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National Fire News

'We are targeted as easy prey': Paramedics in Oregon say they don't feel safe

VIDEO: “He tried everything in his power to kill me. He stabbed me, he cut me, he bit me and, thankfully, he was unsuccessful,” the victim, a paramedic, told a judge Tuesday. His testimony was powerful; the emotions real. Jeremiah Ray pleaded guilty Tuesday to stabbing the paramedic. The incident happened Feb.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland

Texas chief lays out plan for Prop B 'pay parity' that doesn't result in layoffs

Chief Samuel Pena told the city’s Public Safety Committee & Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday that he’s planning to lay off a total of 237 firefighters to implement Proposition B, which requires pay parity with police. But Pena also said the goal could be accomplished without any job losses by phasing in the firefighter raises.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

Bill passed in Arkansas to protect firefighters with cancer

Arkansas legislators passed Crump’s Law on Monday, granting municipal firefighters across the state an extra six months of paid sick leave when they are being treated for cancer contracted on the job. Members of El Dorado Professional Firefighters Local 1704, a labor organization representing 90 percent of the paid firefighters in El Dorado, lobbied at the state Capitol in February for the bill’s passage.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: El Dorado News-Times

California city council approves deal to boost firefighters’ pay

Santa Rosa is on track to settle a 2-year-old lawsuit over firefighters’ overtime pay after the City Council approved a deal Tuesday to boost pay for 118 unionized firefighters. The council unanimously approved without discussion Tuesday a deal to increase salaries, expand pension contributions and provide one-time lump-sum payments of at least $5,000 to firefighters while reducing the city’s maximum health insurance contributions to those employees.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Press Democrat

FDNY firefighter killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan

A decorated city firefighter and Marine who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan was dedicated to being the best man he could be, his heartbroken father said Tuesday. Firefighter Christopher Slutman, a father of three and a U.S. Marine reservist assigned to Ladder 27 in the Bronx, was killed Monday during a roadside bombing near the Bagram Air Base, north of the Afghan capital.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Ohio fire union raises serious public safety concerns in facilities report

VIDEO: The Association of Cleveland Fire Fighters Local 93 have sounded an alarm of its own, in the form of a 100-page fire station conditions report it said points to serious safety concerns. Local 93 President Fran Lally showed News 5 fire equipment data he said indicates nearly 50% of all fire vehicles are rated in either poor or fair condition.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News 5 Cleveland

Missouri fire district looks at options on response times

The Prairie Township Fire Protection District is still seeking a solution to improve service and response times. While voters in both districts last year shot down consolidation with the Lake Lotawana Fire Protection District due to a difference in property tax rates, Prairie Township Fire Chief Bill Large said consolidation is still Plan A, with Plan B being Prairie Township tackling putting a fire station on Wyatt Road in southern Blue Springs on its own.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Examiner

Emergency vehicles face obstacles when drivers don't get out of the way; Arizona department hopes 'The Rumbler' can help

VIDEO: Firefighters have a tough job, and Valley drivers don't make it any easier. Capt. Nick Gonzalez of the Peoria Fire-Medical Department said firefighters are continually having to avoid motorists who don't pull over when they see or hear an emergency vehicle. When you see flashing lights or hear a siren, you're supposed to slow down and pull (safely) to the right -- as far as you can -- and wait until the fire truck, ambulance or police car passes.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KASW-CW6 & KTVK-3TV (azfamily.com)

Rhode Island House votes 62-9 to mandate firefighter OT after 42 hours

Over howls of protest from Rhode Island’s municipal leaders, the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a two-bill package mandating that cities and towns pay overtime to firefighters who average more than 42 hours in a workweek, as opposed to the 53-hour-a-week federal O.T. threshold. The largely party-line vote was 62-9 in a state that regularly tops the national charts in its cost of firefighting services, and it followed days of protests by mayors and town managers across the state, including Warwick Mayor Joseph J.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal - Metered Site

343 and counting: Three retired FDNY members with 9/11 illnesses die within 48 hours

