Singleton and Related Genealogy Pages
A history of many families.
| Name | Brian CHRISTMAS [5] | |
| Gender | Male | |
| HIST | He and Tina moved back to his hometown of Sumter in 1995. Sumter assistant fire chief elected to be future state Fire Association president, 3rd firefighter from county to be elected to position since 1905 Brian Christmas, assistant fire chief at the Sumter Fire Department, said he can bring back ideas for his own department from working with the South Carolina State Firefighters' Association in the next six years as he works up to being its vice president then president. CAL CARY / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Wednesday, June 29, 2022 6:00 am BY SHELBIE GOULDING shelbie@theitem.com One of Sumter fire chief's second in commands will be taking on a new role at the state level to better represent the local community and benefit firefighters statewide for the next five years. Sumter Fire Department's Assistant Fire Chief Brian Christmas was elected to be the fourth vice president of the South Carolina State Firefighters' Association at the association's fire conference in June. The position is a five-year commitment - technically six - where Christmas will climb the ladder to vice president in 2025 and president in 2026 for the association; he will spend a sixth year serving as the past president of the SCSFA. The SCSFA originated in 1905 to be at the forefront of firefighter advocacy, specifically with the passing of the 1910 Firemen's Fund Bill, commonly referred to as the One Percent Fund, to allow South Carolina fire departments to operate, according to the SCSFA website. The organization still operates today to advocate for firefighter safety, education, training and benefits. Christmas has been with the Sumter Fire Department since Oct. 1, 1997, but he didn't join the SCSFA until about five years ago. He served as chair for the bylaws committee and also served on the member benefits committee. It wasn't until 2022 that he wanted to take his leadership skills to the next level to better serve his firefighting brothers and sisters in Sumter and across the state. Starting as fourth vice president, Christmas will be involved with fire departments across the state, bouncing from committees and departments to learn about new ideas or make improvements to communities. His goal is to also bring back new, beneficial ideas to the Sumter Fire Department in the process. "My thoughts from here is I always tried to be a good leader in the Sumter Fire Department and tried to mentor and always remembered it's about the people. It's not about me," Christmas said. "It's not a glory thing for me to sit in this position. It's all about bringing stuff back here to help people grow and mature in their leadership. That's kind of what I've focused on in the last few years." However, he will be serving more than 17,000 SCSFA members along with the Sumter Fire Department, all of which will look to him for guidance and advocacy as he climbs the ladder in the next five years. His platform is to always put the members before himself, something he learned is essential to the organization through "the father to the fire service in the state," Carter H. Jones, Christmas said. "It's about what the members want and what's best for the members, which I think is huge," he said. "It's about people in its organization." Christmas said his goal is to move the South Carolina fire service's future forward; that starts with its firefighters. In order to achieve this goal, Christmas will get the opportunity to work next to South Carolina leaders in the service, learn from them, educate others and continue the growth that the founding fathers of the SCSFA began. Before Christmas, only two other Sumter firefighters have served as SCSFA presidents: C.B. "Bit" Wilder in the 1960s and Chief Bob Baker in the 1970s or '80s. "Since then there's been nobody really involved with the association," he said. "It's a choice from the department side when you get involved." Nobody talked Christmas into the position. It was a personal choice to step up and make a difference in his organization and his career. However, he needed support along the way. "I have to be thankful that Chief Ford allowed me, because I went to him and asked him if he was good with me doing it," Christmas said. "You have to have support from your department and from your chief if you're going to do it. And even higher than that." Christmas also asked city and county leaders to support him moving forward in his career working with the state alongside Sumter County. He will be taking on double duty for Sumter and South Carolina fire departments for the next five to six years. "It's quite an honor that we've had past presidents," Sumter Fire Chief Karl Ford said about Christmas' successful election. "By doing this, it will afford him the opportunity to work with other fire chiefs, assistant chiefs, battalion chiefs, division chiefs he can maybe see something we can improve on or maybe a different way." Ford was Christmas' battalion chief back in 1997, and he's only seen his leadership skills expand. When Christmas came to his office, asking what he thought about his endeavor, Ford was behind Christmas 100%. "He's got a bright future ahead of him," Ford said. "He's dedicated to the fire service. He loves his job and does a great job." 