Fire Law Blog

Columbia-Richland Fire Department Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins has filed suit against the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina and PFFSC President Roger Odachowski, alleging that statements published by the organization following a firefighter line-of-duty death defamed him and caused significant emotional distress.

Two battalion chiefs assigned to the fire department at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California have lost a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against NASA after a federal court concluded that NASA was neither their employer nor their joint-employer.

A Louisiana appellate court has reinstated the termination of a Baton Rouge fire captain who tested positive for marijuana during a random drug test, reversing a district court decision that had ordered his reinstatement.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for June 22, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss a life sentence handed down to a former Texas deputy fire chief for orchestrating a violent sexual assault against a woman he knew; a lawsuit filed against an Idaho fire department  alleging an unlawful entry into their home following a …

A former Texas deputy fire chief has been sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating a violent sexual assault against a woman he knew. Joel Jones, 54, formerly a Deputy Chief with the Everman Fire Department near Fort Worth, pled guilty to aggravated sexual assault.

An Idaho couple has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that members of the American Falls Fire Department unlawfully entered their home after police had already cleared the property following a false alarm, leading to injuries to two of their dogs.

A federal court in Washington state has ruled that an Ocean Shores firefighter and Army reservist is entitled to paid military leave for the 2020-2021 military fiscal year under Washington law, following a Washington Supreme Court decision that resolved a disputed question concerning paid military leave for public employees on extended active duty.

A Cincinnati firefighter who alleged that a software problem during a promotional examination cost him an opportunity to become a district chief has lost his race discrimination lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The death of a young firefighter assigned to the Gwangju Metropolitan City Fire Safety Headquarters in South Korea has prompted a government investigation into allegations of workplace harassment, coercive drinking, and abuse of authority within the organization.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for June 15, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss troubling allegations against a former deputy chief in Indiana; some proposed changes to the overtime requirements for certain EMS providers; a case where the estate of a woman struck by a vehicle operated by a firefighter in New York is …

A former Indiana deputy fire chief has been charged with 55 felony offenses following a months-long investigation into allegations that he secretly recorded women and children, possessed child sexual abuse material, and used hidden cameras in private areas, including locations associated with a fire station.

In this edition of Fire Law Vlog, Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss proposed legislation before Congress to extend the 7k partial overtime exemption to certain EMS providers in rural areas of the country. However, the current language creates more questions than answers.

The administrator of the estate of a woman who was initially reported to have fallen, but who was later alleged to have been struck by a vehicle, has petitioned Suffolk County Supreme Court for permission to serve a late Notice of Claim against the Farmingville Fire District, the Farmingville Fire Department, the fire chief, and the district’s fire commissioners.

A New York fire district has filed suit against the bookkeeping company that handled its accounting services for nearly two decades, alleging the company refused to turn over electronic financial records, payroll templates, and other accounting data needed for the district’s operations and annual audit.

A federal magistrate judge in Texas has recommended dismissal of a civil rights lawsuit arising out of a January 2023 response to reported fires on private property while a county burn ban was in effect. The plaintiff, William Lawrence Nash, alleged that sheriff’s deputies and members of the Hunt Volunteer Fire Department unlawfully entered his property to investigate fires that he contended had been safely controlled and extinguished.

A federal appeals court has ruled that a former Illinois firefighter may continue pursuing his Title VII race discrimination and retaliation claims despite an adverse administrative termination proceeding, while affirming the dismissal of his constitutional and state-law claims.

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for June 8, 2026, Brad and Curt discuss the reversal of the convictions of two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics over the ketamine-related death of Elijah McClain in August 2019; the termination of a Pennsylvania firefighter who was caught during an open mic moment using a racial slur; the …

The Colorado Court of Appeals has issued two significant decisions arising out of the criminal prosecutions of Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lieutenant Peter Cichuniec for their roles in the treatment of Elijah McClain in August 2019.

A firefighter/EMT with Horsham Fire Company No. 1 in Horsham, Pennsylvania, was terminated after a racial slur was transmitted over the Montgomery County emergency radio system while crews were responding to a fatal motor vehicle crash.

We have covered the anti-trust lawsuits filed against the fire apparatus manufacturers since the first one was filed by the City of La Crosse on August 20, 2025. The last time I blogged about these suits was February 12, 2026. While the suits continued to be filed, I hadn’t paid too much attention to them beyond robotically adding cases to my database whenever I came across them.