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Kansas Chief Seeks $1.3 million for Sex Discrimination
A deputy chief who was laid off by the Topeka Fire Department in 2010 due to budget cuts, has filed a claim for $1.3 million alleging that the elimination of her position, and the refusal to rehire her for a training position, was gender based and retaliatory. Kathy Petty was one of Topeka’s first female firefighters, and the first to reach the rank of deputy chief. She had been in the cross-hairs of the union, with 86% of the rank and file having expressed their dissatisfaction with her performance in a 2006 poll. Her position was eliminated in February, 2010.…
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Maryland Volunteer Fire Department Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Burning
Does the headline really say that? Yes it does. The Fairmount Volunteer Fire Department and two men, Ryan Miller and James Taylor, pled guilty to criminal charges of unlawful burning after they burned Miller’s demolished house in Westover, Maryland, without getting clearance from the Somerset County. Miller had filed a request for a permit to burn down his house but it was denied by Somerset County because the house was already in a demolished condition. As such it constituted solid waste and was subject to solid waste disposal laws. Taylor, who was an assistant fire chief for Fairmount VFD, conducted the…
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Medical Confidentiality: Off-Duty Threats
I received an interesting question – for today’s burning question: If an EMS crew is called to the home of an off-duty firefighter and she is drunk, suicidal and threatening to harm her husband, can the crew inform a supervisor? If she goes so far as to threaten the crew, can the crew disclose the threat to the police and a supervisor? Answer: wow… you guys are killing me. The obvious issue that arises in this situation is that of medical confidentiality. There may also be a duty to report law for domestic abuse that may be triggered – based…
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Pennsylvania Fire Department Sued Over Massive Plant Fire
The owner of a large commercial structure in Union City, Pennsylvania that was destroyed by fire last December, has filed suit against a volunteer fire company and the Borough of Union City. Carl Boone, owner of a 210,000 square foot building that formerly was a furniture manufacturing facility for Ethan Allen, claims that firefighters failed to do enough to extinguish the fire, and failed to use the building’s built in fire protection system (which I assume means the sprinkler system). The fire was reported to have been started by workers using a torches, but the lawsuit alleges it was actually started…
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Portland Fire Boat Mishap Leads to Discipline
A captain and a firefighter from Portland, Maine have been suspended following a marine mishap with a fire boat that resulted in approximately $38,000 worth of damage. Captain Christopher Goodall and Firefighter Joseph Murphy were operating The City of Portland IV on October 15, 2011 when it ran aground. Murphy was piloting the vessel at the time, received a 3 day suspension, while Captain Goodall received a 10 day suspension. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard has initiated an investigation into the incident, and why the accident was not reported. According to a city spokesperson, officials were not aware they had…
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Hepatitis C Presumption Upheld in Philadelphia Case
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has upheld the widow of a Philadelphia firefighter in her claim that her husband’s Hepatitis C was contracted in the line of duty. Joseph Kriebel served as a Philadelphia firefighter from 1974 until 2003. He passed away on October 25, 2004, from liver disease caused by Hepatitis C. Patricia Kriebel, filed a workers’ compensation claim following his death claiming that his disease and death were job related. The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act identifies Hepatitis C as an “occupational disease” for career and volunteer firefighters, and section 301(e) of the Act creates a rebuttable presumption that…
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Another Duty to Act Case: Blount County, Tennessee
The son of a Tennessee woman who died in a house fire last year, has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Blount County Fire Protection District, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, Blount County 911 Center, and the man who allegedly set the fire. Cheryl Quinn died in an October 14, 2010 fire that was allegedly set by her ex-boyfriend Thomas Henderson. Ms. Quinn discovered the fire and dialed 911. She told dispatchers that Henderson set the fire, was present outside her house acting “crazy”, and that she was afraid of him. Her son, William Quinn, alleges the fire department, sheriff’s office, and 911…
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Fire District Sues US Forest Service Over Right To Use Road To Respond
For the second time in 3 years a volunteer fire department in Washington state has taken on the US Forest Service over the use of a rural road across Federal property to respond to emergencies. The Kittitas County Fire District No. 8 claims that the US Forest Service’s refusal to allow use of approximately 1500 feet of Stampede Pass Road, adds as much as 30 minutes to its responses to parts of its first due district. The problem is primarily limited to the winter months when snow blocks the road. It is at that time of the year that snowmobilers,…
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Chicago Firefighter’s Family Sues Building Owner Over LODD
The family of a Chicago firefighter killed in 2010, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the property owners of the vacant building where the fire occurred. Firefighters Edward Stringer, 47, and Corey Ankum, 34, were killed in a collapse on December 22, 2010 at a fire at the former Sing Way Cleaners, at 1744 East 75th Street. The fire went to three alarms and injured 19 other firefighters. Today, Stringer’s daughter Jennifer and son Edward Jr. filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chuck M. Dai and Richard Dai, the owners of building. They had been cited previously for code…
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News Media Catches Up With FDNY EMS Officer’s Discrimination Suit
Several EMS and New York news sources reported today that a female EMS lieutenant with FDNY has filed a race discrimination suit against the city. Lt. Valarie Brancato actually filed the suit on June 24, 2011. What occurred recently (September 30th to be exact) was that the city of New York answered her complaint by denying all of her allegations and asserting 12 separate defenses. The timing of the recent news interest in this four month old story is curious. It coincides with considerable media attention on the FDNY race discrimination case being handled by Judge Nicholas Garaufis. Judge Garaufis has…
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Career Captain Pleads Guilty To Stealing From Brother Firefighters
On Friday, a Camden, New Jersey fire captain pled guilty to larceny charges for having stolen an undetermined amount of “house funds” that belonged to firefighters. Captain John Merklein was placed on probation as part of a plea agreement that prohibits him from future public employment in New Jersey. Merklein had been a Camden firefighter for more than 20 years, and was in charge of a fund intended to take care of fire house expenses like food, supplies and other items that are not budgeted by the department. Each firefighter contributes $30 per month through payroll deduction to fund the account.…
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Arizona Chief Settles Pension Claim Against City
A case we discussed several weeks ago involving the fire chief in Peoria, Arizona has settled. Thomas Solberg was promised a pension as part of his benefit package when he left the Lee’s Summit, Missouri Fire Department in 2009 and moved to Arizona to become the fire chief in Peoria. However, after working in Peoria for over 14 months, the state pension system refused to permit him to join leaving the Chief and the city without a viable alternative to what was promised. Chief Solberg resigned earlier this month, and filed a $3.6 million damage claim against his former bosses.…
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Patient Dies Following Dispatch Delay in Florida
An 80 year old Marco Island resident died last week and fingers are being pointed in different directions about why a 911 call for an ambulance was not promptly dispatched by the county EMS system. NBC2 has been investigating the incident since it occurred on October 3. News video.
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Wrongful Death Claim Filed Against Alameda City and County Over Memorial Day Drowning
The family of Raymond Zack who drowned himself by walking into the San Francisco Bay while Police and firefighting personnel watched, filed a civil claim against Alameda City and County stating that first responders were negligent and “breached their mandatory duty and a duty of ordinary care”. The claim is a necessary step to filing a lawsuit. Zack, 52, was mentally ill and suicidal when he waded into the cold waters near Bay Crown Beach on May 30, 2011, Memorial Day. Dozens of onlookers, including police and firefighters, remained on the shoreline and watched for nearly an hour until Zack…
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