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Buffalo Firefighters Accused of Overtime Scam
Buffalo firefighters are in the news over an alleged overtime scam. Mayor Byron Brown claims the scam involves a longstanding practice of buying and selling overtime shifts, coupled with healthy firefighters calling in sick to create additional overtime openings. The buying and selling aspect of the scam came to light when firefighters publically admitted the practice was occurring, apparently oblivious to the appearance, legalities and tax consequences of the practice. Firefighters deny the sick leave abuse aspect. At the heart of the buying and selling practice appears to be the fact that overtime compensation is calculated into an employee’s pension. As a result,…
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SC Paramedic Charged in Pot Coverup
A South Carolina paramedic who has been under investigation for the past week, was arrested and charged today for her role in taking and concealing marijuana that was in the pocket of an accident victim. Chelsea Arrowood, 27, of Berkeley County EMS, surrendered to State Highway Patrol this afternoon and was charged with obstruction of justice. On November 10, 2011 she responded to a fatal motor vehicle accident and treated the driver of one of the vehicles, Shana Robinson, 33. Robinson was later charged with felony DWI, death resulting. Arrowood is accused of taking marijuana from Robinson’s pocket in order…
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Mass Union Treasurer Resigns Following Embezzlement Allegations
A veteran Plymouth, Massachusetts, firefighter and union official has resigned from the department following allegations that he embezzled funds from the union. Steven Adams, 55, the treasurer of Plymouth Firefighters Local 1768, stands accused of embezzling between $7,000 and $10,000 from the union. Adams, who joined the department in 2000 and served as the union treasurer for 10 years, came under investigation after new union officers conducted an audit and discovered a shortfall. Adams has denied the allegation, claiming he may not have kept good records but did not steal the missing funds. He claims he spent money to purchase “stuff…
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Fire Chief’s Termination Met With Protests
It is hardly unusual these days for a fire chief to be terminated. Fire chiefs are under attack from all sides – including angry firefighters, and upset political bosses. What is unusual is when a community rallies around a fired fire chief. That is what is happening in Nowata, Oklahoma. In fact there are protests at city hall by citizens who are upset with a decision to terminate Fire Chief Don Belden. A Facebook page by Nowata Citizens for Positive Change has taken up the chief’s cause. Here’s a video covering the story.
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Alabama Firefighter Charged With Stealing Breast Cancer T Shirt Proceeds
An Alabama volunteer firefighter is facing felony theft charges after stealing approximately $2,000 in donated funds his fire company had raised for breast cancer research. Phillip Jones, 34, of the Tallassee Volunteer Fire Department has allegedly admitted to stealing the funds on several occasions and using it to buy drugs. The funds were raised through the sale of the TVFD’s pink breast cancer awareness T-shirts. Besides the criminal charges, Jones has been dismissed from the fire company. For more on the story. And a news video (that refuses to embed!!!!)
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Responding Volunteer Firefighter in Missouri Ticketed for Reckless Driving
A volunteer firefighter in Missouri who was responding to an emergency in his personal vehicle with lights and siren on, has been charged with reckless driving. Matt Ousley from the New Bloomfield Fire Protection District was cited on Saturday, November 5, 2011 by the Holt Summit Police Department. Ousley contends that he was driving responsibly, although he admits to have been driving at 10 mph over the prescribed speed limit, and passing vehicles that had yielded the right of way. He and his fire chief, Dean Powell, insist he was operating within the legal limits prescribed for an emergency vehicle. However, Assistant…
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Congressman Drops Wildland Suit Against Billings FD
Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg has agreed to drop his controversial lawsuit against the Billings Fire Department over the handling of a 2008 wildland fire on his ranch. The suit, filed in 2010, alleged that Billings firefighters were negligent in failing to fully extinguish the fire on July 2, 2008, allowing it rekindle on July 4, 2008 destroying 1200 acres. The Congressman has characterized the dismissal as necessary because “politics” have been injected into the case. However, the suit has had political implications from the day it was filed. Back in 2010, Rehberg strategically waited until he had won a key…
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Ohio Lieutenant Indicted For Fire Truck Parts Scam
An Ohio volunteer fire lieutenant and a mechanic have been indicted and charged with operating a $180,000 fire apparatus parts scam. Milton Township Volunteer Fire Department lieutenant Phillip Bruss and mechanic Dale Butter were charged with theft and receiving stolen property after they were arrested for scamming fire departments through a company, Northeast Ohio Emergency Vehicles, which dealt online in fire truck parts.
