Fire Law Blog

A Nebraska volunteer firefighter who was rejected for a career position because he was homeschooled, has lost his challenge before the Fremont Civil Service Commission. Andrew Coates, a volunteer firefighter with the Cedar Bluffs Fire Department, applied for a career firefighter position with the Fremont Fire Department.

Fourteen current and former firefighters with the Pace Fire Rescue District in Florida have filed suit alleging the district violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to include certification and educational incentive pay when calculating their overtime rate, and retaliated against them after they complained.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for September 21, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss a jury verdict holding the City of Richmond, Indiana 40% liable for the harm to neighbors from a 2023 plastics warehouse fire that forced the evacuation of roughly 2,000 residents; an arbitration ruling ordering the reinstatement of a fire lieutenant …

A federal jury has found the City of Richmond, Indiana, along with a recycling company and its owner, liable for damages stemming from a massive 2023 plastics warehouse fire that forced the evacuation of roughly 2,000 residents.

An arbitrator has ordered the Rhode Island Airport Corporation to reinstate a fire lieutenant who was terminated in 2024 amid allegations that he discouraged prospective firefighters from accepting jobs at T.F. Green International Airport in order to generate overtime opportunities for himself.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a jury verdict in favor of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts, in a race and religious discrimination suit brought by two Springfield firefighters.

A dispute over control of a volunteer fire department in southeastern Oklahoma has erupted into a federal lawsuit accusing county and municipal officials of effectively taking over a privately owned fire station, fire apparatus, and other department assets.

A group of 28 municipalities, fire districts and volunteer fire departments have filed suit against 3M, DuPont-related companies, turnout gear manufacturers, and textile and component manufacturers, accusing them of concealing the presence and dangers of PFAS in firefighter turnout gear.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for September 14, 2026, Curt and Chip Comstock discuss a decision dismissing a discrimination suit against FDNY over EMS promotions; a suit filed against FDNY by an EMS captain over compensation for accrued leave upon retirement; a negligence lawsuit against the Nashville Fire Department over a gurney tipover; …

A federal judge has granted summary judgment to the City of New York in a long-running discrimination suit brought by two FDNY EMS officers and their union challenging the promotional process for EMS officers. The suit was originally filed in 2018 by AFSME Local 3621, EMS Lt. Renae Mascol, and EMS Lt. Luis Rodriguez.

A retired FDNY EMS captain who received a World Trade Center disability retirement has filed suit against the City of New York and the FDNY, claiming the department has refused to pay him nearly $96,000 for approximately 1,952 hours of accrued annual leave.

A Tennessee woman has filed suit against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, alleging Nashville Fire Department EMS personnel dropped her when a gurney tipped over while she was being transported following a medical emergency.

A volunteer firefighter with the Terryville Fire Department in New York has filed suit claiming she was terminated over a Facebook comment concerning ICE operations, in violation of her First Amendment rights. She also contends that Fire Chief Edward Simonetti and the Terryville Fire District violated her due process rights by suspending and terminating her without the procedures required by New York law.

A former cook for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has filed suit alleging he was subjected to sexual harassment and sexual-orientation harassment while assigned to Cal Fire’s training facility in Ione, and that supervisors failed to take corrective action after he complained.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for September 7, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss criminal theft charges being brought against a California fire district employee who has a pending sexual harassment suit against her accusers; the dismissal of claims brought by a Texas firefighter-paramedic who alleged he was subjected to age-based harassment, retaliation and …

A former California fire district employee who claims she was sexually harassed and terminated in retaliation for reporting misconduct has herself been arrested for allegedly stealing from the district, creating a tangled web of accusations in which virtually every important fact has a competing explanation.

A federal court has dismissed claims brought by a Texas firefighter-paramedic who alleged he was subjected to age-based harassment, retaliated against after complaining about the harassment, and denied rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

A California man has filed suit against the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals claiming fire department personnel refused to transport him to the hospital while he was suffering a stroke because they believed he was “too young to be having a stroke.”

A Florida property owner has filed suit against the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District challenging a new assessment methodology that nearly tripled the fire district assessment on his residence. Vadim S. Carter filed the verified complaint yesterday in Pinellas County Circuit Court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the district.

A Utah man has filed a pro se federal civil rights lawsuit against Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake City Fire Department, and Gold Cross Ambulance Service, alleging he was forcibly restrained and transported to a hospital against his will during a medical and mental health emergency.