Fire Law Blog

A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a veteran Chicago firefighter who claimed she was subjected to unnecessary and retaliatory medical and psychological evaluations. Lee Ann McKay, a firefighter for the Chicago Fire Department since 1999, has filed several prior employment-related suits against the City.

The North County Fire & Rescue Fire Protection District has filed suit against the City of Riverview claiming that the City has installed speed bumps, speed humps, and closed certain streets in a manner that violates fire code standards and interferes with emergency response operations.

A second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Fire Department arising from the February 26, 2024 collision involving Tulsa Fire Department Engine 23. That crash killed five people including an unborn child.

An insurance company has filed a subrogation suit against the City of Evansville arising out of a December 2024 fire at Madeleine’s Fusion Restaurant in Evansville. The Illinois Casualty Company seeks to recover more than $1.2 million in property and business-income losses stemming from what the insurer alleges was a rekindle.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for December 1, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss the dismissal of a lawsuit against a Delaware fire company over a text-message related expulsion; the settlement of an FLSA-related lawsuit against an Indiana over overtime for EMS personnel; criminal charges brought against four firefighters in conjunction with a violent …

The New Castle County Superior Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a longtime volunteer with the Mill Creek Fire Department who challenged his suspension and expulsion. The dispute stemmed from a text exchange in which Steven Germain, told a female associate that he “had a mental thought of slapping her on the butt.”

The City of Connersville, Indiana, has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit brought earlier this year by a Fayette County EMT who alleged the city failed to pay required overtime to EMS personnel. The suit was filed by Josh Hensley, a paramedic employed by Fayette County EMS, as a class action.

A group of firefighters with Marion County Fire and Rescue have been arrested in connection with what authorities describe as a violent hazing incident. According to public reporting, the alleged misconduct triggered a criminal investigation that resulted in multiple arrests.

Earlier this year, we covered the criminal charges brought against two firefighters from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service who were accused of using fire-hoses to flood a baseball field at Montgomery Blair High School.

The Poland Volunteer Fire Company has filed suit seeking to overturn the Poland Joint Fire District’s decision to suspend the company from providing fire protection within the district. The Article 78 proceeding was filed in New York Supreme Court for Herkimer County on November 24, 2025.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that a state law granting public employees up to 40 days of paid military leave annually, grants firefighter-service members who work a 24-hour shift, 40 such shifts each year. The decision reverses a Superior Court decision that held that a Melrose firefighter was only entitled to twenty – 24 hour shifts of paid military leave.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 24, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss our interview of the attorney who won a $31.5 million verdict for the widow of an Illinois fire lieutenant who died in the line of duty; a move by Utah lawmakers to reverse a 2025 Utah Supreme Court decision that …

Utah lawmakers have advanced legislation that will restore broad immunity protection for fire and EMS personnel following an August 2025 Utah Supreme Court decision that limited immunity for routine 911 medical calls. Members of the Government Operations Interim Committee unanimously approved a bill that would reverse the Court’s interpretation and reinstate protections for first responders.

In this edition of Fire Law VLOG, Curt and Brad are joined by Chief Gary Ludwig (ret.) and attorney Michael Gallagher to discuss the $31.5 million jury verdict in favor of the widow of Sterling Fire Lieutenant Garrett Ramos. Lt. Ramos was killed in a fire in Rock Falls, IL. In December, 2021. Mike represented …

A group of current and former Battalion Chiefs with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District have filed suit alleging the District misclassified them as exempt employees and failed to pay overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case was filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court on October 16, 2025, and was removed by the District to federal court on November 19, 2025.

In this edition of Fire Law VLOG, Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss recent trends in fire service wage and hour cases, including regular rate, executive exemption, volunteers, the reintroduction of opinion letters and the PAID program by the Trump administration, and the exemption of overtime compensation from federal income tax. Want more? Join us in …

A group of Tallahassee residents and a local government-watchdog nonprofit have filed suit against the City of Tallahassee challenging the legality of the city’s long-standing Fire Services Fee. The lawsuit was filed November 17, 2025, in Leon County Circuit Court by former mayor Dorothy Inman-Johnson, Deborah Cozart-Hawkins, Jamila Robinson, and Citizens for Government Accountability Inc.

A disabled military veteran and a Boston-based veterans advocacy organization have filed suit in Suffolk County Superior Court challenging the Boston Fire Department’s recent hiring practices. The lawsuit contends that the City’s use of its new firefighter cadet program, along with a recently adopted “hybrid” hiring process, has improperly reduced opportunities for veterans seeking appointment to the department.

A Bloomfield firefighter has filed suit in federal court alleging racial discrimination and a hostile work environment stemming from two separate incidents in which a coworker displayed and threw a noose at him during department training sessions. The complaint was filed November 16, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey by firefighter Patrick Thomas against the Township of Bloomfield.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 17, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss a verdict awarding $31.5 million to the widow of an Illinois fire lieutenant who died in the line of duty; a lawsuit filed against a NC fire department and several other agencies by the family of a six-year-old girl who …