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Fire Law Roundup for February 9, 2026
In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for February 9, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss the termination of an Austin fire captain for timekeeping fraud; criminal charges brought against a Baltimore County Fire Department paramedic for engaging in lewd behavior in the firehouse that resulted in other personnel ingesting his bodily fluids; a ruling allowing a lawsuit filed against the City of Greenville, SC and its fire chief over the termination of the union president to proceed; a federal magistrate’s recommendation to allow a lawsuit against a former FDNY firefighter over a COVID19 exemption to move forward; and the filing…
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Austin Fire Captain Indefinitely Suspended Following Timekeeping Fraud Investigation
An Austin Fire Department captain has been indefinitely suspended following an internal investigation into allegations of timekeeping fraud and related policy violations. According to reports, Captain Chelsea Caloia, who was assigned to the department’s Prevention Division, was indefinitely suspended on January 30, 2026, after the Austin Fire Professional Standards Office investigated allegations that she falsified time records and violated multiple departmental and city policies. The investigation reportedly began after an anonymous complaint was received on July 21, 2025, alleging improper timekeeping practices. Fire department investigators collected physical and electronic evidence and interviewed Caloia’s supervisors and colleagues. The investigation ultimately substantiated…
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Baltimore County Paramedic Charged Following Lewd Firehouse Contamination Allegations
A Baltimore County paramedic who had been under investigation following reports of inappropriate conduct at fire stations has now been criminally charged in connection with those allegations. Christopher Carroll, 36, an employee of the Baltimore County Fire Department, faces 23 criminal charges stemming from conduct alleged to have occurred at county fire stations.
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Firefighter Union President’s First Amendment Claims Survive Motion to Dismiss in South Carolina Case
A federal district court in South Carolina has denied, in large part, a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the City of Greenville and its fire chief by a firefighter who alleges he was terminated for communicating concerns about department operations and morale while serving as union president.
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Federal Magistrate Recommends Denying Motion to Dismiss in FDNY Vaccine Mandate Religious Accommodation Case
A federal magistrate judge in New York has recommended allowing a lawsuit filed by an FDNY firefighter fired after being denied a religious exemption from the City’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement to move forward.
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Fire Truck–Bicycle Collision in North Carolina Leads to Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The family of a bicyclist who was struck and killed by a fire truck has filed suit against the Town of Nags Head, Nags Head Fire and Rescue, and the apparatus driver. Jane E. Ferguson, as executrix of the estate of her brother Gary Edward Ferguson, filed the wrongful death action in Dare County Superior Court.
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Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Termination of Firefighter’s Disability Pension
An Illinois appellate court has reversed a decision by the Board of Trustees of the Evanston Firefighters’ Pension Fund that terminated a firefighter’s line-of-duty disability pension, concluding the Board’s finding that the firefighter had recovered from her disability was against the manifest weight of the evidence.
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North Carolina Battalion Chief Arrested in Connection with Vacant Building Fire
A battalion chief with the Matthews Fire & EMS has been charged with setting fire to a vacant commercial building earlier this month. The building involved in the incident was a vacant former Boston Market restaurant on East Independence Boulevard in Matthews.
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