Busy Day for Fire Law with Cases From FL MO RI

Its been a busy day in the Fire Law world. So many cases, so little time.

In Florida the seeming endless case of West Palm Beach captain Rick Curtis is in the news yet again (July 2, 2010 post; December 12, 2011 post) with a ruling by the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission that the West Palm Beach Association of Firefighters, IAFF Local 727, must reimburse Curtis for back pay and legal fees for failing to properly representing him when he was fired for  a DUI conviction. Here is the Commission’s ruling:  Commission Ruling                More on the case.

In Missouri, the state supreme court upheld a controversial law that allowed St. Louis firefighters to move out of the city despite a local residency requirement if the school system was not accredited. The 2010 law was immediately challenged by the city and was initially overturned by a trial court in Cole County.

The Missouri Supreme Court overruled the lower court and upheld the law granting firefighters with over seven years of service to move outside the city limits.

 

And in my home state, the Albion Fire District is once again in the news, this time due to a  Providence Superior Court ruling that the district violated the state’s Open Meeting Act three times in 2010.

More on the story.

Prior post from December 11, 2010.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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