You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

Happy New Year to everyone out there! May 2023 be the year that ends Covid, the war in Ukraine, and all the seemingly unsolvable challenges we faced in 2022, individually and collectively. Here is my listing of the TOP FIVE CRAZIEST fire law stories from 2022.

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A man who was riding the front bumper of a ladder truck while dressed as Santa Claus has filed suit seeking nearly $500,000 in damages for the injuries he sustained when the truck went over a drainage channel. Roak D. TenEyck filed suit against the Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District, the Umatilla Volunteer Firefighters Association, and the driver of the ladder truck.

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A Miami firefighter at the center of a racially charged incident in 2017 that led to the termination of six firefighters, finds himself at the center of allegations that he beat a handcuffed prisoner. The incident occurred at Jackson Memorial Hospital in October, 2022 was caught on recently released security footage.

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A Boston firefighter who was placed on unpaid leave due to his failure to comply with the city’s COVID vaccination requirements has filed suit seeking $8,342,068.00 in damages from the city. Michael Browder Jr. filed suit in Suffolk County Superior Court yesterday.

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A Texas fire chief who was planning to retire at the end of the year has been arrested by the FBI and charged with stealing pension funds. Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 Fire Chief Mac Hohenberger was arrested at Dallas Fort Worth Airport as he returned from Las Vegas.

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A man who claims he was improperly treated by Los Angeles City Fire Department paramedics, has filed suit claiming they administered medications that caused him permanent injuries. The man, identified in the complaint as John Doe, filed suit pro se in Los Angeles County Superior Court naming the City of Los Angeles, the two medics, and the hospital to which he was transported.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 14, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss the impact of the Massachusetts Human Resource Division to cancel all upcoming fire promotional examinations; a wildland firefighter who drove a US Forest Service engine ...

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An additional lawsuit has been filed over the Kansas City fatal apparatus accident, this time by the apparatus driver, IAFF Local 42, and the plaintiffs in the three prior lawsuits, claiming the city is responsible for the $32 million judgment that was awarded against the apparatus driver. There is a lot to unpack with this one as a high stakes strategic chess match is underway.

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It seems like each week I am only able to scratch the surface of the fire law news. This week is no exception, but I wanted to point out two additional noteworthy cases. The first involves the settlement of the city’s portion of the Kansas City, Missouri fatal apparatus accident case. The second case involves another firefighter being arrested while engaged in the performance of his duties by an overzealous cop.

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A wildland firefighter with the US Forest Service has been arrested as part of sexual predator sting operation in central California. Mark McGill Jr. was arrested when he arrived in a Forest Service engine to what he thought was a rendezvous with a teenage girl in Fresno County.

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Two Denver firefighter are facing lengthy suspensions for their roles in a botched death pronouncement of a woman who was still alive. The incident occurred on June 24, 2022, when Lieutenant Patrick Lopez and FF Marshal Henry responded with police on a welfare check.

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A Utah fire department is being sued for allegedly destroying a man’s home last July as part of a training exercise. Greg Young filed suit in US District Court for the District of Utah claiming that the South Jordan Fire Department used his home on South Gold Dust Drive without his permission, and literally destroyed it.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for October 24, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss a lawsuit challenging the termination of a union president from Massachusetts for wearing his dress uniform to a firefighter funeral, a Virginia Beach firefighter facing ...

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The Ohio Court of Appeals has upheld a $1,631,290.04 award against the City of East Cleveland for violating the minimum staffing requirement in the collective bargaining agreement with East Cleveland Firefighters, IAFF Local 500. The case dates back to 2016 when the city began refusing to honor the ten-person minimum on-duty requirement.

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