'Against the family': Ex-Sumter assistant fire chief alleges blowback after reporting conduct of former co-workers SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Fire officials with Sumter Fire Department and the City of Sumter are at the center of a lawsuit, filed by a former fire department assistant chief, that alleges defamation and wrongful termination. Posted Saturday, July 13, 2024 6:00 am BY ALAYSHA MAPLE and SETH TAYLOR alaysha@theitem.com staylor@postandcourier.com A former assistant fire chief at Sumter Fire Department says officials forced him out after he blew the whistle on a years-long pattern of questionable conduct at the department. Longtime firefighter Brian Christmas laid out his case in a recent lawsuit that contends he was defamed by the city and pushed out of his job without cause. He also alleges multiple high-ranking employees at the City of Sumter and Sumter Fire Department turned a blind eye to suspicious activities. When Christmas reported his concerns to law enforcement, Sumter City Manager Deron McCormick told Christmas he had gone "outside the family" and "needed to be punished," the lawsuit alleges. City officials declined to comment, citing the litigation. "I cannot comment on ongoing litigation," McCormick said in a statement. "When a lawsuit is filed, the City is required to defend itself in court, rather than in the court of public opinion." The Sumter Item and The Post and Courier collaborated to look into the allegations as part of its Uncovered initiative, which aims to shine light on questionable government conduct and the systems that leave it unchecked. In his suit, Christmas accused fire officials of a range of wrongdoing, including using company time and vehicles for personal reasons and investigating suspicious fires involving a relative, despite a clear conflict of interest. He named and leveled accusations against Assistant Fire Chief Ernie Dollard and Fire Chief Karl Ford in the suit, which was filed in the Third Judicial Circuit. Both men declined to comment. Sumter Fire Department, operated jointly by Sumter County and the City of Sumter, handles emergencies across the county of roughly 140,000 people. Christmas joined the department in 1997, according to the city's website, rising to the rank of assistant chief in 2019. He was certified as a Class 1 police officer and conducted fire investigations. He officially retired in November 2023. He now serves as a fire chief in North Carolina. But his retirement was far from voluntary, Elizabeth Millender said in an interview. Millender is one of Christmas' attorneys with the Columbia firm Cromer, Babb & Porter. "Retirement was not his choice," she said. "He was essentially given the impossible choice of, either you retire or we're going to terminate you." Christmas began to grow suspicious of officials' conduct as early as 2020, the lawsuit says, when Dollard intervened in a fire investigation that involved his uncle. On Oct. 28, 2020, Christmas began an investigation into a fire that occurred at the old VB Williams Furniture Co., a 500,000-square-foot warehouse off South Lafayette Drive and Fulton Street in southern Sumter. The fire engulfed the warehouse, which is in a mixed residential and commercial part of the city, burning for several days. A plume of thick black smoke rose above Sumter, visible for miles. Crews and equipment from Sumter, Shaw Air Force Base, Clarendon County, Camden and Columbia all responded. It was one of several fires that occurred at the property over four years, leading to public speculation that the building's owner may have been involved in setting the fires, the lawsuit claims. According to The Sumter Item archives, VB Williams suffered three fires between 2018 and 2022. Because of the nature of the fires, Christmas contacted the State Law Enforcement Division and Sumter Police Department in 2020, according to the lawsuit. Yet the lawsuit says that when Dollard arrived, he took over operations - despite the fact that his uncle-in-law, Charles Hodge, owned the building. That was a clear conflict of interest, Christmas reportedly told Ford, the fire chief. But Ford and Dollard reserved their anger for Christmas, for he had involved an outside agency, the lawsuit says. It is unclear whether SLED or police acted on Christmas' tip or investigated the fire. Reporters have requested documents from SLED regarding its involvement in the matter but had received no records by publication time. Hodge, the building's owner, did not respond to requests for comment. Christmas also became concerned when Dollard's brother, Joey, was promoted to division chief in 2021. The promotion, authorized by Ford, allowed Joey Dollard to report directly to his brother. Joey Dollard's firefighter son, Jason, was placed on his shift as well. This caused chain-of-command issues, the