Tag Archives: fire chief

The Florida Court of Appeals has ruled that when publicly reporting on matters within the scope of his/her assigned duties, a fire chief has absolute immunity from liability for defamation. That ruling came in the high-profile Miami Fire Department case from 2017 that involved firefighters defacing family photos of a colleague and placing a noose-like string on one of the photos.

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A former Connecticut fire chief who was found guilty last year by a federal jury on two charges of embezzling fire department funds was sentenced to three months in jail and three years of supervised released. Paul Perrotti, the former fire chief in Middlebury, was accused of stealing upwards of $70,000 from the department through a scheme involving his side business.

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Today’s burning question: If a misconduct complaint is filed against a fire chief, should subordinate chiefs be allowed to conduct the investigation? Answer: As a general rule, someone who has a potential conflict of interest should not be tasked with conducting a misconduct investigation

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A New Hampshire fire chief who found out he was terminated because he happened to be watching a televised board of selectmen meeting from his home, has filed a wrongful termination suit. Fire Chief Peter Varney claims he was given ...

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Former Alameda, California fire chief David Kapler has been ordered to pay the city over $260,000 for the costs of defending against his failed wrongful termination lawsuit. Kapler was threatened with termination after he was filmed by firefighters fueling his ...

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This week saw two cases we have discussed recently – resolved. The cases are from two different states – both cases involve fire captains… both involve other jobs the captains had… and in both cases that captains won. The first ...

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Today’s Burning Question: My fire department is currently without a fire chief. The city had an interim chief but civil service rules limit interims to four month terms and that time has expired. Can I sue the city to force ...

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The parents of a 19-year-old female EMT have filed a claim against Greenwich Township and the Greenwich Fire Department alleging that officials failed to supervise and prevent improper sexual relationships between two chief officers and minor female members. John and ...

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The Fire Chief of the Jeannette Fire Department in western Pennsylvania has been suspended with pay pending an investigation into allegations that he sexually assaulted a women who had come to apply for a job with the department. Fire Chief ...

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We have covered some pretty bizarre cases here at Fire Law Blog – but certainly none come close to being as disturbing as this one. An Alabama fire chief has been accused of improperly disposing of two premature (approximately 20 ...

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In my line of work, I see a lot of fire chiefs who are under attack. The attacks come in a variety of forms (grievances, law suits, ethics complaints, no-confidence votes) and for a variety of reasons (including some self-inflicted ...

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Being a fire chief is not an easy job. It fact for many reasons it may very well be the worst job on the department.  Bernie Becker was the fire chief in Clearcreek Township, Ohio for 11 years. During his ...

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An unfortunate decision by the fire chief of Tarpon Springs, Florida, to respond to a fire after attending a social function has landed him in hot water with his bosses. Chief Stephen Moreno was placed on administrative leave after he ...

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Ronald Grogan, Fire Chief of Eunice City along with four other firefighters have been charged with various offenses related to the theft of a radar detector from a vehicle that was involved in an accident on December 4, 2009. The ...

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