Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

A Buffalo firefighter who was terminated after testing positive for marijuana a second time has filed suit claiming the city violated New York’s Compassionate Care Act. Scott Martin, a 12-year veteran of the department, was terminated on February 23, 2021 following a random drug test on February 5, 2021.

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Allegations surfaced today that two members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department could be (or have been) fired for their role in a photo-taking scandal in the aftermath of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash in January, 2020.

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An Akron fire lieutenant who sprayed water at a local activist who was filming at a crime scene, has been suspended for 80 hours. The incident occurred on March 27, 2021 as firefighters were washing down a sidewalk where a fatal stabbing occurred.

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Forty-four current and former California firefighters have filed suit against chemical companies and PPE manufacturers claiming that they were exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) and their turnout gear.

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The Superior Court for Richmond County has blocked the appointment of Antonio Burden as fire chief for the City of Augusta because the city failed to comply with the state’s public records law. The ruling handed down last week resulted from a suit brought by four local media outlets.

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The Toronto District School Board has filed a $90 million lawsuit against the Toronto Fire Services and the Toronto Police Services Board claiming their failure to extinguish and properly overhaul a fire in 2019 led to the destruction of the York Memorial Collegiate Institute.

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A Connecticut superior court has dismissed several counts in a wrongful death suit against the City of West Haven and the state arising out of a rather bizzare vehicle-accident-tasing- administration of a sedative case, but the case will proceed on the remaining counts for now.

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In this episode Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss the upcoming FLSA for Fire Departments web-conference May 11-14, 2021, and plans for the next web-conference October 5-8, 2021. In addition three new Advanced FLSA webinars have been scheduled for the fall of 2021.

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A Glastonbury firefighter is facing criticism for an off-hand comment that he made to a BLM activist Sunday. The activist, Ivelisse Correa, videoed the exchange she had with the firefighter.

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A New Haven fire lieutenant along with thirty firefighter-candidates have filed suit to block the city’s plans to use a lottery to break a tie between 99 applicants who scored 100 on a civil service hiring test. With Lieutenant Samod Rankins serving as the lead plaintiff, the suit was filed today in New Haven Superior Court.

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In this episode, Curt and attorney Paul Samakow discuss the Firefighter’s Rule, and in particular the challenges of recovering damages for burn injuries. Paul is a nationally known advocate for burn survivors and their families. He has a national practice representing burn survivors.

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The mother of a 19-year-old special needs man who was shot in the Seattle CHOP zone last summer, has filed suit against the city of Seattle claiming that medics failure to come to his aid led to his death. Donnitta Sinclair filed suit last week in federal court claiming the intentional and negligent conduct of the city caused the death of her son, Horace Lorenzo Anderson, Jr.

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Today’s burning question: I am a volunteer fire chief and have been very interested in taking your FLSA course May 11-14, 2021. Is there any way to just take the section related to volunteer issues at a reduced rate? The other sections are interesting but are not the focus of what I need to know.

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A battalion chief with the City of Coronado has filed suit claiming he and similarly situated battalion chiefs have been wrongly classified as exempt from overtime. Perry Peake filed the class action suit this week in US District Court for the Southern District of California.

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