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

A Virginia Beach firefighter is facing federal child porn charges following an investigation that connected his IP to a firehouse. Douglas France is accused of possession and distribution of child pornography.

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A probationary firefighter with the Los Angeles County Fire Department who resigned after just ten months on the job due to stress and harassment, has filed suit against the county claiming disability discrimination. Brison Hardin filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging six counts of employment discrimination under state law.

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A firefighter who served 15 years with Cal Fire before retiring in 2014 and had recently been rehired as a captain, has been sentenced to one-year and a day in prison for defrauding the federal government while administering a SAFER grant. Samuel Thomas Lanier, 40, pled guilty in 2019 to seven counts of major fraud.

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A Tennessee judge has issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of two Nashville Fire Department policies that regulate employee speech. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a firefighter who was suspended for calling the city council “white supremacists” in social media.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for October 17, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss a $1.6 million award in favor of IAFF Local 500 against the city of East Cleveland for a staffing violation, a lawsuit filed against the ...

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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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An environmental group has filed suit against the US Forest Service claiming that fire retardants used to battle wildland fires violates the Clean Waters Act. Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics filed suit in US District Court for the District of Montana against the US Forest Service earlier this week.

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Two Texas firefighters have been dismissed after speaking to a local reporter about what they claim is an abuse of power and hostile environment by a local police chief who is serving as acting president of the local volunteer fire company. Lieutenant Drew Cizek and Benjamin Gullet say they were terminated from the Central Bell County Fire & Rescue

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An FDNY firefighter who was terminated in March for refusing to get a COVID vaccine, has been reinstated by a Justice of the New York Supreme Court. Timothy Rivicci has been ordered reinstated with full backpay and benefits under a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio last week.

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A Lansing firefighter who filed a race discrimination suit in 2019, and a second discrimination suit in 2020 alleging retaliation and violation of his First Amendment rights, has been awarded $1 million in damages by a federal court jury. Michael Lynn Jr. filed the first suit after he discovered a banana placed between the windshield and the wiper of his assigned truck.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for October 10, 2022, Brad and Curt discussed an investigation into a scantily clad woman filmed exiting a San Jose fire truck and walking into a strip club; a ruling upholding the termination ...

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The crew of a San Jose engine company is under investigation after a video surface last week showing a scantily clad woman exiting the cab and entering a strip club. The video first surfaced on Instagram and quickly got the attention of local officials, including San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Fire Chief Robert Sapien, Jr.

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A Georgia firefighter who was terminated in 2017 following an off-duty vehicle accident, has lost his suit to regain his job. Robert Bailey was fired from the Henry County Fire Department following an investigation into an accident that occurred on June 14, 2017.

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A Los Angeles County Firefighter who was prohibited from returning to active duty and ordered to retire after he suffered two epileptic seizures, has filed suit claiming the county violated California’s disability discrimination laws. Andrew Lithgoe filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

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