lawsuit claims. When Jason had concerns about his job or responsibilities, he went straight to his uncle instead of his direct supervisor. In 2022, Christmas noticed Ford making trips during business hours while using the fire department pickup truck to pick up golf carts, ATVs and trailers he had purchased to resell, the lawsuit alleges. He also used government gas cards for transportation, including once for a personal trip to Florida for a cruise, the lawsuit claims. Dollard was also involved in these purchases, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges Dollard and Ford went to pick up a small utility vehicle using a city pickup truck on a workday. When asked, Christmas, via his attorneys, said he became aware of these occurrences through "personal observations." It was in 2023 that Christmas decided he had no choice but to report the conduct to an outside agency, Millender said. "Mr. Christmas felt like he had to report it at that point to protect not only the department, but also himself, to the extent that city government or SLED or any other law enforcement became aware of it some other way," she said. After contacting the South Carolina State Ethics Commission and a Sumter County Council member, Christmas spoke with SLED on Oct. 17, 2023. In the meeting, SLED referred the matter to Sumter Police Department, which then informed McCormick. A meeting was set with Christmas and the City of Sumter's organizational improvement director on Oct. 18. In the meeting, Christmas described his concerns. In response, the director asked Christmas what his exit plan was, according to the lawsuit. Christmas said he did not want to leave his job. McCormick then joined the meeting and allegedly pressured Christmas to retire, saying he needed to provide a retirement date by the following week. McCormick allegedly told Christmas that if Ford found out he went to SLED, "it won't be good." If Ford came after Christmas, McCormick said the city would put Christmas on "terminal leave" until his retirement date. According to the lawsuit, McCormick referenced the Bible's New Testament, saying that Christmas had "sinned" and "needed to be punished" because he "went outside of the family." As a result of the Oct. 18 meeting, Christmas submitted his retirement on Oct. 24, 2023, effective Nov. 7, 2023. His email access was immediately removed, and he was sent home the same day, according to the lawsuit. Christmas allegedly contested the forced retirement through a grievance process, to no avail. Christmas subsequently learned Dollard's brother told community members that Christmas was "run off" from the fire department because "he couldn't keep his mouth shut." The lawsuit also accuses Dollard's brother and Dollard himself of defamatory statements. The suit claims that the city wrongfully discharged Christmas, defamed him and violated the South Carolina Whistleblower Act. It also claims that Ford and Dollard engaged in civil conspiracy. Christmas has asked for damages for lost wages, reputational harm, diminished earning capacity, pain, suffering, stress and anxiety. Through his attorney, Christmas declined to comment for this story. UNCOVERED: A Sumter firefighter says he witnessed years of misconduct. The city denies his allegations. Fire officials with Sumter Fire Department and the City of Sumter are at the center of a lawsuit, filed by a former fire department assistant chief, that alleges defamation and wrongful termination. SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Posted Thursday, August 1, 2024 6:00 am By ALAYSHA MAPLE and SETH TAYLOR alaysha@theitem.com staylor@postandcourier.com The City of Sumter dismissed allegations that high-ranking staff members disregarded ethical rules, saying the longtime firefighter who made the accusations is a disgruntled employee. The city’s response comes as it fends off a lawsuit from Brian Christmas, a former assistant fire chief who had been at Sumter Fire Department since 1997. Christmas alleges employees at the city and Sumter Fire Department ignored a years-long pattern of questionable conduct by department leadership. When Christmas tried to raise concerns, he said, he was defamed by the city and pushed out of his job without cause. Christmas launched his suit in May. In its response, filed July 18, the city denied the allegations and offered explanations for the alleged misconduct. It said Christmas was simply upset because he wanted to be the fire chief, and the current chief did not have plans to retire. The city said Christmas was an employee with little interest in remaining at Sumter Fire Department. According to the city, Christmas told Assistant Fire Chief Ernie Dollard he planned to retire and that he was frustrated that Fire Chief Karl Ford wasn’t retiring, meaning he wouldn’t be able to be the chief. And he was actively looking for another job, even as he complained about misconduct, the city alleges. Lawyers for Christmas did not respond to a request for comment on those allegations. Christmas officially retired in late 2023 before taking a job in North Carolina as a fire chief. The