Social Media

An Oregon fire chief who filed a wrongful termination suit has agreed to accept a $55,000 settlement. Chief Mike Balzer claims he was terminated by Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District because his wife posted comments on social media that were critical of the district’s board.

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Today’s burning question: I just saw that the 4th Circuit struck down a police department’s social media policy based on the First Amendment. I live in Nevada, which is part of the 9th Circuit. Will that ruling be binding here? Answer: Boy, there sure is a lot of interest in that 4th Circuit case. I have received over 25 emails and social media contacts TODAY ALONE.

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A Michigan firefighter has been terminated over racially charged comments he posted on Facebook. Ryan Hudson, 40, of the Belding Fire Department, was fired yesterday for comments he posted in reply to a post that supported San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback ...

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Eyewitness News in Houston is investigating firefighters for selling shift-trades on a Facebook page aptly named HFD Extra Shifts. KTRK broke the story, interviewing firefighters and elected officials, and referencing a similar shift-swapping scandal in Cleveland in 2014 that resulted in criminal charges against 13 firefighters.

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A California medic who posted photos of a badly injured motorcyclist on Instagram is being sued by the victim’s family. The photos of the victim’s badly mangled leg is not all that upset the victims family. The family is also upset about the hashtags that accompanied the photos.

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A fire captain in Austin, Texas has been suspended for 30 days without pay for posting political comments on Facebook. Captain Gregory Zenkner agreed to the terms of the discipline rather than face an indefinite suspension (a Texas term for termination) or a demotion.

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A Tulsa firefighter who was terminated earlier this year for ignoring an order to report for an internal affairs interview, is now suing the fire department for wrongful termination. Greg Chapman was fired in January after he failed to appear for an interview concerning a derogatory comment he posted about a viral video.

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Another firefighter has been caught up in sharing anti-Black Lives Matters posts, this time a battalion chief in Omaha, Nebraska. BC Joe Salcedo is now on paid administrative leave over posts he shared on Facebook that criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and President Obama.

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The past few weeks have seen an unusually high number of fire and EMS personnel get themselves into disciplinary trouble for their social media activities. Whether we use the acronym SMACS, SMACSS, or my favorite – Cybercasualty - no state has seen more of this than South Carolina following a BLM protest last week in Columbia.

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A Columbia, South Carolina fire captain has been terminated over two Facebook posts criticizing Black Lives Matter protesters who closed down I-126 Sunday evening. Captain James Morris was terminated today for “conduct unbecoming”.

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The DC firefighter at the center of an investigation into an anti-cop Facebook rant had a chance to explain himself to reporters. Tuesday, DC Firefighter Norman Brooks posted some harsh comments toward Baton Rouge police who shot and killed a black man, Alton Sterling.

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Today’s burning question: Can we delete comments that we find offensive on our fire department’s Facebook page? Answer: That question is actually a heck of a lot more complicated than you might imagine… just ask the City of Beech Grove, Indiana.

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A defamation suit against one of the biggest names in the fire service was tossed out of court today. Chief Billy Goldfeder was sued last year by an Illinois non-profit, Remembrance Rescue Project, over content he published in an email in 2014

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Additional details are emerging about the lawsuit filed today against the Charlotte Fire Department by former fire investigator Crystal Eschert. Eschert claims that after she raised health, safety, and financial management concerns she was retaliated against by the fire department and terminated in September, 2014

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