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Nashville FD Medic Paid While in Prison
A Nashville paramedic is in trouble for neglecting to inform his superiors that he was in jail while off on extended medical leave. Robert Plummer spent seven days behind bars in 2010 and nearly 3 months in jail in 2011. The Nashville Fire Department placed him on administrative leave pending disciplinary charges. Click Thru to see a video on the case. The case is reminiscent of Haverhill, Massachusetts firefighter Kevin Thompson who used an assortment of subs, vacation and sick time to cover 4 months in prison in New Hampshire.
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New Details Emerge in Sugarloaf Death
The first of several anticipated reports about the bizarre January 12, 2012 death of a skier injured at the Sugarloaf Ski Area has been issued by the local police department. David Morse died while being transported by ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital. During that transport, paramedics pronounced him dead, and returned his body to the ski area. The Carrabassett Valley Police Department issued their report last week, concluding that the death was accidental and no crimes were committed by the crew. The report also shed light on a particularly disturbing allegation arising from the incident. Morse’s widow, Dana, publically accused…
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FDNY Ordered to Pay Up to $128M in Damages
In a long anticipated ruling, Federal District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis has ordered the city of New York to pay damages to past minority applicants to FDNY a total of up to $128,696,803. The ruling is part of the 2007 discrimination suit brought by the United States and the Vulcan Society alleging decades of discriminatory hiring. The total amount that claimants could receive will likely be less than the full $128M, because it will be offset by any income that the claimants actually made during the interim years. Tensions continue to increase between the city and Judge Garaufis. City officials…
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Ontario Village Fined $93,750 for Training LODD
In Ontario, Canada the Ministry of Labour has fined the Village of Point Edward a total of $93,750 for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act following the 2010 death of a volunteer firefighter. Gary Kendall died on January 30, 2010 during ice rescue training when an unexpected movement of an ice flow pushed him under water for over four minutes. The Ministry of Labour issued a total of 11 charges against the Village, Fire Chief Doug MacKenzie, and Terry Harrison, who organized the training. On Tuesday, the Village pled guilty to failing to take reasonable precautions to protect a…
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Atlanta Cheating Scandal Ruling Rescinds Promotions
A judge has ordered 5 promotions rescinded and awarded $320,000 in damages to three Atlanta firefighters in an ongoing lawsuit that alleged race-related cheating. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kelly A. Lee issued the ruling yesterday. The decision comes less than a month after a jury found that the city failed to fully investigate allegation that five black candidates were given unfair advantage in the promotional process. In rescinding the promotions, the judge ordered that a retest be given by an independent testing company. The hearing will continue on Friday when the judge is expected to provide additional details on…
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Station Modifications and Gender Discrimination
Today’s Burning Question: My department is an all career medium sized department in the mid-west with 7 firehouses. We recently promoted several engineers, which prompted a series of transfers. In the process a female firefighter (engineer) was denied a transfer to a single engine firehouse because it has no female locker room or restroom facilities. The firehouse has always been an all-male station and the department has publically stated that it needs to remain this way for now in order to avoid any problems due to the lack of female facilities. The department’s plan to renovate the stations had to…
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PA Volunteer Fire Official Charged with Theft
Another headline about theft in the volunteer fire service… this time in Pennsylvania … $74k
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City to Appeal Reinstatement Order of Medic who Flushed Drugs
An Ohio firefighter paramedic who was terminated for taking illegal drugs from an incident scene and later destroying them in 2010, has been ordered reinstated by an arbitrator. North Royalton firefighter Richard Urich responded to the scene of a heroin overdose, and was observed by coworkers to have taken drugs from the scene. Urich claims that he flushed some of the drugs down the toilet and took the rest to the hospital. Additional drugs were discovered in the rescue squad vehicle. He said was acting out of concern for the safety of a child at the scene. Following an internal…
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Eight Indiana Departments Sued Over Ice Rescue Death
The parents of a teenager who drowned after falling through thin ice on Terrace Lake in Columbus, Indiana in December, 2010 have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against …. well… everyone: The State of Indiana, City of Columbus, County of Bartholomew, Columbus Regional Hospital Foundation, the Terrace Lake Lot Owners Association, and eight different police, fire, and water rescue departments. The suit arose from an incident that occurred on December 21, 2010 when three teenaged boys were walking on the ice at about 6:30 p.m. They fell through the ice at a point about 200 feet from land. Two of the…
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LA County Settles EMS Claim for $250k
The County of Los Angeles has settled a negligence claim filed by the family of a 17 year old victim who was allowed to decline aid, but later lapsed into a vegetative coma where he has remained for over two years. The case arose on November 17, 2009, when Andriy Sviridov of Los Angeles was injured in an altercation in a McDonald’s parking lot in West Hollywood. LA County firefighters responded and evaluated Sviridov, and allowed him to decline aid. According the department records, his vitals signs were normal and he did not want to be examined or transported. He…
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