The Durango Herald: From the fire chief’s perspective, Upper Pine River Fire Protection District went up against a former employee in court and won. The case was open-and-shut.

Chief Bruce Evans terminated firefighter Chad Sells in July 2017. According to a lawsuit filed in federal court in 2018, Sells organized a meeting of line firefighters to address a concert of growing concerns at the department. But Evans, who had been informed of the meeting in advance by a captain in the department, likened it to a coup and fired Sells 48 hours after the meeting.

In 2021, a federal judge ruled on a motion for summary judgment and sided with the department, dismissing Sells’ case.

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