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

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for February 27, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a California decision holding that  fire departments are not crime victims when an arson occurs, and thus a court cannot order the arsonist to pay ...

Read More »

The parents of a firefighter who died while training at the New York State Academy of Fire Science, have filed suit alleging negligence and recklessness. Peyton L.S. Morse, a recruit with the Watertown Fire Department, died after suffering a medical emergency while in engaged in a training evolution.

Read More »

The California Court of Appeals has ruled that a criminal convicted of setting a wildland fire cannot be required to pay restitution to responding fire departments as part of his sentence, because the fire departments are not the victims of the crime. The case involved Jorge Flores, who was convicted last year of setting a wildland fire in Ventura County in 2021.

Read More »

A Georgia fire chief has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the hiring of a firefighter who was facing felony theft charges in Alabama. Fire Chief Roderick Jolivette is on leave from the Douglas County Fire/EMS as the county looks into the hiring of Daymetrie Williams.

Read More »

The driver of a Kansas City pumper that killed three people in 2021, has pled guilty today to three counts of involuntary manslaughter. Dominic Biscari was driving Pumper 19, when it ran a red light, collided with an SUV, struck several parked cars, and came to rest in a building.

Read More »

The widow of a Bellingham firefighter has agreed to settle her lawsuit against the city for $750,000. Sheila Hanlon filed suit in 2021 claiming that the cancer death of her husband, Neil Carlberg, was work-related and qualifying for line-on-duty death benefits even though he was retired.

Read More »

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for February 20, 2023, Bill Maccarone and Curt discuss a race discrimination suit brought by a battalion chief in Sacramento, California; the dismissal of a suit brought by a battalion chief in Florida ...

Read More »

A battalion chief with the Sacramento Fire Department has filed suit alleging race discrimination and retaliation. Jonathan Burgess filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court alleging three violations of the California Government Code.

Read More »

The dismissal of a Florida battalion chief has been upheld by a US District Court. BC William Valencia claims he was terminated by the Haines City Fire Department in retaliation for having sought workers comp for an injury, and that he was the victim of disability discrimination.

Read More »

A lawsuit filed by the owner of a historic bridge against the City of Burlington, WI and a firefighter has been settled. Roger Bieneman filed suit in 2021 to recoup the costs of repairing the metal truss bridge after Burlington firefighter Justin Benko drove a 40,000 pound engine across it while responding to an airplane crash.

Read More »

Two FLSA-related cases are in the Fire Law news, one involving a small volunteer fire department in North Carolina, the other involving one of the nation’s largest fire departments: the Los Angeles City Fire Department. My colleague Bill Maccarone covered the LAFD case in his blog, so I would direct my readers to FirefighterOvertime.org, for more on that case.

Read More »

Today’s burning question: I am a town manager and we have a small volunteer fire department with a part-time paid fire chief. The chief receives a stipend and is expected to put in 20 hours a week. Can he qualify as an exempt executive like our police chief, even though he is a part-time employee?

Read More »

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for February 13, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a jury verdict holding the Perth Amboy Fire Department (NJ) liable for a series of sexual assaults perpetrated thirty years ago by a firefighter on ...

Read More »

A New Jersey jury has found the City of Perth Amboy and the Perth Amboy Fire Department liable for a series of sexual assaults perpetrated thirty years ago by a firefighter on a 12-year-old boy. The firefighter, Hugo Fleites, was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual assault in 2019.

Read More »