic on Interstate 64.
“I called the station 15 minutes ahead of time to let them know I was on my way and that I was stuck in traffic,” Shinn said. “I asked a couple of the firefighters to stay over because I would be a minute or two late and they said they wouldn’t do it.”
He felt slighted because he had gone into work an hour early for them two weeks before when they needed to leave early for training.
When he walked in the station, the clock on his cell phone read 8 a.m. on the dot. His superiors told him their clocks read 8:02 a.m. Shinn said there are no time clocks, no punching in and that firefighters rely on their cell phones or clocks to determine shifts.
“I thought worst case scenario I would get five shifts off and you know for a two minute tardy that seemed a bit excessive,” Shinn said. “They came back with termination.”
Shinn said council members seemed appalled by the firing Tuesday night.
Shinn, who also works as a contractor, has 10 days to appeal to the Civil Service Board, which he intends to do. He’s looking for a lawyer.
He’s not sure if he wants to return.
“I’m scared to death to go back, I’m scared to death of that place,” Shinn said. “It would be a living nightmare if I went back.”
Staff writer Ashley B. Craig contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 Charleston Newspapers