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

The City of Rye, New York has agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit brought in 2020 over conduct that took place in a firehouse in the 1970s. The suit claimed that two officers of the Rye Fire Department sexually abused a young boy.

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A Colorado Springs firefighter who is facing criminal charges following a fatal apparatus accident last October, will have to pay for his own legal defense. Wesley Cosgrove was hoping the city would provide a defense attorney, but the Colorado Springs City Council voted 6-2 to deny his request.

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A man with psychological problems who was forcibly taken to the hospital on two occasions in 2021, has filed suit against NYPD, FDNY and the city’s hospital system claiming violations of his Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Ali Moore claims that he was “wrongfully arrested, seized, harassed...

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This is our annual review of the top Fire Law cases of 2022. Brad gives his 5 most interesting and Curt gives his 5 most important.

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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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New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Caroline’s/Bianca's Law into law today, making it a criminal offense to disseminate images of the victim of a criminal offense. The law was enacted by the state legislature last June after more than a decade of lobbying.

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A Colorado firefighter has filed suit alleging she was sexually harassed throughout much of her 10-year membership in the East Grand Fire Protection District #4, and sexually assaulted leading to her constructive termination. Lisa MacKendrick filed suit in US District Court for the District of Colorado against the district and its fire chief.

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The Massachusetts Civil Service Commission has upheld in part, and reversed in part, discipline of a Boston firefighter on charges of insubordination, unbecoming behavior, and being absent without leave.

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An Ohio firefighter is facing federal arson charges for setting a series of wildland fires earlier this year. James Bartels, 50, is accused of setting at least 24 fires in the Wayne National Forest.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for December 26, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss the settlement of race discrimination lawsuit brought by the former fire chief in Plainfield, New Jersey bringing to a close a tumultuous few years; a ...

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The settlement of race discrimination lawsuit brought by the former fire chief in Plainfield, New Jersey brings to a close a tumultuous few years for the city and its fire department. Fire Chief Frank Tidwell was suing the city and several local officials accusing them of a conspiracy to replace him with a white deputy chief.

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The father of an Air National Guard firefighter who died while fighting a structure fire off-base, has filed suit against the local fire department, the local fire chief and the state of West Virginia. Senior Airman Logan Young died while battling a barn fire in Berkeley County December 27, 2020

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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 volunteer firefighter in Colorado has filed suit claiming she was not hired for a paid position because of gender and age discrimination. Cynthia Winner filed suit against the Jefferson-Como Fire Protection District, its fire chief and a deputy chief.

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