A Georgetown City firefighter said he is now out of a job because he helped his neighbor and others who were involved in a serious traffic accident last week.

Firefighter Chris Avant said his troubles began because he had called in sick that day.

Now, a petition is being circulated to try to have Avant reinstated to the job he has held for the past five years.

The accident on Jackson Village Road in Plantersville happened July 15, the same day Avant says he was  suffering from a stomach bug.

Avant said he was called into the office of Georgetown City Fire Chief Joey Tanner Monday and was told he could resign or be fired.

Avant resigned from his job, said Assistant Fire Chief Bill Johnson.

“[Tanner’s] words were it was a gross negligent use of sick leave,” Avant said.

The accident

Avant said he had been sick for more than a day with the virus but when the accident occurred at around 6 p.m. he was feeling “a little better.”

Callie Pope said her 15-year-old stepson, Shane Pope, was one of the four teens in the vehicle when it flipped four times on a gravel road.

Avant said he heard the call about the accident on his radio but did not immediately respond since he was sick.

However, a few minutes later, his fiancé ran in the house asking him to help because their neighbor, a 17-year-old, was one of the people seriously hurt.

“She was frantic when she ran in the house telling me it was our neighbor who was hurt,” said Avant, who is also a trained emergency medical technician.

Avant said he knew there could be some problems at work if he responded because he had called in sick, but he also knew his neighbor needed help.

“When she came running in and told me what she did, I knew I needed to check,” he said.

Avant arrived on the scene before the first ambulance and saw two people in the roadway.

“I told them not to move and kept them awake and kept them still. If they had moved, their injuries may have been worse,” he said.

Because of a training class taking place near the Nine Mile Curve between Georgetown and Andrews at the time, it took longer than normal for EMS to arrive.

Mrs. Pope said she is grateful Avant responded to the scene.

“If he had not been there they may have tried to get up and may have been a lot worse,” she said, adding Avant was the one who requested a helicopter, which transported a severely injured 17-year-old from the scene. “Thank God he was there to partially triage these kids.”

No comment from the city

Because it is a personnel matter, Johnson said he and Tanner cannot comment on the situation.

Pope said she thinks Avant being forced to resign is “crazy” if it was because he helped the teens.

“I don’t know any other circumstances in his job but if he got fired for this, I just can’t see how that is right,” Pope said.

Avant admits Monday was not the first time he has been in Tanner’s office but the other instances were minor offenses.

As an example, he said he was disciplined for backing a fire truck into a stop sign in Maryville.

Johnson said he could not comment on anything to do with Avant’s personnel file.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com