Fire Law Blog

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has upheld a decision by the British Columbia Labour Relations Board to uphold an arbitration award that ordered the reinstatement a captain who engaged in sexual activity while on duty… with an on-duty dispatcher… in the fire chief’s office… lying to investigators about it… only to discover that it was caught on surveillance video the chief had installed.

A Detroit firefighter who was driving a squad truck when it collided with a parked car as it arrived on the scene of a medical emergency, has been suspended as the department investigates whether he was under the influence. The incident occurred Sunday, February 21, 2021 involving an unidentified 26-year-old member driving Squad 6.

The former president of Fulton Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 2945 has been charged with stealing between $22,000 and $30,000 from the union. Scott Peterson, 47, was charged today with felony stealing.

The sister of a man who was shot and killed during Black Lives Matter protests in Cicero, Illinois last summer, has filed suit against two Cicero Fire Department paramedics and a retired lieutenant for taking and sharing photos of his body. Adriana Cazares filed suit today naming Frank R. Rand, Justin Zheng, Gene Lazcano and the Town of Cicero as defendants.

An FDNY deputy assistant chief who claims he was passed over for promotion to assistant chief for refusing to renounce letters to the editor he wrote decades ago relative to merit based testing, has filed suit alleging the city violated his First Amendment rights. DAC Michael F. Gala, Jr. filed suit late last year naming the city and Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro as defendants.

The death of a 41-year-old nurse and mother just outside Kansas City, Missouri, has prompted a wrongful death lawsuit against the Kansas City Police and Fire Departments, according to KCTV5. Cathryn McClelland passed out in her home in Prairie Village. Her son called 911, but the call was routed to KCMO, not Johnson County.

A Missouri firefighter who was terminated after complaining about the manner in which the fire department was paying its firefighters, is now suing the department for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. Scott Jones filed suit against the Willard Fire Protection District.

A volunteer firefighter from New Cumberland, Pennsylvania has been sentenced to three to ten years in prison for sexually assaulting a junior firefighter in 2019. James W. Ainsworth III, 26, pled guilty in Cumberland County Court to a single charge of aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age.

Five members of an African-American firefighter organization called Omnibus have filed suit against the city of Winston-Salem and its fire chief alleging race discrimination and retaliation. Thomas Penn Jr., Delbert Hairston Jr., Gerrod Hardy, Ricky Brown, Eddie Forest filed suit on February 11, 2021 in US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

A recruit firefighter who was dismissed from the Philadelphia Fire Department’s fire academy in 2019 for refusing to shave his beard, has filed suit alleging religious discrimination. Malcolm Lindsay filed suit alleging religious discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

While it is rare that we see good news in the Fire Law headlines, last week saw a number of particularly unfortunate headlines for the fire service. I noticed this as I was putting together this week’s Fire Law News newsletter, and searching for today’s Fire Law headline story.

An Omaha firefighter has filed suit claiming she has been the victim of race and gender discrimination during her brief tenure on the department. Jane Crudup filed suit February 5, 2021 in US District Court for the District of Nebraska.

An investigation into a noose left hanging in the locker of a Bloomington, Minnesota firefighter last June has ended with without investigators being able to conclude who was responsible. The crudely tied noose was found on June 15, 2020, prompting the city to request the FBI to investigate.

Allegations of sexual misconduct against twenty French firefighters have sparked nation-wide protests by feminist groups seeking a change to the age of consent law. The case dates back to 2008 when the victim claims she was assaulted over a two-year period when she was between 13 and 15-years old.

A Massachusetts judge has rejected the appeal of a Boston firefighter who was terminated over a series a racist and homophobic social media posts. Octavius Rowe, a 15-year veteran, was fired by the Boston Fire Department on April 30, 2018 following a lengthy investigation.

The estate of a man who died on Little Gasparilla Island in 2019 has filed suit against the Little Gasparilla Island Fire and Rescue and Charlotte County alleging negligence and wrongful death. Jaimee Thompson filed suit in Charlotte County Circuit Court on behalf of the estate of her deceased husband, Craig Thompson.

A Nashville fire captain who was demoted last August over social media posts, has filed suit claiming thes posts were protected by the First Amendment. Captain Tracy Turner filed suit in US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee alleging a single count of a First Amendment violation

A Colorado man is suing firefighters and police officers responsible for administering the sedative ketamine during an encounter last year. Jeremiah Axtell filed suit last week naming the Lakewood Police Department, West Metro Fire District and numerous individual officers and firefighters.

In this episode, Curt interviews Attorney Liam O’Connell who represents Fire Chief James Doyle and numerous Rockport taxpayers who are concerned with the actions of town officials that they claim are illegal. Chief Doyle is facing a termination hearing this week while the taxpayers are suing the town’s Board of Selectmen challenging the town’s efforts to take control of the fire department.

In this episode of Fire Law VLOG, Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss the changes that the Biden administration has already implemented to the Fair Labor Standards Act that will impact the fire service. They also discuss the changes that may likely be coming.