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Firefighter’s Right of Entry
This month in Firehouse Magazine, my Fire Law column Can a Homeowner Just Say No focused on the right of firefighters to enter onto someone’s property with or without their permission to investigate and extinguish a fire. From the phone calls, emails and comments I have received, the column touched on a topic of great interest to many firefighters. A number of you have written to me asking for your state’s laws on the subject. I spent four hours yesterday doing that kind of research for several states and it only scratched the surface. The problem is – there is only…
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Iowa Firefighter Alleges Pregnancy Discrimination Over Denial of Light Duty
A Clinton, Iowa firefighter has filed a gender and pregnancy discrimination suit because she was not granted a light duty position to accommodate her pregnancy. Karen McQuistion is a firefighter with the Clinton Fire Department who became pregnant last spring. On May 11, 2011 she notified Fire Chief Mark Regenwether, and requested that her condition be accommodated by a transfer to a light duty position. That request was denied due to the financial condition of the city, and McQuistion continued to work on the line until September 29, 2011 when her doctor advised her to take leave. In October 2011, McQuistion…
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Sugarloaf Report Clears Ambulance and Medics
The State of Maine’s division of Emergency Medical Services has completed its investigation into the death of a skier on January 12, 2012, and cleared the ambulance service and paramedics involved of any wrongdoing. This is the second investigation to similarly clear personnel of any wrongdoing. The Carabassett Valley Police Department issued its report in March, 2012 finding no criminal wrongdoing. The bizarre story began when David Morse struck a tree while skiing with his family at the Sugarloaf Ski Area, suffering serious chest trauma. He was promptly treated by the ski patrol who got him down the hill to…
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Louisiana Firefighters Settle Suit for $395k
A group of 35 firefighters have settled a decade’s long lawsuit against the City of Ruston, Louisiana for $395,000. The suit was filed in 2001 over the way that officers’ compensation was being calculated. The suit alleged that the city failed to comply with a state law mandating that officers be paid a minimum pay differential above firefighters’ base pay. At the time suit was filed, base pay for firefighters was $4.35 per hour, $5.15 for firefighters with EMT. State law required captains to be paid at least 25% more than firefighters, which the suit alleged was not being done. Both…
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Maine Firefighter Pleads Guilty to Arson
A volunteer firefighter suspected in a series of fires in Maine last summer, accepted a plea agreement last week and began serving a prison term. Timothy Tiess, 37, of the Pleasant Point Fire Department, was charged with five counts of arson and one charge of aggravated criminal mischief related to a series of fires in July 2010. He was suspected of setting both wildland and structure fires but was only charged for the wildland fires. This was apparently not Tiess’s first go-round with setting fires. The Bangor Daily News is reporting that Tiess had three prior convictions for fire-related incidents…
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Ohio Firefighter Ordered Reinstated
An Ohio firefighter terminated following a positive cocaine test has been ordered reinstated by 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals. The decision issued on March 12, 2012 involved firefighter Anthony DeCarlo, of the Parma Fire Department, who was terminated on December 8, 2009. The grounds for the termination was a positive cocaine test along with deceptive answers to questions regarding cocaine use. Parma Firefighters, IAFF Local 639 filed a grievance over DeCarlo’s termination. In December, 2010 the arbitrator found the city lacked just cause for the termination and ordered DeCarlo reinstated immediately without backpay. The city filed suit in the Court…
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US Sues Texas City Over Demotion Related to “Wetback” Complaint
The US Government has filed suit against the city of Selma, Texas alleging that the city unlawfully demoted a fire lieutenant after he complained about the fire chief’s use of an ethnic slur. Fire lieutenant Adam Sadler objected to Fire Chief Ric Braun’s use of the slur “wetbacks” in describing yard work he wanted the firefighters to perform. Lt. Sadler filed a written complaint with Selma’s HR Officer Rebecca Del Torro on June 17, 2009. On July 8, 2009, Del Torro completed her investigation, concluded the Chief made the derogatory comments, and required him to attend sensitivity training. Four days later…