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LA Captain Accused of Bogus Payroll Scheme
A Los Angeles fire captain is on paid administrative leave as the LAFD investigates how he was able to receive nearly $80,000 in additional compensation from the department in 2010. Captain Eric Vasquez was assigned to supervise time sheet recordkeeping, and is alleged to have found a way to receive compensation for roughly 23 weeks of vacation time plus his regular salary. In 2010 Vasquez received $185,645, while in 2009 he received $168,494. The discrepancies were discovered when the department switched from a manual to a computerized time tracking system. LAWeekly took a sarcastic swipe at the LAFD over the…
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Swedish Firefighter Wins Reverse Discrimination Suit
Employment discrimination suits have become an unfortunate commonplace in the American fire service. Roughly two out of every 5 suits involving fire departments is a discrimination suit, with aproximately 40% of those being reverse discrimination cases. In Sweden, a man seeking a summer job as a firefighter made unusual headlines last summer when he sued a fire department alleging he was wrongfully passed over due to unlawful set asides intended for women and “people with foreign backgrounds”. Last spring, Simon Wallmark applied for a summer job with the Södertörns Brandförsvarsförbund (SBFF) fire department, a suburban department outside of Stockholm. Wallmark had previous experience as firefighter, had…
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Mass Firefighter and Justice Department sue Pittsfield for USERRA Violation.
Pittsfield firefighter Jeffrey Rawson and the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the City of Pittsfield under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) alleging that the city discriminated and retaliated against Rawson by denying him a promotion due to his military obligations as a Navy reservist. The lawsuit claims that Rawson ranked second on a 2009 promotional list for lieutenant, but in September, 2010 was skipped in favor of a firefighter who ranked lower. The department allegedly cited military related absenteeism as grounds for bypassing Rawson. Rawson filed a complaint with the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment…
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Iowa Volunteer Fire Department the Victim of Insider Money Mischief
Another investigation into alleged financial misdealings by a trusted fire service leader is making headlines, this time in Iowa where a state audit has concluded that the fire chief “misspent” at least $96,000. Denison Volunteer Fire Department’s former fire chief, Mike McKinnon, who joined the department in January, 1999 and resigned in January, 2010, stands accused by the State Auditor David Vaudt of making $96,000 in “improper and unsupported disbursements”, including some to fictitious companies and others owned by McKinnon. The 20 month investigation was prompted by the concern of local officials, and focused on the period from 2005 to…
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Fire Company Hit with Multi-Million Dollar Verdict
A New Jersey volunteer fire company that responded to a wires down incident in 2007, has been hit with a major portion of a $20.5 million verdict in favor of a man who was shocked and traumatically injured. Last Friday, a jury found the Northside Engine Company, of Tinton Falls, to be 60 percent responsible for the injuries sustained by William Hagerman on February 15, 2007. The jury concluded that the remaining 40% share was attributable to Jersey Central Power & Light. The incident occurred during an ice storm. The fire company was dispatched to reported wires down, and according…
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Ohio Firefighter Alleges Retaliation Over Refusing Prior Promotion
Today’s burning question: I’m a black firefighter and in September, 2010 I placed 5th on a promotional exam for lieutenant. Last December, the chief offered me a promotion to lieutenant, but when it was disclosed that I was selected out of turn because of my race, I turned it down. Now the chief has gone past me on the list, and I think it’s because I didn’t take the promotion last year. Do I have a case? In a nutshell, that is the story of firefighter William Phelps of the Berea Fire Department in Berea, Ohio. Dave Statter covered this…
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