Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for July 15, 2024, Brad and Curt discuss a disciplinary investigation into a Kentucky firefighter caught hanging out of the window of a moving Cadillac while wearing a department t-shirt; the dismissal of ...

Read More »

A Kentucky firefighter has been placed on administrative leave as his fire department investigates a social media post containing a photo of him hanging out of a moving car window while wearing a department shirt. The Clay City Fire Department reportedly became aware of the incident by a Facebook post.

Read More »

A contentious lawsuit brought by a former assistant chief in New Haven, Connecticut against several other chief officers has finally come to a conclusion. Orlando Marcano, who was the Assistant Chief of Administration, filed suit in 2019 naming Fire Chief John Alston, Assistant Chief of Operations Mark Vendetto, IAFF Local 825 Union President Frank Ricci, and an administrative assistant, Cherlyn Poindexter.

Read More »

The City of Pawtucket has agreed to pay five city firefighters $1,000 each for unlawfully searching their firehouse lockers. Firefighters Noah LeBlanc, Stephen Garlick, Manuel Benevides, Scott McDonald, and Steven Como filed suit last December alleging a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.

Read More »

Maui County is currently contemplating settling the claims of over 2,000 parties who collectively filed 449 separate lawsuits into last year’s devastating wildland fire. Pending before Maui’s County Council is a resolution regarding Mayor Richard Bissen’s request for a “global ...

Read More »

The sensational lawsuit by Rochester firefighter Jerrod Jones has been settled for $150,000, or $521,000, depending on your perspective. Jones claimed he was the victim of race discrimination that culminated in a white captain ordering him to attend a racist party in 2022 while on-duty.

Read More »

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for July 8, 2024, Brad and Curt discuss an FLSA overtime suit filed by firefighters in Morgantown, West Virginia; an FLSA suit filed by Virginia EMTs who claims the county improperly paid them ...

Read More »

Fifty-six firefighters with the Morgantown Fire Department have filed two suits claiming the city has not been paying them properly for overtime. One suit was filed in US District Court for the District of West Virginia and the other in Monongalia Circuit Court.

Read More »

Twelve current and former members of the Page County Fire & EMS have filed a class action lawsuit claiming they were not compensated for all of the hours they worked, and not paid overtime as required by the FLSA. The suit alleges the plaintiffs are non-fire EMS personnel who the county treated as §207k qualifying firefighters.

Read More »

The discrimination claims brought by a Chicago firefighter have been dismissed, but the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois will allow her claims of retaliation to proceed. Lee Ann McKay filed suit against the city, the retirement board and five individual officers in 2021.

Read More »

The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the right of Indiana firefighters to recover damages from negligent property owners despite the firefighter’s rule. In doing so, the court recognized that distinct from the firefighter’s rule is the rescue doctrine, which in turn impacts a third consideration: the first-responder’s rule.

Read More »

The 6th Circuit has upheld a district court decision dismissing negligence claims brought against the US by insurance providers who paid claims resulting from the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains fire. The fire burned over 16k acres, damaged 2500 structures, destroyed Gatlinburg, and killed 14.

Read More »

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for July 1, 2024, Curt and attorney Bill Podszus discuss a lawsuit filed by seven LA City firefighters injured in the explosion of a CNG powered semi-truck; a litigation mess in Clarksburg, West ...

Read More »

The Clarksburg, WV FLSA lawsuit covered last week has taken a turn with two additional proceedings coming to light. Firefighters actually filed two suits: the one we covered and a second suit filed in state court. In addition, the city terminated the fire chief who was a plaintiff in both suits.

Read More »