lawsuit says his retirement was far from voluntary, though. The Post and Courier partnered with The Sumter Item to look into the allegations as part of its Uncovered initiative, which aims to shine light on questionable government conduct and the systems that leave it unchecked. Sumter Fire Department, operated jointly by Sumter County and City of Sumter, handles emergencies across the county, serving roughly 140,000 people. In his suit, Christmas accused fire officials of a range of wrongdoing, including using company time and vehicles for personal reasons as well as investigating suspicious fires involving a relative, despite a clear conflict of interest. He named both Ford and Dollard in the suit. On Oct. 28, 2020, firefighters responded to a massive fire at the old VB Williams Furniture Co., a 500,000-square-foot warehouse off South Lafayette Drive and Fulton Street in southern Sumter. The building was owned by Dollard’s uncle. It was one of several fires at the property over four years, leading to public speculation that the building’s owner may have been involved in setting the fires, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit says that when Dollard arrived at the scene, he took over operations. That was a clear conflict of interest, Christmas reportedly told Ford, the fire chief. The city denied Dollard took over and said he was instead there to fight the fire. The city’s response admitted Christmas raised concerns but said it would have been irresponsible to require a firefighter to leave the scene rather than aid in extinguishing the blaze. Christmas also alleged Ford made repeated trips, using a department pickup truck, during business hours to pick up golf carts, ATVs and trailers he had purchased to resell using govdeals.com. He also used government gas cards for transportation, including once for a personal trip to Florida for a cruise, the lawsuit says. Dollard was involved in the vehicle purchases as well, according to the lawsuit. The city acknowledged that staff use city vehicles for personal reasons, that Ford visited govdeals.com on his work computer and that he does purchase and resell vehicles. The city’s lawyers argued that because of the nature of their job, firefighters must be able to respond quickly to emergencies, and therefore it is reasonable for staff to use vehicles for personal reasons. The city said Ford does not recall using a city gas card for his trip to Florida. It was in 2023 that Christmas decided he had no choice but to report the conduct to an outside agency, according to his lawsuit. He spoke with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission, a Sumter County Council member and SLED. SLED referred Christmas’ concerns to Sumter Police Department, which informed Deron McCormick, the city manager. In a meeting with the city’s organizational improvement director on Oct. 18, Christmas alleges McCormick pressured him to retire, saying Christmas had gone “outside the family” and “needed to be punished,” according to the lawsuit. The city rejected those allegations, describing the meeting as a reasonable discussion of Christmas’ options: staying in his job, resigning, retiring or going to work somewhere else. According to the city’s response, Christmas was given several days to consider his decision. But he instead submitted plans to retire soon afterward. Christmas accused Dollard and Dollard’s brother of defamatory statements made after his retirement, such as that Christmas was “run off” from the fire department because “he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.” The city denied those allegations. Christmas also contested what he described as his forced retirement, but the Employee Grievance Committee unanimously dismissed the grievance, according to a letter sent to Christmas. The committee found that Christmas had not followed proper procedure in reporting his concerns and that he failed to provide evidence of misconduct. “The Grievance Committee finds that you had a good career with the City of Sumter Fire Department, but your retirement should remain in place,” the letter reads. The suit alleges that the city wrongfully discharged Christmas, defamed him and violated the South Carolina Whistleblower Act. It also states that Ford and Dollard engaged in civil conspiracy. Christmas has asked for damages for lost wages, reputational harm, diminished earning capacity, pain, suffering, stress and anxiety. [2, 3, 4, 5] | |
