FITCHBURG, Mass. —
Fitchburg Fire Chief Dante Suarez is suing the city and Mayor Samantha Squailia, alleging that he was placed on leave in retaliation for opposing a decision to eliminate an emergency alert system.
Suarez, a Fitchburg firefighter since 1995 and chief since 2021, alleges he was placed on administrative leave around February 2026. His complaint alleges that he is the only non-white department chief in the city.
The 21-page complaint provides the chief's view of a long feud with the mayor and other city leaders.
According to Suarez's complaint, he opposed Squailia's plan to eliminate the city's contract with an emergency notification provider as a cost-cutting measure. The chief said he also reached out "approximately monthly" to check on the city's progress toward finding a replacement vendor.
"The Mayor's response to a Fire Chief's repeated questions about emergency preparedness was irritation," the lawsuit states.
Suarez said he then "took matters into his own hands" and made multiple attempts to purchase the service through a city account but was repeatedly denied.
While this was unfolding, Suarez alleges that the mayor was "openly telling City employees that she strongly disliked Suarez," the lawsuit alleges.
After nearly a year, when the city agreed to a new purchase agreement with the same emergency notification vendor, Suarez's complaint said oversight of the program was moved to another city department.
The complaint further alleges that Squailia sided with the union in a grievance regarding overtime pay and obstructed the chief's attempt to promote two firefighters to the rank of Fire Captain. One of the candidates, the lawsuit notes, is also a person of color.
Suarez's complaint said the city opened a misconduct investigation into him early this year and placed him on administrative leave in February.
He said the investigation "by its own admission suffered from a discrepancy of facts," but he was subsequently offered a choice between demotion or termination.
"Defendants thereby stripped Suarez of his ability to perform as Fire Chief, damaged his professional reputation, and threatened the termination of the employment relationship unless he accepted a demotion," the complaint states.
The four-count complaint alleges state whistleblower retaliation, First Amendment retaliation, race discrimination and retaliation, and tortious interference. Suarez requests reinstatement as fire chief, restoration of duties and benefits, compensation, damages, legal fees and a jury trial.
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