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South Carolina EMS Case Settles for $150k
A contentious suit against two Beaufort County paramedics has ended in a $150,000 settlement to the victim of a 2008 beating who claims the medics mishandled his injuries. In 2009, Brian Lanese and his wife Tracy filed a lawsuit against paramedics Jeffrey Knieling and Shayna Orsen, and Beaufort County alleging that the paramedics’ negligence resulted in Brian’s being hospitalized for brain injuries. In 2008 he was assaulted by multiple assailants in his backyard, but according to the suit the paramedics assumed he was intoxicated or on drugs. He was hospitalized for a month following the assault and is reported to have…
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California Fire Department Sues Hoarders Over Safety Concerns
A California fire department concerned about the fire hazards associated with a house of hoarders (Collyer Mansion), has taken the drastic step of suing the three brothers who own and reside in the property. The Tiburon Fire Protection District and the city of Belvedere, California have filed suit against John, Paul and Ted Kraus, who live at 89 Bellevue Avenue. They are seeking to have the home declared a “public nuisance” in violation of city code, and to have a receiver appointed to manage the cleanup on the property. The suit is the culmination of years of efforts by city and fire…
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Ithaca Firefighter Claims Discrimination over Middle Eastern Ethnicity
The case of an Ithaca, New York firefighter is in the news as one of four employment discrimination cases the city is battling. Mark Hassan was terminated by the Ithaca Fire Department in April, 2011. He claims the termination was retaliation for a complaint he filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights in December 2010. That complaint alleged Hassan was being systematically harassed and discriminated against because of his Middle Eastern ancestry. The suit was originally filed in state court on July 1, 2011 against the fire department, IAFF Local 737, and several named chiefs and…
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Texas Chief Loses Suit Against Union
A Texas appeals court has rejected the appeal of a former fire chief who sued the firefighters’ union for engaging in a “sinister and ill conceived” campaign to cause his termination. Michael Pruitt was the first African-American Fire Chief in Longview, Texas. Following his termination in 2009, he sued the Longview Professional Firefighters Association IAFF Local 4331, its officers and directors alleging they aided and abetted unlawful race discrimination against him. The suit also alleged common law intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference with employment relations. The trial court dismissed Chief Pruitt’s claims finding…
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Roanoke Sex in Station Suit Dismissed
The epic case of Roanoke fire captain Dennis Croft turned another page last week with a Federal court ruling dismissing his sex discrimination lawsuit. Captain Croft was fired back in 2010 after his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Van Ness, told fire department investigators that she had sex with him in the fire station while he was on duty. The couple had recently parted ways and Van Ness herself was under investigation for misconduct. A city grievance panel reinstated Croft but demoted him to lieutenant. Van Ness, a city EMT who was off duty at the time of the incident, was given a written…
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Gambling Larceny Suspension Reprieve for Missouri Chief
Today’s Burning Question: I was off duty and went to a casino. I sat down at a slot machine, put in $20 and started playing… er… well… losing. As I was playing/losing some jerk comes up to me and says I was at his machine and he left his player’s card in it. He claims I used up something like $27 worth of his credits. Can I be charged with anything? Answer: In Missouri you can be charged with larceny… and if you don’t tell your boss you got arrested you could get yourself suspended. But it all worked out…
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Sheridan Firefighters Lose Step Increase Suit
Firefighters in Sheridan, Wyoming have lost their bid to receive step increases in their pay. IAFF Local 276 filed suit last year after the city council refused grant six firefighters step increases that the union claims had been honored for the past 30 years. The raises were worth roughly $6,600, which city officials claimed they could not afford. On March 16, 2012, District Court Judge John Fenn granted the city’s motion for summary judgment ruling that the collective bargaining agreement contained no provision that required the step increases. The union’s remaining option is the Wyoming Supreme Court. Incidentally, out of…
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