A firefighter for the city of Paterson is no longer fighting flames but instead, he's fighting against the department he once worked for.
Herman Irving shared his story at a Paterson City Council meeting Wednesday.
"For the past 19 years, I've had the honor of serving this city as a firefighter and EMT. On Dec. 25, 2023, my life changed forever," he said. "I responded to a call, something I've done countless times before. This time the result left me with seizures and I got diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder."
However, Irving said it only got worse from there.
He told the City Council he was denied being assigned to lighter duties when he tried to return to work.
"I was told that there was nothing they could do," Irving said.
The career firefighter said he was only offered a fraction of his pay with no health insurance and was eventually suspended just months before retirement.
"All I'm asking is a chance to finish my career with dignity, to retire with my benefits like those before me," he said.
Irving called out Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh by name, imploring city leaders to help him.
Mayor Sayegh told News 12 his office has not received any requests from Irving for assistance, and council members confirmed they were also unaware of the situation until Wednesday's meeting.
"Let's just sit down, listen to him, and try to meet in the middle. We lose firefighters, EMS personnel, and first responders like police day and night. We don't want to lose one only because we weren't there for them," Paterson City Councilman Luis Velez said.
While the fire department is responsible for giving out benefits, Councilman Velez said Irving's troubles could be indicative of a larger problem.
"That's only one case that we know. I don't know how many more we have like that, not only in the fire dept., in other divisions in the city of Paterson," he said. "Probably we have to go into executive session, and sit there, and demand answers."