| HIST | He and Tina moved back to his hometown of Sumter in 1995. Sumter assistant fire chief elected to be future state Fire Association president, 3rd firefighter from county to be elected to position since 1905 Brian Christmas, assistant fire chief at the Sumter Fire Department, said he can bring back ideas for his own department from working with the South Carolina State Firefighters' Association in the next six years as he works up to being its vice president then president. CAL CARY / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Wednesday, June 29, 2022 6:00 am BY SHELBIE GOULDING shelbie@theitem.com One of Sumter fire chief's second in commands will be taking on a new role at the state level to better represent the local community and benefit firefighters statewide for the next five years. Sumter Fire Department's Assistant Fire Chief Brian Christmas was elected to be the fourth vice president of the South Carolina State Firefighters' Association at the association's fire conference in June. The position is a five-year commitment - technically six - where Christmas will climb the ladder to vice president in 2025 and president in 2026 for the association; he will spend a sixth year serving as the past president of the SCSFA. The SCSFA originated in 1905 to be at the forefront of firefighter advocacy, specifically with the passing of the 1910 Firemen's Fund Bill, commonly referred to as the One Percent Fund, to allow South Carolina fire departments to operate, according to the SCSFA website. The organization still operates today to advocate for firefighter safety, education, training and benefits. Christmas has been with the Sumter Fire Department since Oct. 1, 1997, but he didn't join the SCSFA until about five years ago. He served as chair for the bylaws committee and also served on the member benefits committee. It wasn't until 2022 that he wanted to take his leadership skills to the next level to better serve his firefighting brothers and sisters in Sumter and across the state. Starting as fourth vice president, Christmas will be involved with fire departments across the state, bouncing from committees and departments to learn about new ideas or make improvements to communities. His goal is to also bring back new, beneficial ideas to the Sumter Fire Department in the process. "My thoughts from here is I always tried to be a good leader in the Sumter Fire Department and tried to mentor and always remembered it's about the people. It's not about me," Christmas said. "It's not a glory thing for me to sit in this position. It's all about bringing stuff back here to help people grow and mature in their leadership. That's kind of what I've focused on in the last few years." However, he will be serving more than 17,000 SCSFA members along with the Sumter Fire Department, all of which will look to him for guidance and advocacy as he climbs the ladder in the next five years. His platform is to always put the members before himself, something he learned is essential to the organization through "the father to the fire service in the state," Carter H. Jones, Christmas said. "It's about what the members want and what's best for the members, which I think is huge," he said. "It's about people in its organization." Christmas said his goal is to move the South Carolina fire service's future forward; that starts with its firefighters. In order to achieve this goal, Christmas will get the opportunity to work next to South Carolina leaders in the service, learn from them, educate others and continue the growth that the founding fathers of the SCSFA began. Before Christmas, only two other Sumter firefighters have served as SCSFA presidents: C.B. "Bit" Wilder in the 1960s and Chief Bob Baker in the 1970s or '80s. "Since then there's been nobody really involved with the association," he said. "It's a choice from the department side when you get involved." Nobody talked Christmas into the position. It was a personal choice to step up and make a difference in his organization and his career. However, he needed support along the way. "I have to be thankful that Chief Ford allowed me, because I went to him and asked him if he was good with me doing it," Christmas said. "You have to have support from your department and from your chief if you're going to do it. And even higher than that." Christmas also asked city and county leaders to support him moving forward in his career working with the state alongside Sumter County. He will be taking on double duty for Sumter and South Carolina fire departments for the next five to six years. "It's quite an honor that we've had past presidents," Sumter Fire Chief Karl Ford said about Christmas' successful election. "By doing this, it will afford him the opportunity to work with other fire chiefs, assistant chiefs, battalion chiefs, division chiefs he can maybe see something we can improve on or maybe a different way." Ford was Christmas' battalion chief back in 1997, and he's only seen his leadership skills expand. When Christmas came to his office, asking what he thought about his endeavor, Ford was behind Christmas 100%. "He's got a bright future ahead of him," Ford said. "He's dedicated to the fire service. He loves his job and does a great job." 