BY DANNY KISTNER
In today's litigious society, few would dispute the need for today's fire service administrator to be prepared for legal issues erupting from labor disputes, sexual discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environments, firefighter discipline, and the like. But, is the individual company officer or incident commander equipped for the challenge he may face defending his actions in court following an incident with a particularly high dollar loss, severe firefighter or civilian injury, or catastrophic loss of life?
Traditionally, the fire service has enjoyed protection from most civil and criminal proceedings through the universally held common law concept of governmental immunity. Plainly stated, government entities, including the municipal fire service in most states, were considered immune from liability even when using inadequate or inferior performance standards (FEMA, 2000).1
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