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Oregon Fire Chief Cited For Accident While Responding
The Fire Chief of Marion County Fire District #1 in Oregon has been cited following a December 31, 2010 accident that occurred while he was responding to a building fire. Chief J. Kevin Henson, 44, was cited for driving an emergency vehicle without due regard by the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Henson was driving a fire department SUV at the time of the accident, and was passing a truck when the vehicles collided. He was injured and the 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe was totaled. According to the sheriff’s investigation, the vehicle data recorder showed Henson was driving at 62 miles per…
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Defamation Suit Against Fire Chief Dismissed
A defamation lawsuit filed last year by an angry property owner against a Kentucky fire department and its fire chief has been dismissed. David Young, owner of Vincent Apartments, sued the city of Ashland and Fire Chief Scott Penick over comments the chief made to a reporter following the code related condemnation of the building. Several other code officials were also named in the lawsuit. Chief Penick made the remarks on January 6, 2010 to a reporter for the Daily Independent, concluding that the building was in a dangerous condition. Young claimed the chief’s remarks were false, malicious, defamatory, and…
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Another Suit Filed in Boston Ladder Crash
Another lawsuit has been filed over the January 9, 2009 apparatus accident that claimed the life of Boston Fire Lieutenant Kevin M. Kelley. The accident occurred when Boston Ladder 26 lost its brakes going down a steep hill and crashed into an apartment building. The suit was filed by the building owner’s insurance company, Federal Insurance Company, on January 5, 2011 in Suffolk County Superior Court, against the city of Boston and six vehicle maintenance shops. It alleges negligence in maintaining Ladder 26’s brakes, and seeks to recover over $410,000 paid to repair the structure. The suit is the second…
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Detroit Fire Chief Terminated – Fox News Taking The Credit
Detroit Mayor David Bing has terminated his top two fire officials, and Detroit's Fox News affiliate is claiming their investigative reporting prompted the reaction. Fire Commissioner James Mack Junior and Deputy Commissioner Seth Doyle complied with the mayor's request for their resignations 24 hours after Fox News brought a cover-up allegation to the mayor. The alleged coverup had to do with a stolen wallet – but it would seem there is alot more to the story. Various other news sources are reporting that the mayor was unhappy with slow response times, poor equipment, and poor communications with his commissioners. James Mack Jr. Out…
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Florida Firefighter Resigns After Setting A Brother Firefighter On Fire as a Joke
Apopka firefighter Jason Leblanc, 44, has resigned following the disclosure that he set another firefighter, 25-year-old Jack Shumate, on fire at a holiday party on December 18, 2010. Shumate sustained second degree burns and has not returned to work since the incident. Leblanc allegedly used lighter fluid to set Shumate’s pants on fire as a joke. Despite his injuries, Shumate has asked that charges not be brought against Leblanc. That appears to be out of his control as Leblanc faces two felony arson charges stemming from the incident. The Apopka Fire Department has launched an internal investigation. Firefighter resigns after…
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Austin Firefighters Challenge New Hiring Process
The Austin Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 975, has filed a grievance challenging the city’s new hiring process. The union supports the recommendations of a consultant who was paid $500,000 by the city to develop a new process, but complains that the department has chosen to go in a different direction in search of more minority candidates. There are over 5,500 applicants competing for 103 openings. AFD to file grievance about hiring: kxan.com Here's a link to a more in depth video on the grievance.
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2010 Review: Is there a Seasonal Variation in Legal Decisions?
Over the past few weeks, I have been working on a fire-law year in review article and I was blown away at how many major legal decisions were handed down in January and to a lesser extent February of 2010. Four of the 10 most interesting and important fire service cases in 2010 were decided in January and two more were decided in February. Many of the runners up for the top 10 were also decided in January. That brings up todays burning question: Was it just a fluke? Why would 60% of the major cases be decided so early…
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Family of Alabama EMT Sues Driver Who Struck Her
The family of an Alabama EMT struck and killed two weeks ago has filed suit against the driver. Laura Pullam, of Lowndesboro was struck and killed by a pickup truck at the scene of an accident on December 15, 2010 on Rt. I-65 near Montgomery. She was 29 years old and leaves an infant daughter. The driver of a pickup, Robert Cumbie, is alleged to have been speeding under icy conditions. Pullam was an EMT for Care Ambulance, and was attending to crash victims when she was struck. The news coverage below reports that Cumbie struck Pullam while she was off the…
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Lowell Captain Prevails in Unusual Discrimination Suit
A retired Lowell, Massachusetts fire captain has won a discrimination lawsuit against the Lowell Fire Department for refusing his request to be reinstated. The complicated story began in 1997 when Captain James McLaughlin was given a disability pension due to an asthma condition. Four years later, when his condition had improved, he requested to be reinstated. The fire department declined to rehire McLaughlin despite the fact that a state appointed "restoration to service" medical panel examined McLaughlin and found him to be fit. The panel’s determination should have required to city to rehire McLaughlin to fill the next available captain’s…
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Missouri Fire District Settles Open Meetings Violation
The troubled Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District in Missouri is one step closer to solving the various legal disputes that have plagued it for the past few years. Formerly the Normandy Fire Protection District, Northeast was charged with violating the state’s open meetings law. The district serves a population of 45,000 residents in an area in St. Louis County. In 2009, the fire district’s assets were frozen while state and Federal authorities investigated financial and other irregularities (see the video below). Two months ago, a former board member and fire chief pled guilty to violating the Clear Air Act…
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NH Fire Chief Pleads To Obstruction Charges Ending Lengthy Proceedings
A New Hampshire fire chief charged with over forty theft related offenses has finally wrapped up all outstanding charges against him. Shawn Mitchell, who was a deputy chief in Concord and fire chief in Webster, pled guilty to one charge of obstructing government administration. The plea brought to an end an investigation and legal proceedings dating back to 2006. Mitchell was charged with theft of equipment from Concord, and improper use of a Webster credit card. The equipment taken from Concord was allegedly given to the Webster Fire Department, and was not for Mitchell’s personal use. The credit card was…
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Another Municipality Sued For Shortchanging Pension Fund
Another municipality has been sued for failing to allocate sufficient funds to meet pension obligations. The trustees of the Harvey Firefighters Pension Fund in Harvey, Illinois, filed suit on December 17, 2010 in Cook County Circuit Court because the city failed to meets its contribution obligation for the third year in a row. The suit is similar to suits filed recently by Pittsburgh Firefighters, IAFF Local 1, Providence Firefighters, IAFF Local 799, Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734, and other firefighter unions from around the country challenging the failure of politicians to properly fund firefighter pension systems. Pension related matters are also figuring…
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Firefighter Facing Homicide Charges Following POV Accident
A volunteer firefighter from Ohio has been indicted as a result of a fatal accident he was involve in last July while responding to a building fire in his personally owned vehicle. A grand jury charged Firefighter Timothy Johnson, 41 with two counts, aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault. The accident occurred in Ottawa County on July 16, 2010, and claimed the life of Ian Huffman, 24. Johnson's speed was estimated at between 96-98 miles per hour. He was in critical condition following the accident, but survived. He faces up to 6 1/2 years in prison if convicted.
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