The purpose of training in the fire service is to ensure preparedness for the difficult — and often dangerous — situations that arise on the job. Sufficient training and preparation can mean quicker and more effective responses to emergencies. When examined from a legal standpoint, more effective responses mean less exposure to liability for the fire department. The unfortunate reality of fire service training, however, is that training itself can expose the fire department to liability. While the potential does exist for lawsuits to arise out of training-related incidents, fire departments cannot afford to allow the potential for lawsuits to hamper their obligation to train their personnel.

Understanding the sources of training-related liability is the key to structuring fire service training in a way that maximizes effectiveness while minimizing risk exposure. Training officers and fire department administrators who are familiar with the basic concepts underlying federal and state law are better able to avoid liability. Additionally, past mistakes can serve as great examples of what not to do. With these ideas in mind, this article aims to provide an understanding of the laws affecting fire service training, and also offers some examples of training issues that have led to fire department liability. From a practical standpoint, knowing the legal rules and how to stay within those rules should help reduce the likelihood for training-related liability for your fire department.

Sources of liability

Every lawsuit involves an allegation that some actor violated some legal standard, whether set forth in a federal or state statute or in a common-law doctrine. Avoiding lawsuits seems simple enough — do not break the law and you will not give anyone a reason to sue you. It seems less likely that fire service personnel will violate the law, because their goals are to help prevent property damage, injury and loss of life. Unfortunately, given the complex and far-reaching nature of the sources of liability facing fire departments, good intentions do not always translate into good results. Fire service training, in particular, creates exposure to liability in many ways people often fail to understand until it is too late.

Although preparation for effective responses comes first, one goal in providing fire service training should be to avoid liability. Employment laws, copyright protections and common-law standards such as negligence are the most common sources of liability for training officers. Understanding the rights and liabilities established by each can go a long way toward avoiding training-related liability.

Training officers should be aware of potential liabilities created under federal statutes. Three federal laws, in particular, most commonly affect training officer liability: the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Copyright Act of 1976. Besides being aware of these federal statutes, training officers should be familiar with the basic common-law civil liabilities created by fire service training. Most commonly, some form of negligence creates the basis for civil lawsuits against fire departments regarding training issues.

Americans with Disabilities Act. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The ADA's provisions apply to fire departments in their roles as employers and must be followed when conducting training. It also applies to fire departments in their roles as public-service providers and must be followed when interacting with the public. Training officers, however, should concern themselves more with the ADA's application to employers, as their potential for encountering ADA issues is more likely to be limited to employment-related matters.

The ADA defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. ADA major life activities include seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself and working. Given the legitimate physical requirements fire service personnel must meet, a fire department in its role as employer is not likely to encounter limitations in the major life activities that other employers must accommodate. Training officers should, however, be prepared to accommodate psychological disorders; certain physical disorders such as diabetes, respiratory issues and cardiac issues; and learning disabilities.

When an employee claims to have a disability, training officers or fire department administrators should follow a basic two-step approach. First, it should be determined whether the condition actually exists and constitutes a disability under the ADA. If the condition does exist and it is a disability, it should be determined whether the disability can be reasonably accommodated. A reasonable accommodation, under the ADA, involves making necessary changes to enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the major life activity limited by the disability. An accommodation is reasonable, and therefore must be made, if it does not impose an undue hardship on the fire department.