'Against the family': Ex-Sumter assistant fire chief alleges blowback after reporting conduct of former co-workers SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Fire officials with Sumter Fire Department and the City of Sumter are at the center of a lawsuit, filed by a former fire department assistant chief, that alleges defamation and wrongful termination. Posted Saturday, July 13, 2024 6:00 am BY ALAYSHA MAPLE and SETH TAYLOR alaysha@theitem.com staylor@postandcourier.com A former assistant fire chief at Sumter Fire Department says officials forced him out after he blew the whistle on a years-long pattern of questionable conduct at the department. Longtime firefighter Brian Christmas laid out his case in a recent lawsuit that contends he was defamed by the city and pushed out of his job without cause. He also alleges multiple high-ranking employees at the City of Sumter and Sumter Fire Department turned a blind eye to suspicious activities. When Christmas reported his concerns to law enforcement, Sumter City Manager Deron McCormick told Christmas he had gone "outside the family" and "needed to be punished," the lawsuit alleges. City officials declined to comment, citing the litigation. "I cannot comment on ongoing litigation," McCormick said in a statement. "When a lawsuit is filed, the City is required to defend itself in court, rather than in the court of public opinion." The Sumter Item and The Post and Courier collaborated to look into the allegations as part of its Uncovered initiative, which aims to shine light on questionable government conduct and the systems that leave it unchecked. In his suit, Christmas accused fire officials of a range of wrongdoing, including using company time and vehicles for personal reasons and investigating suspicious fires involving a relative, despite a clear conflict of interest. He named and leveled accusations against Assistant Fire Chief Ernie Dollard and Fire Chief Karl Ford in the suit, which was filed in the Third Judicial Circuit. Both men declined to comment. Sumter Fire Department, operated jointly by Sumter County and the City of Sumter, handles emergencies across the county of roughly 140,000 people. Christmas joined the department in 1997, according to the city's website, rising to the rank of assistant chief in 2019. He was certified as a Class 1 police officer and conducted fire investigations. He officially retired in November 2023. He now serves as a fire chief in North Carolina. But his retirement was far from voluntary, Elizabeth Millender said in an interview. Millender is one of Christmas' attorneys with the Columbia firm Cromer, Babb & Porter. "Retirement was not his choice," she said. "He was essentially given the impossible choice of, either you retire or we're going to terminate you." Christmas began to grow suspicious of officials' conduct as early as 2020, the lawsuit says, when Dollard intervened in a fire investigation that involved his uncle. On Oct. 28, 2020, Christmas began an investigation into a fire that occurred at the old VB Williams Furniture Co., a 500,000-square-foot warehouse off South Lafayette Drive and Fulton Street in southern Sumter. The fire engulfed the warehouse, which is in a mixed residential and commercial part of the city, burning for several days. A plume of thick black smoke rose above Sumter, visible for miles. Crews and equipment from Sumter, Shaw Air Force Base, Clarendon County, Camden and Columbia all responded. It was one of several fires that occurred at the property over four years, leading to public speculation that the building's owner may have been involved in setting the fires, the lawsuit claims. According to The Sumter Item archives, VB Williams suffered three fires between 2018 and 2022. Because of the nature of the fires, Christmas contacted the State Law Enforcement Division and Sumter Police Department in 2020, according to the lawsuit. Yet the lawsuit says that when Dollard arrived, he took over operations - despite the fact that his uncle-in-law, Charles Hodge, owned the building. That was a clear conflict of interest, Christmas reportedly told Ford, the fire chief. But Ford and Dollard reserved their anger for Christmas, for he had involved an outside agency, the lawsuit says. It is unclear whether SLED or police acted on Christmas' tip or investigated the fire. Reporters have requested documents from SLED regarding its involvement in the matter but had received no records by publication time. Hodge, the building's owner, did not respond to requests for comment. Christmas also became concerned when Dollard's brother, Joey, was promoted to division chief in 2021. The promotion, authorized by Ford, allowed Joey Dollard to report directly to his brother. Joey Dollard's firefighter son, Jason, was placed on his shift as well. This caused chain-of-command issues, the lawsuit claims. When Jason had concerns about his job or responsibilities, he went straight to his uncle instead of his direct supervisor. In 2022, Christmas noticed Ford making trips during business hours while using the fire department pickup truck to pick up golf carts, ATVs and trailers he had purchased to resell, the lawsuit alleges. He also used government gas cards for transportation, including once for a personal trip to Florida for a cruise, the lawsuit claims. Dollard was also involved in these purchases, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges Dollard and Ford went to pick up a small utility vehicle using a city pickup truck on a workday. When asked, Christmas, via his attorneys, said he became aware of these occurrences through "personal