Fire Law Blog

A community risk reduction specialist with the Meridian Fire Department has filed suit claiming she was disciplined and later terminated in retaliation for raising concerns about the accuracy of data being used for a standard of cover analysis. Heather Griffin filed suit last year against the city in Ada County District Court.

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 against three NY fire departments; a decision upholding a decision by New York City to ...

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

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.

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.

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.

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).

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 and a state court judge who stand accused of sexually exploiting children; a lawsuit filed ...

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 suit filed by a NY fire district against a bank for allowing a cybertheft of ...

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.

An Alabama fire district and its five board members are facing a lawsuit by a landowner who claims that the district’s imposition of a fee on gaming machines violates his Constitutional rights. Dennis St. John filed suit against Eastern Valley Fire District and its board of trustees.

A fire district in New York has filed suit against a local bank accusing it of being responsible for the cyber-theft of over $15 million in district funds. As if that is not bad enough, the bank has responded to the suit claiming the fire district’s own security lapses caused the losses.

The City of Los Angeles is facing a lawsuit from a man who alleges that he was sexually assaulted in a firehouse by a fire captain from 2000 to 2004 while participating in a youth program. The plaintiff, identified only as JG, filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision, and negligent retention.

The US District Court for the District of Colorado has dismissed the claims against a Colorado Springs Fire Department paramedic who was accused of wrongful death and violating the civil rights of a man who died after being restrained. Kevin Dizmang died on Nov. 15, 2022 after a failed mental health intervention by the Colorado Springs PD Crisis Response Unit

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for March 3, 2025, Brad and Curt discuss the dismissal of a suit against FDNY for transporting a patient against her will; the dismissal of several disparate treatment-discrimination lawsuits brought by the Biden Administration’s DOJ against fire and police departments; a military discrimination suit in Florida; an appellate ...