Three officers were acquitted of manslaughter following firefighter deaths, but the charges still are sending shockwaves through the U.K. fire service — and could have consequences abroad....More

The instances where criminal liability has resulted have tended to arise primarily in the wildland-fire arena. In contrast, criminal charges related to structure fires tend to be rare and randomly scattered throughout the country....More

Philip Stittleburg entered the volunteer fire service in 1972 after working as a paid member of a combination fire department. He has been chief of the La Farge (Wis.) Fire Department since 1977. Stittleburg also is an attorney and has been FIRE CHIEF’s legal columnist for more than 15 years. Next month, Stittleburg will participate in a mock trial at the Fire Department Safety Officers Association’s Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium. In the December issue of FIRE CHIEF, Stittleburg shared his insights on what agencies should do in the event of a vehicle accident. Here, he discusses preventative maintenance and record-keeping before an accident occurs....More

The legislature was aware of the broad definition the court had been giving to the term "nuisance," and made a conscious choice to substitute the word "obstructions" to limit municipality exposure....More