The city has agreed to a $250,000 settlement in a lawsuit by a volunteer firefighter accusing Lynden and its assistant fire chief of discrimination and creating a hostile work environment.
Damon Winters, a volunteer firefighter, filed the lawsuit against the city and Assistant Chief Robert Spinner in U.S. District Court in Seattle on April 5, 2016. Winters, who was born in Egypt, also holds citizenship in Canada. He became a U.S. citizen in March 2016, according to court documents. Winters began volunteering for the department in August 2013, and first applied for a full-time job when two spots opened in April 2014. Both positions went to white firefighters, according to court records.