There has been another development in the decade long sexual harassment battle in the Westbrook, Maine Fire Department, as two male firefighters have contested disciplinary actions imposed against them. Lt. Donald Trafford and Firefighter Matthew Lamontagne are grieving their punishments ...

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A retired battalion chief from the Kansas City (Missouri) Fire Department who won two previous Federal court cases for sexual discrimination in 1999 (Kline I) and 2006 (Kline II), finally lost a case (Kline III). On December 22, 2009, a ...

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The Albuquerque Fire Department has been struggling with a persistent problem: drunk driving arrests of its off duty personnel. in 2008 there were 6 DWI arrests of AFD firefighters. In 2009, the number jumped to 9. Each new case has been ...

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Under the heading of you can’t make this stuff up, comes a really dumb – but in many ways even more tragic – incident from Connecticut involving several junior firefighters, and a few non-so junior firefighters. While in the Quaker ...

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A week after 14 members of the “New Haven 20” received their long awaited promotions, it was back to court for the parties. In a document titled “Plaintiff’s Brief on Post-Remand Liability Issues and Elements of Title VII Damages”,  attorney Karen ...

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A recent incident in New York City once again raises the question of duty to act. Does an off-duty EMT have a duty to render aid to a citizen in distress? While it will take years for the legal issues ...

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An interesting case is brewing in California over the use of aircraft deployed fire retardant. It seems some steelhead trout were killed in the Jesusita Fire in May, 2009, and the culprit is alleged to be the fire retardant. What ...

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A veteran Boston firefighter filed a lawsuit December 9, 2009 against the City of Boston and two of its police officers, after he was acquitted by a Roxbury Municipal Court jury of charges of resisting arrest and assaulting Boston police ...

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As I was searching the internet this morning looking for the latest in fire service litigation news, I came across this article from LAWeekly discussing the problems of sexual harassment, physical ability requirements, and social engineering in the fire service ...

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There are many fire departments in the United States that are heavily engaged in simultaneous lawsuits, but it is hard to imagine things being much more challenging litigation-wise than in New Haven, Connecticut.  On the heels of the Ricci decision, ...

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Johnson City, New York firefighter's union is vowing to take legal action against the village mayor for suspending their union president because of statements he made at two village board meetings.  Fire Captain and union president Marty Meaney was suspended ...

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Erie Pennsylvania Firefighters, IAFF Local 293, recently received a mixed decision on an appeal of an arbitrator’s award. Arbitrator Michael Zobrak had previously issued an award that mandated the city increase minimum staffing from four to five firefighters on all companies ...

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The mother of a man who died on December 3, 2008, has filed suit against the Washington DC Fire & EMS (FEMS) alleging that the city and Dr. James J. Augustine, the department’s former medical director, are responsible for his ...

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A Fort Worth Fire Captain has accepted a 2 step demotion, but has been permitted to keep his job as a result of a settlement of the civil service appeal of his termination. Captain Steven Perez was fired on June ...

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