Fire Law Blog

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld trial court rulings that Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long is not immune from liability for wrongfully terminating former Cincinnati Fire Chief Michael Washington. The court concluded that Long was not entitled to qualified immunity on Chief Washington’s pretermination due process claim or statutory immunity on his defamation claim.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated an ADA failure-to-accommodate claim brought by a former division chief against the Ocean City-Wright Fire Control District. Division Chief Walter Ebbert is a disabled military veteran with service-related disabilities that includes a traumatic brain injury.

A former Greenwood, Indiana deputy fire marshal has filed suit claiming he was suspended and terminated in retaliation for reporting discriminatory comments about a gay coworker. Deputy Fire Marshal Ryan Angrick filed suit against the Greenwood Fire Department in federal court alleging retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Denver Fire Fighters IAFF Local 858 has filed suit against the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters seeking a ruling that it successfully disaffiliated from the state association and does not owe nearly $389,000 in unpaid dues.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit brought by the daughter of a woman who died following a Philadelphia EMS response in 2024. The suit was brought by Shedira Wilson, as administratrix of the estate of her mother, Armada Wilson.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for August 10, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss an Arkansas fire chief’s guilty plea in a payroll fraud case; a First amendment suit brought by the firefighters’ union in Kansas City, Kansas; a wrongful termination suit brought by a Tennessee union president; a wrongful termination suit brought by …

A former Arkansas fire chief accused of using a firefighter’s payroll checks to divert municipal funds has pled guilty. Former Johnson Fire Chief Chance Lamar Wright entered the plea on August 6, 2026 in Washington County Circuit Court.

Kansas City, Kansas firefighters have filed suit claiming the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas violated their First Amendment rights by prohibiting their union from discussing apparatus staffing and firefighter safety with elected officials.

A former Wilson County, Tennessee, Fire Lieutenant and his union have filed suit against Wilson County, the Wilson County Emergency Management Agency, WEMA Director Joey Cooper, and WEMA Fire Chief Jeremy Hobbs, alleging the lieutenant was terminated in retaliation for advocating for increased staffing.

A former member of the Woodrow Volunteer Fire Department in Lubbock County, Texas, has filed a pro se lawsuit in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas alleging the department discriminated against him because he has Multiple Sclerosis and dismissed him after he raised concerns about his treatment.

The president of the Charleston Firefighters Association, IAFF 61, has filed suit in federal court claiming the City of Charleston terminated him in retaliation for his union activities, including his role in an earlier lawsuit over conditions at a city fire station.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for August 3, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss a motion to suppress evidence on a North Dakota firefighter’s phone that led to him facing up to 50 years in prison; a bankruptcy filing by an Arizona fire district; a Florida appellate court reversal of a lower court decision …

A North Dakota firefighter facing up to 50 years in prison for his involvement in child sex crimes, is seeking to have key evidence in the case suppressed because personal information on a work phone was searched without a warrant.

An Arizona fire district that provided fire and EMS coverage to approximately 2,500 square miles, including several Navajo Nation communities, has filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection after closing its station, laying off its employees, and stopping emergency response operations.

The Florida Second District Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court ruling that required Hillsborough County to accommodate a firefighter-paramedic’s off-duty use of medical marijuana. The case was brought by Firefighter-Paramedic Angelo Giambrone, who was placed on unpaid administrative leave following a random drug test in 2019.

A California man has filed suit against the City of Oakland and the Oakland Fire Department over damage his pickup sustained when the driver’s door of Engine 18 was opened as he passed the apparatus at an emergency scene. But did the suit ignore an important law?

Fifteen South Korean firefighters have been disciplined following a government investigation into the workplace treatment of a female firefighter who took her own life in October 2025. The 28-year-old firefighter assigned to Gwangsan Fire Station, had complained about being pressured to attend after-hours gatherings, consume alcohol, and perform personal tasks for superior officers.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for July 2, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss a lawsuit filed by families of six of the seven workers killed in a fireworks explosion in California accusing the fire department of not properly inspecting the premises; a disability discrimination suit brought by a Florida firefighter; a federal court …

The families of six of the seven workers killed in a fireworks explosion in Esparto, California, have filed suit against the Esparto Fire Protection District, Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence, the State of California, State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant, Yolo County, and numerous private defendants.

A former Sarasota County firefighter has filed suit alleging the county violated federal and state disability-discrimination laws when it terminated him while he was recovering from two work-related shoulder injuries.