A former Flint, Michigan fire chief is suing the mayor, alleging he was fired for refusing to cover up a house fire that killed two children.

Former Flint, Michigan fire chief Raymond Barton has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against the city and its mayor, alleging he was fired because he refused to help cover up a house fire that killed two young brothers. .

Barton said in a lawsuit filed on Monday in U.S. District Court that Mayor Sheldon Neely tried to pressure him into covering up alleged misconduct by then-firefighters Daniel Snegotsky and Michael Zlotek, who claimed they had “thoroughly” searched the house on Pulaski Street. in May. 28 after a fire broke out on the ground floor.

Snegotsky and Zlotek said they did not find anyone in the burning house and reported “everything is clear” to other firefighters who arrived on the scene, the lawsuit says. A second group of firefighters later entered the house and found 9-year-old Lamar Mitchell and 12-year-old Ziaira Mitchell, his brother, in a bedroom on the second floor.

The brothers, who were home alone, were alive and were taken to the hospital in critical condition, Barton’s lawyer said in a press release. According to the Detroit Free Press, they died about a week later due to smoke inhalation. In November, the boys’ family announced plans to file a separate lawsuit.

Raymond Barton at a City Hall meeting in Flint, Michigan.
Raymond Barton at a city hall meeting in Flint, Michigan on March 17, 2016. Brett Carlsen/Getty Images file

Two firefighters gave “everything is clear.” A few minutes later the boys were found.

Snegotsky and Zlotek, who both resigned, could not be contacted for comment on the phone numbers listed for them. According to the Free Press, they denied any wrongdoing by their union.

The firefighters union, Neely’s office and the city attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Six firefighters responded to an electrical fire. The lawsuit states that they were all informed that there were likely people in the house.

Snegotsky and Zlotek entered the house. According to the lawsuit, Snegotsky used a hose to put out the flames on the ground floor and told Zlotek to go upstairs to conduct a search. Eventually, Snegotsky went upstairs to help Zlotek, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says both firefighters left the house and “thoroughly” searched the second floor. Zlotek said he used infrared equipment and thermal imaging cameras to find people “who may not be visible to the naked eye.” They both told other firefighters at the scene that the house was “everything clear,” meaning no one was inside, according to the suit.

“At that moment, a second group of firefighters entered the house, went upstairs and immediately found ZM, 12, and LM, 9, in the bedroom,” the suit reads. “Firefighters found the LM on the floor in their dorm door; ZM was lying on the bed in that room.”

According to the lawsuit, the boys were found about seven minutes after Snegotsky and Zlotek said the house was free. The children were not covered by any objects and “were visible to the naked eye,” the report said.

After he learned what had happened, Barton investigated and found that Snegotsky and Zlotek had lied in their written reports about what they were doing to search the house for occupants “because if they had searched how they claimed they would have found Z.M. and L.M. ‘, says the suit.

“Based on the dishonesty of Snegotsky and Zlotek and their failure to fulfill their duties, Chief Barton recommended that the two firefighters be suspended without pay pending a final investigation and fired upon completion of this investigation,” it says.

The lawsuit alleges that because Neely was up for re-election at the time and needed the support of the firefighters’ union, he did not want Barton to fire Snegotsky and Zlotek.

Instead, Neely told Barton to “change the official records to cover up firefighter misconduct, suspend firefighters on payroll, and retract his recommendation that they be fired,” the lawsuit says. NBC News has not independently verified this claim.

Former fire chief calls dismissal ‘disgraceful dismissal’

Barton refused to “serve Mayor Neely’s personal political interests by lying to the public about the malfeasance and fraudulent activities of two firefighters,” the document said. According to the lawsuit, nine days after Neely was re-elected on November 8, Neely fired him.

In a November 18 press release, the city announced Theron Wiggins as interim fire chief. It did not say why Barton was no longer working.

At a press conference on Monday, Barton was asked if the children could have hidden in the bedroom, come out and collapse after Snegotsky and Zlotek left the house.

He said the bed frame was on the floor and the only closet in the room wasn’t big enough to fit both kids. “The children had nowhere to hide,” he said.

Barton, who has worked in the fire department for more than three decades, said his dismissal felt like a “shameful discharge” from the military.

“The problem is, I didn’t do anything wrong. All I did was tell the truth,” he said.

The lawsuit seeks $10 million because of the way the situation was handled, Barton’s lawyer Arnold Reid told a press conference.

“It was completely unfair. It completely took Ray by surprise for a man who has been doing what he has been doing for this community for so many years, constantly,” he said.

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