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Legal Issues

John K. Murphy Legal Blog

Rollbacks in Firefighter Pensions

06/12/2012

In past blogs, I have warned that Cities, Towns and other governmental entities have set their sights on firefighter’s pensions and other public pension retirement benefits to include among the other egregious actions of reducing the numbers of f...

Legal Fire Prevention - Social Media Policy

05/16/2012

With the recent spate of demotions, terminations and litigation related to the use of social media to post your likes, dislikes, ranting and ravings under an assumption that your First Amendment protections apply to you, here is another thought. They d...

The Fire Service Crucible – are we prepared to withstand the heat in order to survive?

05/01/2012

According to Wikipedia, a crucible is a container that can withstand very high temperatures and is used for metal, glass and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes. While crucibles historically were usually made from clay...

Pesky Legal Fires that Keep on Burning

03/26/2012

I’m the little voice in your head (otherwise known as your conscience) that keeps reminding you that you should not do this or that because it is: wrong, illegal, immoral or fattening. I am taking this opportunity to remind you of the pesky legal...

PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY

03/19/2012

For you Marines in the reading audience, you can relate to the days of boot camp and the Drill Instructor in your face yelling at you when you are on your last legs, fatigued beyond your imagination and you were about to drop: to motivate you to ...

Legal Issue Articles

CA Inmate Firefighter Program at Risk A 2011 California state law aimed at reducing the prison population has also reduced the number of low-level offender...
Edison Co. Admits Errors in Malibu Fire Southern California Edison Co. agreed to pay $37 million to resolve concerns about three overloaded utility poles tha...
Former CA Firefighter Arrested in Arson at Fire Department Headquarters A former Compton (CA) firefighter was arrested for suspicion of grand theft and attempting to set his fire department...
Sources Claim Crime Not Ruled Out in West (TX) Explosion Two officials said investigators have not ruled out criminal activity as the cause of a massive explosion at a fertil...
Federal Court Overturns FDNY Hiring Bias Finding A federal appeals panel overturned a judge's ruling that the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) intentionally discrim...

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Photo Gallery

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Legal matters

Fire Service Team Building

How does one become a great team member? John K. Murphy has some thoughts about how firefighters can contribute to achieving their organization's goals.

Legal Matters: FMLA Pitfalls for the Fire Service

With the new health care legislation changing the way the fire service will be managing the health care of your firefighters and employees, it is time and money well spent training your staff on the nuances of the Family Medical Leave Act, John K. Murphy writes.

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Resources

Stepping Up

Stepping Up: So Why Are We Doing This?

Taking a moment to let your firefighters know the learning objectives of a particular training session can help them focus on its purpose, Ron Hiraki writes.

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POLITICS & POLICIES

'No Confidence' Vote in Boston (MA) Fire Chief

Thirteen deputy fire chiefs have signed a letter expressing "no confidence" in Boston (MA) Fire Chief Steve Abraira.

Detroit Fire Department Cited for Drug Policy Violations

A recent audit found that the Detroit (MI) Fire Department had failed to follow its substance abuse policy.

London (UK) Fire Cuts Could Mean Six-Minute Response Times in More Areas

Proposed cuts to the London (UK) Fire Brigade could mean six-minute response times in more areas of England's capital city.

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Fire Service Traditions & History

From the Fire Engineering Vault: Memorial for Salt Lake City (UT) Firefighters Killed in 1943 Fire

On May 19, 1943, three firefighters were killed in a fire at the Victory Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Sunday, members of the he Salt Lake Firemen's Relief Association gathered to mark the anniversary of these deaths at the site of the fire in the city's downtown

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LODD

ATF Investigating Fire That Killed Dallas Firefighter

Federal agents are now investigating the six-alarm condominium fire in which a Dallas firefighter was trapped and killed.

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Legal

CA Inmate Firefighter Program at Risk

A 2011 California state law aimed at reducing the prison population has also reduced the number of low-level offenders eligible to work as wildland firefighters in the state's inmate fire camps.

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Officer Development

A Fire Officer's Dozen

Officers are responsible for the safety and lives of the firefighters who follow them. Mike Wolfschmidt offers 12 points of advice for new fire officers.

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Fireground Management

RescueSim Interfacing with VBS2 for Civil-Military and Antiterrorism Training

During a training session organized by the Safety Region Rotterdam Rijnmond and VSTEP, RescueSim's new HLA compliancy and VBS2 interoperability was put into operation, showcasing civil-military and antiterrorism training possibilities.

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Volunteers Corner

A Fire Officer's Dozen

Officers are responsible for the safety and lives of the firefighters who follow them. Mike Wolfschmidt offers 12 points of advice for new fire officers.

More Volunteers Corner >

Grants

FEMA Job Opportunity Supervisory Program Specialist

Do you desire to protect American interests and secure our Nation while building a meaningful and rewarding career? If so, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling.