The City of Chicago is suing a Rockford-based coffee company for trademark infringement, claiming the company’s logo is an imitation of the Chicago Fire Department’s symbol. Fire Department Coffee and the Fire Department both feature logos that consist of the letters D, F and C intertwined in a stylized monogram, which is likely to confuse consumers into thinking the city has endorsed or sponsored the business, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun Times

A Vancouver firefighter is heading across the state to become Kennewick’s new fire chief. Chad Michael is leaving a spot as the deputy chief of operations at the Vancouver Fire Department to return to his roots in Eastern Washington. He starts March 16 and will be sworn in at the March 17 city council meeting.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tri-City Herald

Top Fire Department officials told a City Council committee Jan. 28 that the department’s policy of “promoting” Emergency Medical Technicians to become Firefighters, who are paid tens of thousands of dollars more a year, had produced a major gap in Emergency Medical Service staffing. As a consequence, they conceded that even as the city continued to set records for EMS call volume, and response times for those calls were rising, there had been a decline in the number of ambulance crews available, a circumstance they said would take “a couple of years” to rectify.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Chief Leader - Metered Site

When Brian Kernohan complained to his doctor of merciless headaches two summers ago, he expected to get a prescription for a sinus infection, not a diagnosis of brain cancer. The 37-year-old firefighter’s eardrums were curved inward, so his doctor suggested a CT scan. It found a tumor the size of a golf ball sitting on his right cerebral artery, daring a stroke with every heartbeat.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUFT-TV PBS 5 Gainesville

Residents displaced when flames tore through a 1960s-era Los Angeles apartment tower and injured 13 people this week are wondering why the management company didn't install sprinklers after another destructive blaze seven years ago. City officials said after the 2013 fire “that it shouldn’t take another tragedy” to get sprinklers into older buildings that are exempt from retrofitting rules, City Councilman Mike Bonin said Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles

VIDEO: Two adults were critically injured after a massive fire tore through part of a high-rise in the Brentwood area Wednesday morning, the same building which was the site of a fire more than six years ago. Helicopters were used to rescue several residents who fled up to the roof for safety. The blaze broke out at Barrington Plaza, a 25-story residential building located at 11740 Wilshire Blvd.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCAL-TV CBS 9 Los Angeles

To better protect the residents of Lower Pottsgrove Township and nearby communities, Ringing Hill Fire Company has launched a comprehensive volunteer recruitment campaign. A new slogan, “Reach New Heights at the Hill,” will be used to promote all the opportunities volunteers can gain at Ringing Hill Fire Company, or as volunteers call it, The Hill.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Mercury

Jester Estates is a scenic neighborhood of about 900 homes in northwest Austin, surrounded by walking trails and just 10 miles from downtown. It is also one of the areas of central Texas that is most vulnerable to wildfires, according to firefighters. But it is not the only high risk area in Austin.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAN-TV NBC 36 Austin

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has responded to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, which has affected at least five people in the United States, by compiling a list of resources and guidelines for fire and EMS leaders. The IAFC encouraged chiefs to review documents prepared by agencies and organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and World Health Organization (WHO), and added that the list would be updated as new information is made available.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue 1

When the roster of Niagara Falls firefighters is posted later today, for the first time in 50 years there won’t be a Fontanella on the list. The half century run of the Fontanella family as Cataract City blazebusters came to an end on Wednesday with the retirement of Battalion Chief Mark Fontanella.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Niagara Gazette

When Ed Parkinson was named the acting CEO of the First Responder Network Authority in October of 2018, his assignment related to public safety broadband that has represented a full cycle from a committee policy staffer to overseeing the program he helped legislatively create. During the fifteen months after the new post, he manages a program with a federal budget of $81 million as monitor of a contract with AT&T.
- PUB DATE: 1/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: All Things FirstNet

The Sunbury Steam Fire Engine Co. Number 1 is facing a 60-day shutdown because the firefighters need more training, city Fire Chief Brad Wertz said. Wertz told City Council that he decided to pull the company, located at Center and Penn St., out of service because he discovered that six of the eight volunteer firefighters were not properly trained.
- PUB DATE: 1/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daily Item

As legislation continues to move swiftly through the Florida Legislature to allow increased governmental use of drones, Florida’s fire chiefs are seeking to get on board. On Tuesday the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee took up, and swiftly approved, HB 659, which would allow use of drones by Florida wildlife and forestry officials for two purposes: to monitor invasive species encroachment on public lands, and to help manage and fight wildfires.
- PUB DATE: 1/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FloridaPolitics.com

Chris Owens turned the key but the engine in the fire truck would not start. It wasn't the first time. The Town Creek Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department's equipment has fallen into disrepair as the department faces significant financial challenges. "We'll jump that truck first," said Owens looking at the pumper truck which still bore the Sipsey name from it's former home.
- PUB DATE: 1/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBMA-TV ABC 33/40 Birmingham

VIDEO: Remember the good ‘ol days when kids collected and traded baseball cards? A few folks at the Amarillo Fire Department remember those days too. But they’re version of trading cards features their fire engines and trucks. These cards are helping highlight our local heroes and connecting them with our local kids.
- PUB DATE: 1/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KAMR-TV NBC 4 Amarillo

Two Jacksonville firefighters stabbed by a patient in their ambulance are back on the duty and speaking about the ordeal for the first time. Three and a half months after a violent attack, Capt. Latorrence Norris and Engineer Vincent Harper said they were dangerously close to losing their lives at the hands of someone they were trying to help.
- PUB DATE: 1/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJXT-TV 4 Jacksonville

More than a handful of firefighters shared personal, powerful stories about the challenges they've faced while diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Their families and mental health experts joined them in asking Nebraska state senators to champion first responders and a new bill, which they say will help them better serve communities by providing guarantees and options for mental health treatment.
- PUB DATE: 1/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KETV-TV ABC 7 Omaha

VIDEO: Operators at 911 centers across southern Arizona are screening calls for possible cases of coronavirus. The Arizona Department of Health Services confirmed the state’s first case of the illness on Sunday, Jan. 26. The following day, experts offered resources and guidelines from NHTSA Office of EMS for first responders to limit their exposure to coronavirus.
- PUB DATE: 1/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOLD-TV CBS 13 Tucson

This Wednesday, Jan. 29, KRDO will once again team up with Shield 616 for an all day telethon. This time, it's to buy rifle-rated vests for Colorado Springs firefighters. KRDO has been working hand in hand with Shield 616 for years. Tonight, we're looking back at what the non-profit stands for, where it came from and what's next.
- PUB DATE: 1/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRDO-TV ABC 13 Colorado Springs

Pelham author Jeanne LaSala-Taylor has written a just-released children’s book, “Just Bunny and the Great Fire Rescue.” Based on a true story of her daughter’s stuffed bunny being rescued from a burning building, this book provides a special thanks to firefighters everywhere for saving lives – and stuffed bunnies, too.
- PUB DATE: 1/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Yonkers Times