Altercation Between Two Florida Firefighters Leads to Terminations and Demotion

Osceola County Fire Rescue & EMS has fired two firefighters and demoted a third over an on-duty altercation that occurred at an incident scene last October.  The altercation between firefighters Raymond Powell and Jaison Monanski was filmed by a woman who worked at the hotel where the incident took place.

The incident occurred on October 19, 2019 while the crew was at the scene of a medical incident involving a child having difficulty breathing. Their officer, who did not witness the incident but later mediated the dispute without reporting it as required by the county’s  workplace violence policy, was demoted from lieutenant to engineer.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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