observations." It was in 2023 that Christmas decided he had no choice but to report the conduct to an outside agency, Millender said. "Mr. Christmas felt like he had to report it at that point to protect not only the department, but also himself, to the extent that city government or SLED or any other law enforcement became aware of it some other way," she said. After contacting the South Carolina State Ethics Commission and a Sumter County Council member, Christmas spoke with SLED on Oct. 17, 2023. In the meeting, SLED referred the matter to Sumter Police Department, which then informed McCormick. A meeting was set with Christmas and the City of Sumter's organizational improvement director on Oct. 18. In the meeting, Christmas described his concerns. In response, the director asked Christmas what his exit plan was, according to the lawsuit. Christmas said he did not want to leave his job. McCormick then joined the meeting and allegedly pressured Christmas to retire, saying he needed to provide a retirement date by the following week. McCormick allegedly told Christmas that if Ford found out he went to SLED, "it won't be good." If Ford came after Christmas, McCormick said the city would put Christmas on "terminal leave" until his retirement date. According to the lawsuit, McCormick referenced the Bible's New Testament, saying that Christmas had "sinned" and "needed to be punished" because he "went outside of the family." As a result of the Oct. 18 meeting, Christmas submitted his retirement on Oct. 24, 2023, effective Nov. 7, 2023. His email access was immediately removed, and he was sent home the same day, according to the lawsuit. Christmas allegedly contested the forced retirement through a grievance process, to no avail. Christmas subsequently learned Dollard's brother told community members that Christmas was "run off" from the fire department because "he couldn't keep his mouth shut." The lawsuit also accuses Dollard's brother and Dollard himself of defamatory statements. The suit claims that the city wrongfully discharged Christmas, defamed him and violated the South Carolina Whistleblower Act. It also claims that Ford and Dollard engaged in civil conspiracy. Christmas has asked for damages for lost wages, reputational harm, diminished earning capacity, pain, suffering, stress and anxiety. Through his attorney, Christmas declined to comment for this story. UNCOVERED: A Sumter firefighter says he witnessed years of misconduct. The city denies his allegations. Fire officials with Sumter Fire Department and the City of Sumter are at the center of a lawsuit, filed by a former fire department assistant chief, that alleges defamation and wrongful termination. SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Posted Thursday, August 1, 2024 6:00 am By ALAYSHA MAPLE and SETH TAYLOR alaysha@theitem.com staylor@postandcourier.com The City of Sumter dismissed allegations that high-ranking staff members disregarded ethical rules, saying the longtime firefighter who made the accusations is a disgruntled employee. The city’s response comes as it fends off a lawsuit from Brian Christmas, a former assistant fire chief who had been at Sumter Fire Department since 1997. Christmas alleges employees at the city and Sumter Fire Department ignored a years-long pattern of questionable conduct by department leadership. When Christmas tried to raise concerns, he said, he was defamed by the city and pushed out of his job without cause. Christmas launched his suit in May. In its response, filed July 18, the city denied the allegations and offered explanations for the alleged misconduct. It said Christmas was simply upset because he wanted to be the fire chief, and the current chief did not have plans to retire. The city said Christmas was an employee with little interest in remaining at Sumter Fire Department. According to the city, Christmas told Assistant Fire Chief Ernie Dollard he planned to retire and that he was frustrated that Fire Chief Karl Ford wasn’t retiring, meaning he wouldn’t be able to be the chief. And he was actively looking for another job, even as he complained about misconduct, the city alleges. Lawyers for Christmas did not respond to a request for comment on those allegations. Christmas officially retired in late 2023 before taking a job in North Carolina as a fire chief. The lawsuit says his retirement was far from voluntary, though. The Post and Courier partnered with The Sumter Item to look into the allegations as part of its Uncovered initiative, which aims to shine light on questionable government conduct and the systems that leave it unchecked. Sumter Fire Department, operated jointly by Sumter County and City of Sumter, handles emergencies across the county, serving roughly 140,000 people. In his suit, Christmas accused fire officials of a range of wrongdoing, including using company time and vehicles for personal reasons as well as investigating suspicious fires involving a relative, despite a clear conflict of interest. He named both Ford and Dollard in the suit. On Oct. 28, 2020, firefighters responded to a massive fire at the old