Fire chiefs were due to be grilled at an employment tribunal.
Rescue heroine Anne-Marie MacDonald has taken her employers to task following an investigation carried out last year.
In June 2011, The Falkirk Herald revealed that the firefighter had been suspended by bosses at Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service.
Following an investigation, Ms MacDonald, who was a watch manager at Bo’ness fire station, was demoted two ranks.
She later appealed the decision, but this was not upheld and she has now taken her case to an employment tribunal.
The allegations surrounding the investigation have never been made public, although are understood to have concerned the firefighter’s conduct.
Senior members of the fire and rescue service are believed to have been called as witnesses at the three-day tribunal hearing which was scheduled to begin yesterday (Wednesday) in Edinburgh.
Ms MacDonald has not been at work since the initial investigation was launched more than 15 months ago and remains at her Laurieston home on full pay.
As well as being a long-standing member of the fire and rescue service, she has also a lengthy association of the Grangemouth-based charity International Rescue Corps.
Set up by her husband, retired firefighter Willie McMartin, the organisation provides aid to natural and man-made disasters around the world.
Ms MacDonald has attended emergencies around the world with the rescue corps, often putting her own life on the line to help rescue victims of earthquakes and floods.
Her husband received an MBE from HM The Queen in 2000 for his work with the charity.
The firefighter is unable to talk about the case until it has concluded.
A spokeswoman for Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service said: “We cannot make any comment while the tribunal is ongoing.”
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