Two former Orange County Fire Authority employees have filed a lawsuit against the department alleging they were wrongfully dismissed following one’s criticism of the Canyon 2 fire response and the questions both raised regarding a change in emergency-dispatcher scheduling.
Megan Soman, who joined the department as a reserve firefighter in 1997 and rose through the ranks to become a fire communication supervisor, and Travis Fader, who joined as a fire communication dispatcher in 2017, both say they were targeted by department higher-ups and unfairly fired.
In interviews, both said they filed the lawsuit to make sure what they say happened to them doesn’t happen to anyone else.
OCFA officials declined to comment on the allegations, citing a policy to not discuss pending litigation. The suit seeks unspecified financial damages, civil penalties and reinstatement.