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Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 40 years of fire service experience and 30 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a deputy assistant chief), as well as volunteer and paid on-call experience. He is the author of two books: “Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services” (2006; 2nd ed. 2011; 3rd ed. 2014; 4th ed. 2022) and “Fire Officer’s Legal Handbook” (2007). Varone is a consultant for Lexipol.

LATEST ARTICLES
Using social media to research potential firefighter candidates could cause problems for your department
The public’s First Amendment right to film is strongest when it comes to filming governmental employees engaged in their public duties in public places
We need to have systems in place that ensure fair and unbiased investigations are conducted into any allegation of hazing, harassment and bullying
When poorly written or overly broad anti-nepotism requirements are applied to firefighters, difficult problems can arise
Firefighters and paramedics often take images on calls. How long should such images be retained, and why?
Competency and discipline are distinct issues, but they often become intertwined for a number of reasons
The key to resolving a potential discrimination claim is a policy addressing lengthy absences irrespective of the reason for the absence
When are you within your legal right to ask a citizen to stop filming and in what context?
What if two firefighters — one an underperformer, one a star performer — commit the same infraction?
Assessing whether a fire department can legally write and enforce a “zero-tolerance” policy for audio recording conversations when state law allows “one-party recording