The union representing Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters says reduced staffing at one of the city’s 31 fire stations is putting public safety at risk.
According to Isaac McLennan, vice president of the Portland Firefighters Association Local 43, only two on-duty firefighters are currently regularly staffed around-the-clock at Station 23, located on Southeast 13th Place. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPTV FOX 12 Portland
There are too many medial calls in the city of Albuquerque and not nearly enough paramedics or trucks to handle them. Now, Albuquerque Fire Rescue is asking the state public regulation commission to change the rules so they can help patients.
“We’ve had a significant increase in calls in 5 years, last year ran 90,000 medical calls 110 total calls system here in the City of Albuquerque… it’s just really busy right now,” said Deputy Chief Emily Jaramillo with AFR Emergency Services. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRQE-TV CBS/FOX 13 Albuquerque
A crowd of people lined up on one end of Worcester's Union Station one recent Sunday morning. They were there to see a special exhibit commemorating the Worcester Six.
"I guess 20 years is the time to break all this stuff out again and show the people. And the people still support us,” said Angelo Bongovio, a Worcester firefighter from 1983 to 2011. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBUR 90.9 FM
In the Fall of 2017, a member of the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department (DFR) died by suicide. Earlier that year, the firefighter had been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) and as a result faced disciplinary action. When the department learned of a second alcohol-related issue later the same year, and pending the outcome of the investigation, additional disciplinary action led to the firefighter being placed on administrative leave. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
Community groups threatened demonstrations and legal action against a newly signed controversial Monroe County law to protect emergency responders from threats and harassment.
"We will certainly challenge it in court,” Rev. Lewis Stewart, president of the United Christian Leadership Ministry, said. “That's a fact. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHEC-TV NBC 10 Rochester
Emergency dispatch centers in Lake County are studying ways to consolidate or share the same equipment, personnel and policies to provide better service and increase efficiencies for residents and visitors.
Since 2013, Lake County, through the Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board, has studied whether consolidating more than a dozen independent primary and secondary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) or dispatch centers in Lake County could enhance 911 service, according to Jim Hawkins, a deputy county administrator who also serves as 911 consolidation planning project manager. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune - Metered Site
The city of Lansing cannot unilaterally withdraw from Leavenworth County Fire District No. 1 by terminating an interlocal agreement.
That is according to a ruling issued last week by Leavenworth County District Judge David King.
The judge also ruled that a termination of an interlocal agreement cannot be used to require the apportionment of all of a fire district’s property. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Leavenworth Times
A group of retired White Plains firefighters are urging the city to uphold a promise made to them that their health benefits would be covered through retirement.
For over a year, former Deputy Fire Chief Ed Lobermann, 85, has made presentations and met with city officials regarding the issue. Lobermann represents around 100 retired firefighters who pay 15% of their premium, when they were told in the 1970's it would be paid for them. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News (Lohud.com)
Elected officials from the Village and Town of Waterford and the Village of Rochester agree: A joint fire and emergency medical services district would benefit all three municipalities.
But at least 22 years after a consolidated department was first proposed, the chance of a district for these western Racine County communities appears further off than ever. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times - Metered Site
The Scottsdale Fire Department is facing a period of heavy retirements in the next five years, but Northwest Valley fire services are on a firm footing with staff.
Scottsdale is a fairly new city department, having been creating July 1, 2005 after purchasing that portion of Rural Metro, including infrastructure and staff. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun City West Independent
A new real time wildfire mapping system was used on the Cave Fire near Santa Barbara, California this week.
In September the Orange County Fire Authority began a 150-day pilot program to use and evaluate the Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System (FIRIS). The program got off the ground thanks to funding secured in the 2019-2020 California state budget by Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach). - PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wildfire Today
City officials say opening the Rockford Fire Department vehicle repair shop on Falcon Drive to other fire departments is paying dividends by covering the cost of an extra mechanic and producing a modest profit for the department.
Not only does the program raise revenue, but it also gives the department an extra set of hands to repair and return Rockford fire equipment to service quickly after a breakdown, Fire Chief Derek Bergsten said. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rockford Register Star - Metered Site
Easton is closing in on $1 million in overtime in 2019 for its fire department, increasing the likelihood that it will bring in part-time personnel in 2020.
Despite adding three new full-timers earlier this year, the city has already eclipsed the $850,000 in overtime pay it expended in 2018, Finance Director Mark Lysynecky said during the city council meeting Tuesday. - PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Morning Call - Metered Site
The Portland City Council took what might look like a baby step last week toward more efficient handling of non-emergency 911 calls.
In a break from current practice, in which uniformed, armed police officers in squad cars or a truckload of firefighters respond, commissioners approved a pilot project in which a new "third branch" of the first-responder system, staffed by a specially trained firefighter and a contracted crisis worker, would respond to some non-emergency situations. - PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Willamette Week
Sarah Mackin runs a cotton swab around the inside of a tiny plastic baggie that appears to be empty. She spreads whatever residue the swab picked up onto a test strip that resembles a Band-Aid, then slides the strip into a buzzing machine about the size of a boxed, take-home pie. Then she waits, hoping for information that she can share with Boston's community of opioid users. - PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBUR-FM 90.9
You rely on their rapid "first response" to an emergency medical call to 9-1-1. You rely on their training, knowledge, and experience in first aid and ability to stabilize a patient -- possibly a love one -- to rush them to a hospital for more precise care. But how much do paramedics make?
Paramedics' salaries vary depending on their state, their training, employer, and a host of other factors. - PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Street Inc.
Even though Boston’s Cocoanut Grove fire happened long before she was born, Michele Shapiro learned all about the disaster when she was a girl.
Her grandfather, Frank Shapiro, was at a nearby theater with his wife the night of Nov. 28, 1942, when a blaze tore through the swanky Cocoanut Grove nightclub, killing 492 people. - PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report
Making 911 as "smart" as your cellphone.
That's the goal of first responders meeting Monday to learn more about Next Gen 911.
This new system is already online in parts of three counties, Kittitas, Snohomish and King counties.
It's called RAADAR, Real time Agency Activity Display and Reporting.
What that means is from right here, NORCOM can see what police and fire are doing in those three counties. - PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle
The Greenwood City Council is considering a new food and beverage tax to bolster staffing levels at city departments, specifically the police and fire departments.
The plan for a 1% food and beverage tax was made possible earlier this year when state lawmakers passed a bill that authorizes Greenwood and several other communities to impose such a tax. - PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIN-TV FOX 59 Indianapolis
The Brighton Fire District in the Town of Tonawanda is being called out by the state Comptroller's Office, for improper use of taxpayer money. A new audit says money was wrongly used on trips for members of the fire company and spouses.
The Brighton Fire District protects roughly 7 square miles within the Town of Tonawanda and charges a fire tax on residents who live within the district. - PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGRZ-TV NBC 2 Buffalo