VB Williams Furniture Co., a 500,000-square-foot warehouse off South Lafayette Drive and Fulton Street in southern Sumter. The building was owned by Dollard’s uncle. It was one of several fires at the property over four years, leading to public speculation that the building’s owner may have been involved in setting the fires, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit says that when Dollard arrived at the scene, he took over operations. That was a clear conflict of interest, Christmas reportedly told Ford, the fire chief. The city denied Dollard took over and said he was instead there to fight the fire. The city’s response admitted Christmas raised concerns but said it would have been irresponsible to require a firefighter to leave the scene rather than aid in extinguishing the blaze. Christmas also alleged Ford made repeated trips, using a department pickup truck, during business hours to pick up golf carts, ATVs and trailers he had purchased to resell using govdeals.com. He also used government gas cards for transportation, including once for a personal trip to Florida for a cruise, the lawsuit says. Dollard was involved in the vehicle purchases as well, according to the lawsuit. The city acknowledged that staff use city vehicles for personal reasons, that Ford visited govdeals.com on his work computer and that he does purchase and resell vehicles. The city’s lawyers argued that because of the nature of their job, firefighters must be able to respond quickly to emergencies, and therefore it is reasonable for staff to use vehicles for personal reasons. The city said Ford does not recall using a city gas card for his trip to Florida. It was in 2023 that Christmas decided he had no choice but to report the conduct to an outside agency, according to his lawsuit. He spoke with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission, a Sumter County Council member and SLED. SLED referred Christmas’ concerns to Sumter Police Department, which informed Deron McCormick, the city manager. In a meeting with the city’s organizational improvement director on Oct. 18, Christmas alleges McCormick pressured him to retire, saying Christmas had gone “outside the family” and “needed to be punished,” according to the lawsuit. The city rejected those allegations, describing the meeting as a reasonable discussion of Christmas’ options: staying in his job, resigning, retiring or going to work somewhere else. According to the city’s response, Christmas was given several days to consider his decision. But he instead submitted plans to retire soon afterward. Christmas accused Dollard and Dollard’s brother of defamatory statements made after his retirement, such as that Christmas was “run off” from the fire department because “he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.” The city denied those allegations. Christmas also contested what he described as his forced retirement, but the Employee Grievance Committee unanimously dismissed the grievance, according to a letter sent to Christmas. The committee found that Christmas had not followed proper procedure in reporting his concerns and that he failed to provide evidence of misconduct. “The Grievance Committee finds that you had a good career with the City of Sumter Fire Department, but your retirement should remain in place,” the letter reads. The suit alleges that the city wrongfully discharged Christmas, defamed him and violated the South Carolina Whistleblower Act. It also states that Ford and Dollard engaged in civil conspiracy. Christmas has asked for damages for lost wages, reputational harm, diminished earning capacity, pain, suffering, stress and anxiety. | |
| MILI | he was stationed at Hurlburt Field while he served in the U. S. Air Force [5] | |
| MILI | he was stationed at Hurlburt Field while he served in the U. S. Air Force | |
| Occupation | he is a detective with the Sumter Police Department, Sumter, South Carolina, and a captain with the Sumter Fire Department and Emergency Medical Technician [5] | |
| Occupation | he is a detective with the Sumter Police Department, Sumter, South Carolina, and a captain with the Sumter Fire Department and Emergency Medical Technician [5] | |
| _UID | C87E80C1ECFF4F45AA39DE243D3AC43A6062 | |
| _UID | C87E80C1ECFF4F45AA39DE243D3AC43A6062 | |
| Person ID | I245725 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 16 Sep 2024 | |
| Father | Duncan Dreyfus “Buddy” CHRISTMAS, b. 29 Apr 1938, Lee County, South Carolina  d. 4 Mar 2022, at his home, (Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina) (Age 83 years) | |
| Mother | Linda F. AHTONEN | |
| Marriage | 2 Jul 1960 | Sumter County, South Carolina [1, 6] |
| _UID | 6C7F6126AA7945838EE4787D4AF0421B5B69 | |
| _UID | 6C7F6126AA7945838EE4787D4AF0421B5B69 | |
| Family ID | F95167 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | Living | |||||||
| Children |
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| Family ID | F165928 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||||
| Last Modified | 23 Mar 2026 | |||||||
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