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

A US Magistrate judge has recommended that a second lawsuit filed by a Houston firefighter challenging a Title VII consent decree on promotions, be dismissed. Guadalupe Guzman filed the action pro se in 2024 following the dismissal of a suit he filed in 2022 (referred to as Guzman I).

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for March 17, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss the discipline handed down to four Evanston, Illinois firefighters who donned Trump masks for a firehouse photo; a bizarre case involving a Utah fire chief ...

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Four Evanston, Illinois firefighters have been disciplined in the aftermath of a firehouse photo depicting them wearing Trump masks in January. The photo was reportedly taken on inauguration day, January 20, 2025, at Station 3 and circulated in social media with the comment “Our Fire Department all celebrating the inauguration in matching Trump masks.”

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A Utah fire chief is facing criminal charges of sexually exploiting children in a bizarre case that also involves a state court judge. Tremonton Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen, and 1st District Justice Court Judge Kevin Robert Christensen are facing multiple felony counts.

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A Los Angeles firefighter has filed suit against the city and a captain alleging he was sexually harassed and then retaliated against after he complained. Omar Rodriguez filed suit against the city and Captain George Yllescas alleging five state law claims.

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A lawsuit against FDNY and NYPD alleging a failure to promptly come to the aid of a shooting victim has been dismissed by a federal court. Migdalia Ortega was shot by her boyfriend on May 9, 2022 in Queens.

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A Chicago firefighter-paramedic who suffered a stroke, and was placed in a non-operational procurement position at O’Hare airport, has lost his lawsuit alleging that the city’s failure to promote him to lieutenant violated the Americans With Disabilities Act.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for March 10, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss a decision dismissing a police officer from a wrongful prosecution case in Connecticut; a lawsuit challenging a fee imposed by an Alabama fire district; a ...

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One of the two police officers accused in the malicious prosecution of a Connecticut firefighter in 2021 has been dismissed from the suit. Steven Frischling filed suit against Montville Police Lt. David Radford, Connecticut State Police Sgt. Albert Gosselin, and the Town of Montville.

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An Alabama fire district and its five board members are facing a lawsuit by a landowner who claims that the district’s imposition of a fee on gaming machines violates his Constitutional rights. Dennis St. John filed suit against Eastern Valley Fire District and its board of trustees.

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A fire district in New York has filed suit against a local bank accusing it of being responsible for the cyber-theft of over $15 million in district funds. As if that is not bad enough, the bank has responded to the suit claiming the fire district’s own security lapses caused the losses.

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The City of Los Angeles is facing a lawsuit from a man who alleges that he was sexually assaulted in a firehouse by a fire captain from 2000 to 2004 while participating in a youth program. The plaintiff, identified only as JG, filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision, and negligent retention.

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The US District Court for the District of Colorado has dismissed the claims against a Colorado Springs Fire Department paramedic who was accused of wrongful death and violating the civil rights of a man who died after being restrained. Kevin Dizmang died on Nov. 15, 2022 after a failed mental health intervention by the Colorado Springs PD Crisis Response Unit

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for March 3, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss the dismissal of a suit against FDNY for transporting a patient against her will; the dismissal of several disparate treatment-discrimination lawsuits brought by the Biden ...

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