Fire Law Blog

A second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a firefighter and the city of Kansas City arising out of an apparatus-involved accident last month. The family of Tami Knight filed suit today in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Mobile Fire-Rescue is investigating allegations by a female firefighter that a fire captain inappropriately touched her in the fire station while on duty. According to WKRG, the both the city and the US Department of Justice are investigating the allegations that reportedly occurred in December, 2021.

A Missouri fire district has filed suit against a local municipality who it claims is obstructing its ability to construct and open a badly needed firehouse. The Monarch Fire Protection District filed suit against the City of Wildwood last week seeking injunctive relief.

A firefighter with the Eastchester Fire District who retired last year, has filed suit against the district and Eastchester Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 916 claiming both are responsible for depriving him of a terminal leave benefit that would have given him two additional months of pay. Kevin Stewart filed suit in US District Court alleging a violation of the NLRA.

In this edition of Fire Law VLOG, Brad and Curt discuss last week's headlines, including the LA County warehouse fire hazmat cleanup suit, a staffing decision out of New York state, an Oregon suit over a sexual assault, a wrongful termination suit out of Ohio, and a health care benefit case involving a disabled Florida firefighter.

Los Angeles County and the State of California have filed suit against the owners of a warehouse that burned last year in a fire that created an environmental disaster. The suit filed last week seeks to recover millions that were expended in fighting the fire and cleaning up the hazardous materials.

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court has ruled that minimum staffing is a bargainable subject that relates to the safety of firefighting personnel, not an illegal job-security clause. The case involves an effort by the City of Ogdensburg to block the grievance arbitration of the city’s unilateral reduction in shift staffing for the Ogdensburg FD.

A former business manager for an Ohio fire department, has filed suit claiming she was terminated on account of her gender and retaliated against for consulting an attorney. Deborah Roche filed suit today against the Munson Fire Department, Inc. in US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

A lawsuit filed by a disabled Florida firefighter challenging a limitation on her eligibility for a city-paid health plan in retirement has been dismissed. Karyn D. Stanley claimed that the City of Sanford violated a state law and the Equal Protection clause by discontinuing the payment of health care premiums for disabled firefighters twenty-four months after their date of retirement.

An Oregon firefighter who is already facing state and federal charges for stealing drugs and using them to sexually assault unsuspecting women, has been sued by one of his victims. Eugene-Springfield firefighter Edward Augustus Blake, 44, is facing charges of rape, sodomy, and strangulation in addition to drug related offenses.

In this week’s edition of Fire Law Roundup, Curt and Brad discuss some of the headline cases from last week, including two fatal apparatus accident cases, one a civil suit for wrongful death and one a criminal case where the firefighter was charged with vehicular homicide; a new law in Maine mandating gas detectors in ...

A Louisiana firefighter is facing vehicular homicide charges over a fatal apparatus accident that occurred last June. Cody Kahl, 24, a firefighter with Livingston Parish Fire Protection District 5, is facing the charges stemming from the death of Gail Rippel, 83.

The city of Kansas City is facing a wrongful death suit following a tragic apparatus accident on December 15, 2021. The crash involved an engine and a civilian vehicle that killed three people, two occupants of the civilian vehicle and a pedestrian.

A Rhode Island fire lieutenant who was on extended sick leave when the department announced a promotional examination for captain, has filed suit against the fire department and his own union claiming their refusal to provide an accommodation to him violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.

A Nevada man who suffered respiratory arrest after medics administered ketamine to him in 2020, is suing the fire department, two medics and two police officers involved in the incident. Marc Galli filed suit last September against the city of Henderson, the medics and the police officers. The suit was removed to US District Court yesterday.

The 90-day suspension of a New York volunteer firefighter has been overturned by a state supreme court judge who concluded the fire department failed to respect his due process rights. Charles Prevot was suspended from the Haverstraw Fire Department by the Fire Council of the Village of Haverstraw on April 29, 2021.

A new law in Maine went into effect on January 1, 2022 that mandates the installation of gas detectors in a broad range of occupancies, including multi-family residences and rental units. The law was enacted after a propane explosion on September 16, 2019 in Farmington claimed the life of Fire Captain Michael Bell.

In this week’s edition of Fire Law Roundup, Curt and Bill discuss some of the headline cases from last week, including a lawsuit out of Chicago on health care benefits to retirees, St. Paul, MN vaccine mandate decision, a sexual harassment suit out of Orange County, a suit alleging medics failed to inform a hospital of a patient’s mental state, and an Ohio fire scene search and seizure case.

A former Indiana fire chief who was already facing charges for sexual misconduct with a minor, has been charged with stealing more than $140,000 from the Summitville Fire Department and Van Buren Township.

A man who was struck by a vehicle in Louisiana shortly after being released from a hospital, has filed suit against the St. Tammany Parish Fire Protection District No. 4 claiming paramedics failed to promptly inform hospital staff of his mental health status and need for monitoring.