BUCYRUS – After nearly 30 years with the Bucyrus Fire Department and a clean disciplinary record until recently, fire chief Jay Keller believes his job is on the line after receiving two strikes in the past several months.

Keller and his family addressed the situation in a press conference, with the presence of attorney Adam Charles Stone for legal counsel, on Tuesday at The Stone Law Firm in Bucyrus.

“This is a civil servant. This is a man, who serves his community, and he is not just going to stand by and let them (the city) take away what he has worked so hard to build,” Stone said.

Bucyrus mayor Jeff Reser said Tuesday that a pre-disciplinary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon regarding recent actions by Keller. He did not comment beyond this, explaining “these are private personnel issues.”

The Stone Law Firm has issued a press release stating Keller has been informed the City of Bucyrus will “begin termination proceedings against him on Wednesday, Oct. 11.”

“Let’s call this like this is … We know where this is headed. A man goes 29 years without a single disciplinary mark on his record and now we’re sitting here, and we’re looking at his second in three months, maybe,” Stone said.

“He hasn’t changed who he is. He hasn’t changed the way he’s conducted himself … We know where this is headed. You can call it discipline – you can call it what you want to – we know that they want to get rid of Jay.”

According to Stone, Wednesday’s event will address a situation that took place three to four weeks ago, where Keller recorded a meeting. Stone says that nothing was done “maliciously,” and Keller was unaware that he wasn’t allowed to record the meeting.

Keller had done it so he could “go back and remember what was said,” the attorney stated.

Further, Stone says he “can’t find anything that would support disciplinary action or termination based on what my client did.”

Stone believes the timing of the disciplinary action is also odd. Keller is on leave after undergoing back surgery. The press release stated he’s temporarily unable to return to his duties as chief, but Keller is confident he will make a full recovery and be able to return.

“I’ve worked my tail off,” Keller said.

He noted a regimen that includes physical therapy and walking four miles per day. This past weekend, Keller participated in a 5K race, where he walked and ran. He was proud to outrace his wife, Tamy, and be the first in his age bracket, even if he was the only one in that category.

The 52-year-old also met with the city in July after there were allegations brought about saying that the chief has been inappropriate and used racial slurs.

Stone said the chief denied his involvement, but agreed to certain disciplinary “goals,” taking the punishment as an opportunity to be a better chief.

Keller says the situation has made it difficult for him and his family to go anywhere in Bucyrus.

“I go into a store in town here and I’m in there two hours listening to people either support me or calling me things,” he said. “What did I do to deserve this?

“I know I’ve served this place, and I know I served it with dignity. And it kills me when this happens.”

His wife Tamy also mentioned this, saying she no longer likes going to the grocery store.

The couple’s daughters Jordan and Emily were also present at the press conference. The girls recall putting their names and hand prints on the wall of the fire station when they were younger, along with other children.

“These are people we’ve always been around, our whole lives we grew up with, I just don’t understand,” Jordan said.

Chief Keller will attend the meeting with the city. He and Stone are “preparing for the worst.”

Additionally, Keller has begun the process of filing a formal complaint with Ohio Civil Rights Commission and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying Bucyrus is engaging in age discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation against Chief Keller.

“You generally don’t file that complaint until after termination, however, because of Jay’s situation specifically and the fact that we are seeing this compiling discipline, I feel it’s necessary to go ahead and preserve that right.”

Keller and his wife grew up in the area. They met in high school and later married.

Jay Keller accepted a position with the Bucyrus Fire Department the day after graduating from Ohio State University. He’s held the position of fire chief since 2002.

“Bucyrus is us,” Keller said. “I love this town to death and it hurts that something like this would happen. I’m from here. We all just love Bucyrus.”