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Mount Vernon Deputy Chief Seeks Back Pay For Suspension
A deputy chief in Mount Vernon, NY who was suspended last September has filed suit claiming his due process rights were violated. Deputy Chief Al-Farid Salahuddin was suspended after a profanity-laden audio recording of him speaking with a fire lieutenant surfaced.
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Racism Has No Home In Our Firehouse
It didn’t take long for the public to express outrage over the fact that a ladder company on Long Island was driving around displaying a large Confederate Flag earlier today. It also didn’t take long for the fire department to take immediate action to address the situation.
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Michigan Medics’ Licenses Suspended By State Following Mistaken Death Pronouncement
The licenses of two Michigan paramedics have been suspended by the state Department of Health and Human Services pending an investigation into how a patient was declared dead, released to a funeral home, and found to be alive hours later by funeral home staff preparing to embalm her.
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Tampa Firefighters Sue to Enforce Arbitrator’s Award
Tampa Firefighters, IAFF Local 754, filed suit last week to confirm an arbitration award ordering the reinstatement of a firefighter who was terminated last year. The firefighter was terminated following his arrest on charges of solicitation. He was off-duty at the time, but in uniform.
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Bellingham Intubation Training Suit Settled for $175k
The City of Bellingham, Washington has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the widow of a man whose body was used by firefighters to practice their intubation skills for $175,000. Jai Ginn’s federal court suit against the city, eleven firefighters, and Whatcom County’s medical program director alleged a due process violation and tortious interference with a dead body.
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Mississippi EMT Charged with Driving Ambulance Under the Influence
An EMT for American Medical Response in Mississippi is facing DUI charges after a concerned citizen filmed and persuaded the ambulance driver to pull over last Saturday. The incident occurred while the ambulance was transporting a patient.
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Michigan County Sued Over Dispatch Error
The family of a fourteen-year old who died after suffering an asthma-attack that left him brain-dead on life-support, has filed suit against Monroe County and a county dispatcher that they claim mishandled the 911 call. Bobby Reyes experienced difficulty breathing on September 21, 2019, prompting his mother, Sarah Jones, to initially help him search for his inhaler.
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Minnesota Medic Claims Whistleblower Retaliation
A Minnesota paramedic who resigned last year has filed suit in federal court alleging he was retaliated against for reporting the falsification of EMS training attendance records and because he refused a police sergeant's direction to administer ketamine to a patient. Joseph Paul Baker filed suit last week naming the City of Woodbury, the fire chief and two fire commanders.
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Fired Washington Chief Will Get Trial But COVID May Mean No Jury
A Washington state fire chief who was terminated in 2019 after a vote of no-confidence by his firefighters, has survived a motion to dismiss his wrongful termination suit by establishing a question of fact as to whether the city had just cause to terminate him. Fire Chief David Bathke has terminated by the City of Ocean Shores in March, 2019 after less than two years at the helm.
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NY Appeals Court Upholds Reduced Verdict In Accident Case
The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court has upheld a jury verdict awarding a motorist $20,000 in damages over an accident with a responding volunteer firefighter. Oddly enough, it was the motorist who appealed the verdict contending that the jury and the court erred in finding him 60% at fault and the volunteer firefighter just 40% at fault for the accident.
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Latrobe Firefighters Sue City and Chief
Five members of a volunteer fire company in Latrobe, Pennsylvania have filed suit claiming their suspension and subsequent expulsion violated the First and Fourteen Amendments of the US Constitution. The suit names the City of Latrobe, Mayor Rosemarie M. Wolford, the Latrobe Volunteer Fire Department, Fire Chief John Brasile, and LVFD President Charles McDowell, Jr.
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Bridgeport Prevails in Suit Over Warehouse Fire
The Connecticut Court of Appeals has rejected the claims of a building owner who sought to hold the Bridgeport Fire Department liable for a major warehouse fire that resulted in a toxic waste cleanup costing the EPA over $2.3 million. 25 Grant Street LLC, filed suit alleging the fire department’s failure to conduct inspections coupled with a decision to apply water to “a small fire” in a building containing drums of toxic chemicals, led to the damages.
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Former Marine Claims FDNY Colleagues Mocked His Military Service and PTSD
A former Marine captain who was hired in 2019 by FDNY has filed suit claiming that he was hazed during his initial assignment and retaliated against when he complained. Charles Hughes filed suit last month in US District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging an assortment of federal and state law discrimination claims.
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Connecticut City Discards Firefighter Hiring List After Cheating Scandal
The City of Norwalk has decided to discard its current firefighter hiring list and retest candidates following an investigation into possible cheating. The decision comes on the heels of the resignation of an assistant chief, and the release of an investigative report. At issue appears to be the involvement of the assistant chief in the development of the oral portion of the test, and whether he provided information to his son who took the exam.
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