TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa native Joe Menendez is proud to have served as a member of Tampa Fire Rescue ever since he joined the department 18 years ago, saying that it always “takes care of their own.”

That's why he’s stunned at a recent policy decision by Chief Barbara Tripp that has, for the time being, left him without a paycheck while he waits for his pension to kick in.

The 40-year-old severely injured his knee in 2015 while on the job and has been on light duty for more than a year. After a doctor determined that he wasn’t getting better physically, he opted to apply for a disability pension. He said deciding to do that was one of the toughest decisions of his life.

That process by the pension board takes a considerable amount of time, which is why historically injured firefighters are guaranteed another six months work, as well as two three-month extensions for those in good standing with the department. “It’s not for people that get hurt off the job,” Menendez stresses. “These are on-the-job injuries.”

But those two 3-month extensions have always been at the discretion of the Tampa Fire Rescue leadership, and this year Tripp opted not to automatically grant those extensions in some cases, leaving firefighters like Menendez without any immediate income as they leave the department.

Menendez received a letter on Oct. 26, informing him that while he had been granted one 3-month extension, he would not be getting a second extension, giving him two weeks notice before he would be leaving the department.

“That’s when I was like — what is going on?” he said on Friday from his home in northern Hillsborough County, which is studded with helmets, sports medals and other artifacts from his tenure with the department. “Everybody was under the understanding that if you were in good faith with the pension and the disability process, you’re going to get your 12 months. The only person that knew that was the fire chief.”

Menendez says that there was no transparency in this policy change. Requests for comment to Tampa Fire Rescue were not returned on Friday.

So now, Menendez is going without a paycheck and is looking for work for the first time since he was 22, as the process for him to begin receiving his pension continues. Why the process is so lengthy wasn't truly explained during a discussion about it at a Tampa City Council meeting on Dec. 2.

That's where his wife, Jennifer, made an appearance on behalf of her husband. She blasted the department for being uncaring.

“Why are the firefighters who were hurt on the job being punished for this bureaucratic process?” she asked. “Why should families suffer after they’ve given so much?”

She went on to say that her husband “suffered emotionally and physically for years from this department and city, and when it’s time for Tampa Fire to take care of their own, they don’t. They abandoned him.”

There are other Tampa Fire Rescue members who have endured a similar fate recently, including Tanja Vidovic, who won a federal lawsuit against the city of Tampa in 2017 for discrimination and loss of employment.

Menendez’ anger at what has transpired at Tampa Fire Rescue is all the more notable considering his devoting to the department, where he became a captain in 2019.

He and his wife Jennifer were married at the Tampa Fire Museum on Zack Street in 2013. He’s run in charity fire run events, driven the department’s flotilla during Gasparilla and volunteered to represent Tampa Fire Rescue in the First Responder Olympics for more than 18 years. 

While acknowledging that what Tripp has done is completely legal (as he says she told him after he requested a meeting with her), he said “it’s more of a moral thing," adding that there are others in the department equally unhappy about this turn of events, but won’t dare voice those opinions publicly.

Spectrum Bay News 9 also reached out to Mayor Jane Castor’s office for comment. Spokesman Adam Smith said the city might not be able to respond until after the weekend.