A Chili firefighter recruit is suing the Chili Fire Department for what he says was a lot more than just horsing around.
Scott Cleere said he was on the job a month when four fellow firefighters strapped him to an ambulance backboard. They left him leaning against a fire hall wall. As he tried to free himself, still strapped in, Cleere said he came crashing down face first.
Cleere says he broke several bones in his face, sprained his wrist and knocked out his two front teeth.
He was out of work for five months with mounting medical bills.
"I'm not trying to go after the department. I'm not trying to get everything I can out of them. I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else," said Cleere.
Chili Fire Chief Chris Fish said the firefighters were "engaged in a level of innocent horseplay." Fish also said he's saddened that all this happened and that the department doesn't in any way support harrassment.
Fish says the department's policies are clear on that, but they are reviewing them.
The four firefighters involved are suspended.
