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Florida Fire Chief In Hot Water Over EMS Transport
The fire chief in Edgewater, Florida has gotten himself in hot water with the county EMS coordinator for ordering a patient to be transported to the hospital in a fire department vehicle rather than waiting for a private ambulance to arrive from South Daytona. Dr. Peter Springer, the medical director for Volusia Emergency Medical Services, has suspended the right of Fire Chief Stephen Cousins to practice as a paramedic. The chief claims his actions were motivated by an incident that occurred on January 8, 2010 when a 32-year-old woman with asthma died waiting for a delayed EVAC ambulance to arrive. In…
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Four Cases From Todays News Headlines
Its been a busy day news wise, and four stories caught my attention. In San Francisco, two fire department applicants have filed suit in state court alleging they were discriminated against because they have diabetes. From the write up, it appears there is more to the story as both were career firefighters Presidio Fire Department, one serving as union president and the other as secretary treasurer. However, the suit is focused on the narrow issue of disability discrimination. In New York, a firefighter has filed suit against FDNY alleging that the department is not following safe maritime practices. Firefighter Frederick…
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California and Maine: Two Anti-Firefighter Anti-Public Employee Headlines
Two headlines from this past week got me thinking about just how far the anti-firefighter anti-public employee message has driven public opinion. One headline was about a California civil grand jury that concluded it was wasteful to send engine companies with 4 firefighters on EMS runs. The concern cited in the article was that fire engines cost $500,000, nearly five times the cost of an ambulance. The other was from the state of Maine, where City Councilman Michael Farrell from Auburn followed a city engine company with a video camera to document that the firefighters were wasting taxpayer money driving…
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Demoted Roanoke Captain Sues For Gender Discrimination Over Sex In Station
An unusual case that was in the news a few weeks ago as a discipline case has resurfaced as a Federal Court sex discrimination case. The details of the case are complicated, so let’s run through them quickly. On April 15, 2010, Deborah Van Ness, an EMT for the city of Roanoke, visited her boyfriend, Roanoke Fire Captain Dennis Croft in the fire station. Croft was on duty while Van Ness was off duty. The pair allegedly fell asleep watching a movie and violated the department’s 10:00 pm curfew. Croft immediately reported the infraction to his superiors and because both…
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Appeals Court Rules that City Did Not Violate Maryville Firefighters First Amendment Rights
The United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a jury verdict in favor of a firefighters union, concluding that the City of Maryville did not violate the free speech rights of the union when it reprimanded the union president. The convoluted case began back in 2005 when the Maryville Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 4053, engaged a telemarketing firm, FireCo, LLC to do fundraising through the sale of concert tickets. Unfortunately, the telemarketers contacted residents and business in such a way that made it appear the fundraising was for the Fire Department. When residents complained that the telemarketers made threats…
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Duty to Act, Right to Enter, Their Well Being, Our Well Being
My friend Michael Morse from Rescuing Providence has posed a new EMS related scenario regarding the right to enter property to check on the well being of a patient. Recall last month I wrote about a fire department’s right to enter someone’s home when the firefighters believe there is a fire in the building. Believe it or not, the right to enter for EMS related purposes is not the same. The traditional firefighter’s right of entry comes from common sense as best understood by looking at the history of how cities throughout the world have been decimated by fire. That…
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New Mexico Hazing Prompts Open Records Demand
Another hazing case is in the news, and once again sex is at the center of it. In New Mexico, the Rio Rancho Fire and Rescue disciplined five employees following an investigating into allegations that four male firefighters in the Department engaged in continuous harassment of a new male employee regarding the size of his genitalia. According to City Manager James Jimenez “the nature and extent of this particular incident exceeded the boundaries of propriety and accountability”. The incident happened in May 2011. The Department placed three firefighters on paid administrative leave pending investigation. The fire department refused to release…
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PA Township Closes Volunteer Company Amidst allegations and Counter Allegations
Bensalem Township, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania suspended the operations of the Union Fire Company yesterday, citing “operational issues” that posed a safety risk to both residents and firefighters. The fire company had been in operation since 1928 and is one of six fire companies in Bensalem. Public Safety Director Fred Harran issued a press release stating “Over the past 12-18 months, there have been many incidents and issues where the leadership of the company has failed to follow both the administrative and operational directions from the Township.” Among the concerns being cited was an incident last April where the fire…
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New Mexico Chiefs Accused of Assault on Subordinates
Gallinas Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tobias Lucero and Deputy Chief Lorenzo Montoya have been suspended from the fire department following allegations of that they handcuffed and struck another volunteer firefighter with a crowbar. According to the victim the supervisors have taken advantage of volunteers before and threatened firefighters if they told anyone. State police and San Miguel County Fire Marshal’s Office launched an investigation after the firefighter complained. A woman is reported to have witnessed the incident, which occurred on Monday, June 6, 2011. Deputy Chief Lorenzo Montoya told reporters that the allegations were not true. Volunteer fire chief, deputy suspended:…
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Alameda to Gwinnett County: Can We Be Everything to Everyone
Last week we witnessed the outrage in Alameda when firefighters stood by and watched for an hour as a suicidal man drowned. Crews were waiting first for a Coast Guard boat, and then for a Coast Guard helicopter to arrive with a rescue swimmer. When the department announced that firefighters were prohibited from attempting water rescues because they were not properly trained and equipped (a victim of financial cutbacks) it unleashed a backlash of allegations from the public ranging from cowardism and laziness to a union entitlement mentality run amuck. This week the families of two Georgia teenagers who broke…
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Apparatus Road Rage Leads to Termination of Driver and Demotion of Officer
An Orange County, Florida firefighter has been terminated and his officer demoted back to firefighter following a road rage incident caught on the engine company’s dash cam. The incident occurred on May 1, 2011 while Engine 58 was responding to a reported vehicle accident with entrapment. A Cadillac refused to yield causing the engine’s driver, David Jordan, to attempt to cut off the vehicle in retaliation, and the officer to flip off the Cadillac’s driver. The aggressive move caused the engine to strike a median so hard that the fire truck nearly overturned. Fortunately no one was injured. Lt. Thomas…
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Alabama Fire Chief Sued Over Disposal of Stillborn twins
Last summer we covered the story of Fire Chief David Davis, of Odenville, Alabama who was accused of flushing two premature (20 weeks) stillborn fetuses down a toilet last July while on an EMS run. Yesterday, Kimberly Chyann Garrison, filed suit against Regional Paramedical Services Inc., the city of Odenville and Chief Davis alleging negligence and negligent infliction of severe emotional distress. Chief Davis was terminated by the city shortly after the incident. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alVwaYqhbzo&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
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