Fire Law Headlines RI, IL, FL, NY, and NJ

Its been one of those busy fire law days, and with too many stories and too little time, we will be looking strictly at the headlines:

In Rhode Island, the Providence Fire Department lost its bid to overturn a sexual harassment verdict handed down last year when the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the award of $800,000 to a female firefighter. Here is a copy of the decision: Franchina v Providence

Also in Rhode Island, Cranston Firefighters lost their bid to block legislative changes to their pensions in a ruling that was also handed down by the 1st Circuit. Cranston Firefighters v. Raimondo

In Illinois, a sexual harassment/retaliation lawsuit filed by a male firefighter last summer is in the news again. Here is the story.

In Palm Beach County, two more chiefs have left as the headquarters shake-up continues in the aftermath of several sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuits. Here is the story.

In New York, 19 EMS agencies in Nassau County on Long Island have been downgraded from ALS to BLS. Here is the story.

A New Jersey judge has dismissed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Jersey City Fire Department over a four fatality fire in 2014 where a delayed response was attributable to a dispatching error. Here is the story.

And in Rhode Island, a former fire chief pled no contest to two counts of fraud arising out of a pension he received. Here is the story.

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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