Salute or Wave - Leads to Suspension

A Cleveland firefighter was given a six-month suspension from the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drum Corp for giving President Barack Obama a nod and wave during last week's inaugural parade in Washington, D.C. The case raises some interesting questions about the rights of public organizations to enforce reasonable uniform and decorum requirements versus the first amendment rights of public employees. Click here for more.


Chapter 14 in FOLH addresses this thorny issue.

1/28/09 - here's a followup story from CNN

Manslaughter Trial for FDNY Black Sunday Deaths

The deaths of two FDNY firefighters and severe injuries to seveal others on January 23, 2005 is the subject of a crimical trail against two tenants and the owners of the apartment building where the fire occurred. The prosecution alleged that the defendants illegally subdividing apartments in the building, and thereby contributed to the deaths and injuries through their reckless and/or criminally negligent behavior. The defendants are chanrged with two counts of second degree manslaughter, two counts of criminally negligent homicide and one count of reckless endangerment.

Key to the case will be the mental states of the defenmdants. Did their conduct constitute reckless behavior? Was it criminally negligent behavior? Chapter 5 of FOLH and Legal Considerations addresses this difficult area of the law.



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/nyregion/06fire.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion


Update: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyfire0130%2C0%2C6424922.story

Can City Use Retirees?

The Omaha Firefighter's Union recently dropped a law suit against the cityof Omaha, challenging the city's use of retired firefighters as part-time fire investigators. The union alleged that the practice violated the collective bargaining agreement, and deprived union members of work and pay.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10530798

Firefighter's Death leads to Murder Charge for Reckless Driver

Maybe its me, but it seems like firefighters and police officers are being struck by vehicles at accident scenes on just about a daily basis. In a recent case in Delaware, 30 year old Michelle Smith, a volunteer firefighter in Delaware City and the Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown, was struck and killed by a speeding car while treating a patient of a motorcycle accident. The patient was also struck but is expected to survive.

The driver who struck Smith is now being charged with murder - which is rather unusual. The mental state required for murder is substantially higher than that necessary for involuntary manslaughter, or vehicular homicide. Generally to be convicted of murder, the perpetrator must have acted intentionally, knowingly, or with recklessness indicating a depraved heart. Normal recklessness will usually result in manslaughter.

It would appear that prosecutors believe they can establish that the driver, Joseph M. Taye Jr., acted with depraved heart recklessness. It will be interesting to see how the case progresses.

For more on the case click here or copy and paste this link: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20081231/NEWS01/812310356

Murder, manslaughter and recklessness are all covered in Chapter 5 of FOHL and Legal Considerations.

Contractor Charged with Manslaughter In Fire deaths

The New York City contractor assigned to demolish the Deutsche Bank building was charged with manslaughter for the deaths of two FDNY firefighters at a fire in 2007.

More details can be found at: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/22/2008-12-22_bronx_contractor_john_galt_corp_charged_.html

Who is protected by Good Samaritan Laws?

A recent decision by the California Supreme Court has raised some eyebrows among emergency responders.

In a 4-3 decision the Supreme Court of California ruled that the 1980 Emergency Medical Service Act does not confer Good Samaritan protection to untrained citizens who stop and render aid at an emergency scene.

Here’s a news story about the ruling: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=6498405&page=1

Good Samaritan laws are covered in Chapter 9 in FOLH and Legal Considerations. What is important to keep in mind is that there is no “typical” Good Samaritan law. The California law was part of a section that addressed emergency medical services, which no doubt contributed to the court’s ruling. Many states have Good Samaritan laws that are not part of their EMS statutes, and thus are not so limited in scope as the California law in question.

Freedom of Speech vs. Fire Helmets

Can a firefighter paint his fire helmet red white and blue as a show a patriotism? If so can firefighters paint their helmets pink as part of a breast cancern awareness program? Can a firefighter of Irish descent paint his helment in the colors of his heritage? Interesting discussions have arisen over the Newton (MA) firefighter who painted his helment red, white and blue.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x1435864499/Newton-firefighter-with-flag-helmet-may-leave-department

http://nfpa.typepad.com/fireservicetoday/

Interesting discussion - and fully addressed in Chapter 13 of Fire Officer's Legal Handbook - www.firelaw.biz.