After describing the recent lawsuit filed by the city of Spearfish as a “grand misunderstanding” a month ago, the Spearfish Volunteer Firefighters’ Association filed a countersuit Wednesday seeking damages for unlawful seizure, theft of property and assets, and more by the city. The association had 30 days under civil procedure to answer, or provide a written response, to the lawsuit filed Jan.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Black Hills Pioneer

Ex-firefighter Tanja Vidovic won a $245,000 judgment against the city in December after jurors decided Tampa Fire Rescue discriminated against her because she was pregnant and fired her in retaliation for complaining about it. The city’s costs don’t end there, though. Tampa’s bills in the federal sex discrimination lawsuit are continuing to mount, and right now could theoretically cost the city more than $3 million.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times

Mill Valley fire Chief Tom Welch acknowledges that tougher fire prevention regulations for vegetation might face some opposition, but he vows to persist after his experience as a North Bay fire victim. In the aftermath of the devastation in Sonoma and Napa, Mill Valley fire officials say it’s time to refocus their energy on vegetation management.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Marin Independent Journal

A state fire marshal’s review of the blaze that killed San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem found firefighters and commanders made several mistakes while fighting the major fire at Ingram Square Shopping Center. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said firefighters approached the blaze like a residential fire, rather than a commercial one, and failed to use a hose or rope when they entered the building to look for people possibly trapped inside.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Conexion SA

Former Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Chief Jeffrey Collins and a pair of other high-ranking officers in the department were forced out of their jobs because of a “civil conspiracy” being carried out by the county government, a lawyer representing the officers said Thursday. The lawyer provided no details about the nature of that conspiracy, but she did say her firm has given the county notice that it intends to sue on behalf of the former officers.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Palm Beach Post