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Pelham Firefighters Claim FLSA Violation
Firefighters in Pelham, Alabama have filed a lawsuit against the department alleging that their work schedule violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The act requires that firefighters who work more than 52 hours per week, or on average more than 212 hours in an 28 day (4 week) stretch, receive either overtime compensation or compensatory time off. According to the suit, Pelham firefighters work a typical three shift schedule of 24 hours on, 48 hours off, which averages 56 hours per week. The problem is the city requires the firefighters to take compensatory time in lieu of overtime, and…
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Release of Random Drug Testing Results Raise HIPAA Challenge
Fire Lieutenant Shawn Baptist was fired last year from the Zephyrhills, Florida Fire Department after he allegedly failed a random drug test on February 23, 2009. He is challenging the termination as well as the results of the test through grievance arbitration. In addition he filed suit last week alleging the public release of his medical tests violated HIPAA and state medical privacy laws. Baptist claims that both Fire Chief Keith Williams and City Manager Steve Spina at various times told the media that he was fired because he failed a random drug test. Spina is quoted as saying "When…
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Village Escapes Liability for Sex Abuse By Chief
On May 7, 2010, the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled that a fire department would not be held liable for sexual abuse committed by a former fire chief. The suit was one of two brought by a former cadet at the Village of Thornton, Illinois Fire Department alleging that Fire Chief John Klaczak physically and sexually abused him in 2001. Chief Klaczak was fired in July, 2002, and pled guilty to sexual abuse charges in 2005. Former Cadet Steven Wragg filed one suit in Illinois state court alleging assault, intentional infliction of severe emotional distress, and negligence…
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Alberta Babysitter is Both Hero and Defendant
A Canadian teenager who saved two children from a trailer fire in 2007, is now a defendant in a lawsuit over responsibility for the fire. Aaliyah Braybrook, of Alberta, was 12 years old at the time of the fire, and was baby sitting for two young boys. She is now 14. One of the boys is alleged to have been playing with a cigarette lighter in the bathroom, starting the blaze that destroyed the trailer, and spread to an adjacent house. The house, owned by the grandparents of the boys, was heavily damaged. Aaliyah was able to evacuate both boys…
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NY Volunteer Charged with Drunk Driving While Responding to Fire
A volunteer fire captain in New York state was arrested early this morning when his car struck a police officer directing traffic at the scene of a house fire he was responding to. The captain was accused of drunk driving, and is alleged to have had a blood alcohol level of .15. More on the story.
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Mandatory Brush Clearing Leads to Tax Sale in San Diego
A California man is fighting efforts by San Diego county officials to auction off his property after he refused to remove combustible vegetation from around his home, and then refused to pay the expenses of the private contractor who performed the work. Joseph Diliberti, a Vietnam Vet who lives alone deep in rural eastern San Diego County, has until July 1, 2010 to pay the charges, plus interest. State and local fire officials, reeling after years of tragic wildland fire losses, are stuck in the middle of this pitched battle. Predictably, the media has characterized the battle as…
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Halifax Fire Facing 18 Suits & $10 Million in Claims for 2009 Wildland Fire
A Canadian fire department is facing 18 separate lawsuits seeking a total of $10 million in damages arising out of a wildland fire that occurred last spring. Halifax Regional Municipality and the Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency Service were sued in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on April 28, 2010. The suits were filed by insurance companies seeking to recoup claims paid to homeowners after a wildland fire on April 29-30, 2009 drove 1,200 people from their homes, destroying eight homes and damaging 10 others homes. The suits allege negligence in fighting the fire. The plaintiffs claim that the fire department…
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Dekalb County Fire Rescue Sued for Fire Death
In what should be of no surprise to anyone, the family of Ann Bartlett filed suit yesterday against Dekalb County Fire Rescue. Bartlett died on January 24, 2010 when the crews that were dispatched to her home for a reported fire, failed to find any fire or smoke in the area, and left the scene without checking the house – only to be called back hours later when the house was well involved. Named in the suit were Dekalb County Fire Rescue, William J. Greene, Lesley Clark, Tony Motes, Sell Caldwell III, and Bennie Paige. Greene and Motes were acting officers,…
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LA Assistant Chief Sentenced in Puppy Beating Case
A former LA County Assistant Chief narrowly escaped a jail sentence earlier this month after he was convicted of animal cruelty in the beating of a neighbor's dog in 2008. Chief Glynn Johnson alleged he was acting in self defense when the 6 month old puppy bit him, nearly severing his thumb. However, a jury found him guilty of felony animal cruelty in January, 2010. Between the time of the incident and the trial, Chief Johnson retired from the fire department. Chief Johnson was sentenced on April 2, 2010, but his attorney said they plan to appeal.
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Atlantic City Fire and Police Chiefs Join Forces To Sue Mayor and Council
Over the years, there have been a number of fire service lawsuits that have left me shaking my head, but a recent suit filed by the fire chief and the police chief of Atlantic City, New Jersey AGAINST the city, the mayor and the city council now stands head and shoulders above the others. The suit involves the creation of a public safety director to oversee the Atlantic City police and fire departments, something that (according to the plaintiffs) is prohibited by state and local law, and is in clear violation of the employment contracts of both Police Chief John…
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Houston Firefighter Speaks Out About Tragic Intersection Accident
The driver of a Houston ladder truck that was involved in a fatal accident in March of 2009, is speaking out about the accident, the public’s rush to judgment, and the investigation that seemed to place most of the blame on him. Warren Ducote, 59, retired in November after being reprimanded and suspended in the aftermath of the March 30, 2009 accident that killed bicyclist Leigh Boone. He was driving Ladder 16 to an alarm when it collided with Engine 7, which was responding to the same alarm. The horrific crash sent Ladder 16 on its side, onto a car.…
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Virginia Ambulance Driver Charged with Reckless Driving
A Virginia ambulance driver was charged with reckless driving earlier this month when he used his ambulance to stop a fleeing vehicle involved in a police chase.
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Court Dismisses Suit by Black New Haven Firefighter Alleging Disparate Impact
Shortly after the historic US Supreme Court Decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, ruled that the City of New Haven had committed reverse discrimination by rejecting the results of the 2003 promotional examinations, Firefighter Michael Briscoe filed suit against New Haven alleging that the results of the 2003 promotional test had a discriminatory impact on him. Briscoe is African-American. On Wednesday, April 21, 2010, a Senior U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. dismissed Briscoe’s suit. In a prepared statement New Haven Corporation Counsel Victor Bolden said "Today, the city … achieved another step towards concluding issues relating to the 2003…
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Baltimore City Fire and Instructors Face $35 Million Lawsuit in Death of Recruit
The family of a Baltimore City recruit firefighter who died in a training fire on February 9, 2007, have filed suit against the city and several fire officers for $35 million. Racheal M. Wilson, age 29 and the mother of two, died from asphyxiation and burns following the live burn exercise conducted in an acquired structure. Investigations of the incident have revealed numerous safety violations that occurred during the training, leading to the termination of three members of the training academy staff. All three were named in the lawsuit. The NIOSH fatality report on the incident was recently released, and…
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