Victim in firehouse hazing incident reaches settlement with Marion County
Settlement reached in civil case of Marion County firehouse 'hazing'
Kayne Stuart was beaten and waterboarded while filling in at Marion County Fire Rescue’s "Friendship Station" in December of 2025. Details of Kayne’s agreement with the County are mostly confidential. We do know one aspect of it, the worker’s comp portion, settled for $100,000. Stuart has now reached a settlement with Marion County.
MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A man who was beaten and waterboarded while filling in at Marion County Fire Rescue’s "Friendship Station" in December 2025 just reached a plea deal with the county.
Kayne Stuart was working at Marion County Fire' Station 21 last December when four firefighters took part in beating him with his own belt, dragged him across the parking lot and waterboarded him three times with a towel, as described by the Marion County Sheriff's office.
After Stuart spoke up, three of the firefighters involved faced criminal prosecution and pleaded guilty to battery. Ten people in total were fired.
Kayne Stuart
What we know:
Now that a plea agreement in a civil case has been reached, details with the county are mostly confidential.
FOX 35 has learned that the worker’s comp portion settled for $100,000.
Stuart’s attorney, Jeff Bichler, the Managing Partner at Bichler Law, said Stuart was happy with the agreement.
"I think that they did the right thing and recognizing their own sense of responsibility for this and to help my client move on with his life, which is what he's doing now," Bichler said.
Though Marion County Fire did not respond to a request to comment on the settlement on July 31, the department's Public Information Officer James Lucas said in December 2025, "We'd like our citizens to know that we are here to answer their call on their worst day. We hope to restore the trust and confidence that the citizens once had in us."
A former Marion County firefighter has reached a settlement in a civil case against three co-workers who beat him in what was called firehouse "hazing."
What's next:
The Florida Department of Health is also reviewing whether to void the EMT licenses of the firefighters involved in the incident.
Stuart is applying now to be a firefighter with a different agency.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered by FOX 35's Marie Edinger.