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

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for March 24, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss a federal lawsuit filed by a Charleston firefighter over a transfer, a wrongful death lawsuit against the Philadelphia Fire Department, the settlement of discrimination complaints ...

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A Charleston firefighter who was transferred after he complained to his union about unsafe station conditions, has filed suit along with IAFF Local 61 alleging the discipline violated the First Amendment

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The estate of a Philadelphia man has filed suit against the city claiming that when he called for EMS, medics merely knocked at his door and departed while he lay dying on the floor. Roberto Santiago Sr., died on April 24, 2024, after activating a medical device requesting EMS to respond to his home.

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The New York State Division of Human Rights has announced the settlement of discrimination complaints against three fire departments, the Brookhaven Fire District and Fire Department, the Levittown Fire District and Fire Department, and the Holbrook Fire District and Volunteer Department. The complaints go back several years, but the settlements were announced earlier this week.

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The Appellate Division of the NY Supreme Court has upheld a decision by the NY City Board of Collective Bargaining concluding that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of IAFF Local 94, was not grievable as it related to the placement of non-compliant members on leave without pay. Local 94 sought to grieve the city’s implementation of the vaccine mandate.

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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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