Fire Law Blog

The City of Lansing has settled the gender discrimination lawsuit brought by Firefighter/Paramedic Cecilia Major over allegations that she was singled out and repeatedly questioned about wearing a bra while on duty. Under the settlement, Lansing agreed to pay Major $325,000, with approximately $210,000 going directly to her and the balance covering attorney’s fees and related costs.

A Georgia firefighter has filed suit in federal court alleging that the discipline imposed on him after reporting a workplace violence incident was racially discriminatory and part of a hostile work environment that ultimately forced his resignation.

The City of Dallas has filed suit against a former Dallas Fire-Rescue recruit, alleging that he continued to receive pay and benefits for approximately twenty months after resigning, resulting in an overpayment of $127,441.34.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for April 20, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss the filing of another lawsuit against Shreveport over a fatal fire in 2025; a Louisiana appellate decision granting immunity to the Kenner Fire Department over an apparatus accident; the filing of arson and murder charges against an Ohio volunteer firefighter; …

A third lawsuit has now been filed against the City of Shreveport and the Shreveport Fire Department arising out of the April 6, 2025 fatal fire on Kemp Lane that claimed the lives of Mildred Carter-Rawls and her two granddaughters.

A Louisiana appellate court has dismissed a lawsuit arising out of an intersection accident involving an engine from the Kenner Fire Department. The court held that the City of Kenner was entitled to qualified immunity under Louisiana’s Emergency Responder Statute.

An Ohio volunteer firefighter has been charged with aggravated murder and aggravated arson following allegations that he shot a woman, set fire to her home, and then responded to the scene as part of the fire department’s response.

A federal district court decision issued earlier this year in favor of Genoa Township, Ohio, in a firefighter hearing-loss discrimination case has now been docketed with the Sixth Circuit. The appeal follows a February 13, 2026 ruling granting summary judgment to Genoa Township and dismissing firefighter/EMT Jeffrey Kibler’s claims under the ADA and Ohio disability discrimination law.

Four part-time firefighters in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan have filed a federal lawsuit claiming township officials changed the hiring criteria for full-time firefighter positions after they publicly supported Fire Chief Jamie Jent and criticized what they describe as unsafe staffing levels in the department.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for April 13, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss a race discrimination lawsuit filed by a former New Haven lieutenant; an appellate decision upholding the termination of a former assistant fire chief in Frisco, Texas; a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri sending a firefighter cancer suit against …

A Connecticut firefighter who was acquitted of a sexual assault charge has filed suit in federal court against New Haven, alleging that city officials racially discriminated against him. Lt. Keith Norfleet claims the city terminated him before his criminal case was resolved, while white firefighters facing similar criminal allegations were allowed to remain on leave.

The Texas Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a former assistant fire chief in Frisco. Cameron Kraemer claimed claimed the city violated its own personnel policies and unlawfully discriminated against him by terminating his employment while he remained out on leave for post-traumatic stress disorder. Chief Kraemer had served …

A federal judge in Missouri has sent a firefighter cancer suit against 3M back to state court after concluding that 3M could not have the case removed to federal court and sent to South Carolina where the AFFF mass tort litigation cases are being heard, because the firefighter expressly denied that foam exposure was part of his claim.

A Washington seafood company has filed suit against the City of Tacoma, alleging that tactical decisions made by the Tacoma Fire Department during a 2023 shipboard fire caused a contained fire aboard a commercial fishing vessel to spread and destroy a vessel valued at approximately $185 million.

Three firefighters associated with the Howe Volunteer Fire Department have been arrested following an investigation into allegations that a 16-year-old junior firefighter was sexually abused by multiple members of the department during 2022.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for April 6, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss a Oregon lawsuit claiming a trespass order against a person prohibited from coming to a fire station is illegal because it prohibits them from attending public meetings; a ruling that FDNY must remove six cadet firefighters from EMS positions due …

A resident of New Pine Creek, Oregon, has filed suit against the New Pine Creek Rural Fire Protection District, its fire chief, and its board chair, alleging that a trespass order barring him from district property violates his constitutional rights.

A New York judge has ruled that the FDNY violated state civil service law by temporarily appointing fire cadets to EMT and EMS trainee positions despite the existence of eligible civil service lists for those titles. The ruling affects the six fire cadets who remained in those assignments at the time of the decision.

Lawsuits arising out of code enforcement responsibilities lead to approximately 1.8% of fire service civil litigation. Two such cases are in the Fire Law News today—one newly filed in Massachusetts involving underground fuel storage tanks, and the other a federal decision out of Michigan dismissing constitutional claims arising from fire code and licensing enforcement.

Two former paid members of the North East Cabarrus Volunteer Fire Department & Community Center in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, have filed a suit alleging the department failed to pay overtime required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.