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Bodybuilding Firefighter Breaks Silence

Arroyo May Seek Help From Firefighter's Union

POSTED: 5:56 pm EDT August 24, 2008
UPDATED: 6:51 am EDT August 25, 2008

The bodybuilding firefighter who was terminated by the Boston Fire Department said Sunday that he is considering how to appeal the decision.

Video

Albert Arroyo and his attorney, Neil Osborne, said in a radio interview that they may seek help from the firefighter’s union to enter into grievance arbitration with the department.

Arroyo may also plead his case to the civil service commission, which has the power to overturn the department’s actions, according to Osborne.

"I signed up to be a fireman and that’s what I always wanted to do," Arroyo said. "I was born in the city of Boston and what better (way) to serve the city than become a firefighter."

A Boston Fire Department panel made the decision not to reinstate Arroyo on Thursday after considering a second doctor's opinion about his condition.

On Tuesday, Arroyo appeared before a three-member panel, which included Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser, to argue he was unjustly fired by the city and was given 48 hours to submit the second opinion.

"In fairness to Albert Arroyo, the commissioner wanted to give him the 48 hours to produce additional documents that he thought would benefit his case. The commissioner and the panel did review them, but the commissioner did not change his mind. Albert Arroyo is not a member of the Boston Fire Department," said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Arroyo failed to return to work after he was ordered back on the job when a video surfaced of him competing in a bodybuilding competition just six weeks after he said he could not work as an inspector because of injuries he sustained in a fall at a fire station.

Arroyo was ordered back to work in July and was given two weeks to comply. When he did not show up, he was fired.

"Mr. Arroyo has done absolutely nothing wrong," Arroyo's attorney, Neil Osborne, said on Tuesday. "Based on being seen in a bodybuilding video, that he has somehow committed some fraud regarding his disability. Nothing could be further from the truth."


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