Three retired FDNY firefighters suffering from 9/11 illnesses died within 48 hours this week as the number of those succumbing to lethal toxins at Ground Zero continues to swell, officials and 9/11 survivor advocates said Saturday. Retired FDNY Lt. Timothy O’Neill died on April 2 and Firefighter Kevin Lennon died on April 4 from 9/11-related cancers — nearly 18 years after responding to the terror attacks.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Montana Firefighter Health and Safety Bill passes the House

VIDEO: The Firefighter Health and Safety Bill passed another hurdle Monday afternoon. Senate Bill 160 passed the third reading in the House with a vote of 89 to nine. Great Falls International Association of Fire Fighters Local Eight President Dave Van Son said they are very excited. “This is the furthest it has ever made,” Van Son said.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRTV.com

Firefighter unions have spent liberally on Rhode Island legislative races

Few interest groups have been more generous to Rhode Island lawmakers than the firefighters’ lobby, which is pushing controversial overtime legislation up for a House vote on Tuesday, in a state that regularly tops the national charts on the cost of fire protection. Since 2007, the R.I. State Association of Firefighters has logged more than $290,413 on political spending, with most of that money going to help state lawmakers win reelection and ward off challengers.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal - Metered Site

Firefighter finishes half-marathon in Pennsylvania wearing full firefighting gear and tank

VIDEO: A firefighter in Pennsylvania recently honored his father in a big way and his family, friends and hometown were there to support him every step of the way. On Sunday, Ryan Robeson participated in the sixth annual Scranton Half-Marathon, running 13 miles in full firefighting gear. The gear -- the jacket, pants, boots, helmet -- weighed nearly 50 pounds.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

California fire department dissolved; volunteers refuse to leave

Lawsuits, locked doors and a police presence disrupted what was hoped to be a smooth transition in Julian as the county’s last volunteer fire department officially became a professional force. On Monday morning, the county legally took control of the 87-square-mile Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District even as legal challenges mount and ill will simmers in the tourist-friendly mountain community in northeast San Diego County.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union Tribune - Metered Site

3 civilians killed, 3 firefighters seriously hurt in crash involving fire truck in Arizona

VIDEO: Three people are dead and three firefighters were hurt after a crash involving a Phoenix fire truck Sunday morning. The crash occurred around 9:15 a.m. at 29th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. Phoenix police said two adults and a 3-month-old child were killed in the crash between a Phoenix Fire Department truck and a pickup truck.
- PUB DATE: 4/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC15 News

More Ohio first responders are undergoing this new training for their ‘difficult runs’

Butler County mental health professionals have started countywide crisis intervention training to help first responers handle situations involving suspects with mental illness. Last summer the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness marshalled a group of police, mental health experts and others in an effort to bring Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to Butler County.
- PUB DATE: 4/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hamilton Journal-News

Maryland union, county executive disagree over firefighter pay, benefits

A memo released last month by the county career firefighters union shows negotiations between the union and county executive over pay, benefits and other issues have stalled. Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner (D) and the union last met on March 7, and tried to work out a deal multiple times, according to the memo.
- PUB DATE: 4/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Frederick News-Post

1 fire department for a Florida county? Old idea still faces uphill climb

Eight years ago, the results of a study validated what many business and county leaders already believed to be true: Consolidating the 13 fire departments in Volusia into one large operation could save taxpayers millions and provide a higher level of service in the long run. Government-minded leaders with the Halifax Civic League were so encouraged by what the study showed they hoped a change was soon on the horizon.
- PUB DATE: 4/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daytona Beach News-Journal

City and its firefighters union agree to mediation over contract terms in Texas

The city and San Antonio’s firefighters union have agreed to continue contract negotiations with assistance from a mediator, avoiding arbitration for now. The two sides will meet April 17 and April 18 with former Texas Supreme Court Justice Deborah Hankinson, who presided over court-ordered mediation between the two sides in 2017.
- PUB DATE: 4/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Antonio Express-News

Colorado firefighters lose bid for collective bargaining - by a landslide

Colorado Springs voters overwhelmingly denied collective bargaining privileges for firefighters in Tuesday's election, maintaining the city's long-standing anti-union sentiment, preliminary results show. Issue 1, the ballot's single question, lost by 26,634 to 57,904 votes, City Clerk Sarah Johnson said.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Colorado Springs Gazette

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