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Car Racing On Duty Leads to Demotion of Florida Fire Captain
A Jackson County, Florida fire captain was demoted on December 7, 2010 after he admitted to racing his personal car against another firefighter while on duty. Former captain Dennis Robinson waived his right to a hearing on the matter, and voluntarily accepted the demotion. Robinson raced his Ford Mustang against another Mustang owned by firefighter Angel Guzman on November 27, 2010. The race was videotaped by two other firefighters who were in attendance. The race was to intended to settle a friendly dispute over whose car was faster. The race took place at “a concrete area by the [Marianna] airport…
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Bridgeport Fire Department Sued for Wrongful Death in 4 Fatality Fire
The family of a Bridgeport, Connecticut mother and her three children who were killed in a November 13, 2009 fire, have filed suit against the City and the Bridgeport Fire Department alleging negligence. Tiana Black and her three children, Ny-shon Williams, 5, and twins Nyaisja and Tyaisja Williams, 4, died of smoke inhalation. From the information available, it does not appear that the suit alleges operational negligence by BFD, but instead is focused on fire prevention issues associated with the building, which was a city-owned public housing project. The video below details the fire and some of the initial accusations that were leveled…
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Fire District Charged with Open Meetings Law Violation
Rhode Island's attorney general has filed suit against a fire district for violation of the state's open meeting law. According to Attorney General Patrick Lynch, the Albion Fire District has been warned on two prior occasions about violating the law. The AG alleges that the District posted an "insufficient agenda" for its meeting on May 11, 2010. The suit alleges that the violation was "wilful and knowing", and seeks the maximum allowable fine of $5,000. One obstacle the AG may have is that the RI open meetings law limits the time frame to file suit against violators to 180 days following the violation or the public…
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Baltimore City Training LODD Suit Dismissed
A $15 million Federal lawsuit filed by the family of a female Baltimore City fire cadet killed in a training fire in 2007, has been dismissed. Judge Benson Everett Legg ruled that the fire department was not guilty of violating cadet Racheal Wilson civil rights. The case was originally filed in state court, but removed to US District Court at the city’s request because the suit alleged Federal civil rights violations. Wilson’s family and her estate may still have some state law rights that will now have to be addressed in state court. Judge Legg’s decision was issued last Friday,…
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New Jersey Township in Legal Quagmire over EMS Squad
A New Jersey bank has filed a lawsuit against the Lebanon Township First Aid Squad in New Jersey Superior Court asking for $57,055 in principal, interest and legal fees related to a 2009 loan made to the squad. The squad is a private volunteer organization. The Peapack-Gladstone Bank had asked Lebanon Township to pay off the balance owed by the squad, but Township attorney Philip George told the bank “The Township of Lebanon will not ‘make good’ on any debt of the squad to your bank. The Township of Lebanon did not render the squad unable to pay its debts.”…
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Indecent Exposure by New Mexico Firefighter – could cost him his security clearance and his job
A Los Alamos, New Mexico firefighter has been charged with indecent exposure after a woman complained that he flashed her in broad daylight. Firefighter Brandon Gore was placed on administrative leave by the Fire Department pending outcome of the misdemeanor charges and an internal investigation. Gore claims the incident was purely accidental, and the result of a night of drinking. He claims he was taking a walk to clear his head at about 1:30 pm, and needed to urinate. He then forgot to tuck himself back in, and only realized he was exposed after the woman walked by. Part of…
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Chief Suspended Over Bumpernuts
OK, this one is almost too easy, and thanks to my friends who passed it along. Where do we begin. A fire chief has been suspended for his role in a refusing to remove a pair of plastic testicular replicas (aka Bumpernuts) from one of his fire trucks. Chief Donald Fee of the Freeport (New York) Fire Department was suspended for 30 days by Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick. He was originally told to remove the Bumpernuts in September, but apparently the item (or items) were merely relocated to the cab where they were still visible. The mayor was quoted as saying…
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Michigan Sexual Harassment Suit Settled for $400k
A former Michigan fire lieutenant has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former fire department and former fire chief. Blythe Amenson filed her lawsuit earlier this year in Genesee County Circuit Court asserting sexual harassment, discriminatory and retaliatory discharge, and violation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act by the Argentine Township and former fire chief William Harvey. Amenson alleged she was sexually harassed by Fire Chief William Harvey over a period of two years, claiming he would stare at her breasts and buttocks, ask about her menstrual cycles, and humiliate her to others with explicit sexual references. Amenson was…
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Photographer Charged with Impersonating Emergency Responder in NH
A New Hampshire photographer for 1st Responder News has been charged with impersonating an emergency responder at an accident scene last August 25, 2010. Charges were filed yesterday, November 23, 2010, against Brian K. Blackden, 46, of Concord, NH. He was arraigned in Concord District Court on charges of impersonation of emergency personnel and obstruction of government administration, state police said. He also faces two lesser charges of misuse of red flashing lights and entering a controlled emergency scene.
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Thanksgiving Comes Early For 2 Clinton, Iowa Chiefs
Two Clinton, Iowa fire officials who had been terminated in the aftermath of a Federal EMS billing scandal, have been being reinstated by the Clinton Civil Service Commission. The decision handed down Tuesday, November 23, 2010 ordered that Fire Chief Mark Regenwether and Deputy Chief Andrew McGovern be reinstated, with back pay. In 2008, Clinton paramedic Timothy Schultheis sued the city of Clinton alleging Medicare and Medicaid overbilling. The city faced potential fines in excess of $100 million, but settled the suit earlier this year by agreeing to pay $4.5 million to the federal government. Part of the city’s response…
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Buffalo LODD Lawsuit Update
The tragic death of Buffalo Fire Lt. Charles McCarthy and FF Jonathan Croom on August 24, 2009, sparked lawsuits earlier this year by the families of the deceased firefighters. A recent update by a local news station indicates that one of the central allegations in the suits rests on violations of the two-in two-out rule.
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Circumventing Nepotism Law Creates Larger Problem for Louisiana Fire Chief
Trying to circumvent an ethics problem created an even larger headache for a Louisiana Fire Chief. Former Grand Caillou Fire Chief, Johnny Duplantis, and his wife, Carol Duplantis, recently paid $8,000 in fines for violating state ethic laws. The chief allegedly approved payments to his wife for work she performed using the identity and Social Security Number of another firefighter to claim the payment. In September 2008, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike struck the gulf coast, and the fire department faced a severe manpower shortage. Carol Duplantis agreed to work for the fire department for roughly six weeks. The problem was that…
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