Kristi Walters said her husband David endured many “close calls” in his two decades as a Dallas firefighter. But David Walters, 49, last year didn't die at a blaze or a car-wreck scene or at the fire station; he collapsed suddenly after playing a little football with his family the day after Thanksgiving.
- PUB DATE: 5/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dallas News

The Payson Town Council last week voted against merging the Payson, Hellsgate and Houston Mesa fire departments. Officials negotiated the merger for two years, which won overwhelming support from firefighters. The departments spent thousands on a consultant, which concluded a merger would save money, not require a tax increase and improve services.
- PUB DATE: 5/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Payson Roundup

It was a very early Saturday morning in November 1986, when Dan Sullivan said he arrived on the scene of his first fire as a new Quincy firefighter. And it was a bad one. The blaze was a two-alarm fire at a single family home in North Quincy at 28 Milton Road. When firefighters arrived, a mother and her newborn daughter were trapped inside the house.
- PUB DATE: 5/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Patriot Ledger

An Atlanta firefighter was severely injured when he was struck by a vehicle along Interstate 85 northbound near Cleveland Avenue Sunday morning. The firefighter was part of a crew from Fire Station #2 responding to a rollover wreck on the interstate and was stepping off of a fire engine when he was struck by another vehicle, according to Atlanta Fire Chief Randall Slaughter.
- PUB DATE: 5/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: 11 Alive

Ultra-rugged LTE device maker Sonim Technologies today began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market, a step that reflects the burgeoning open-standards environment that is developing with the establishment of public-safety and critical-infrastructure broadband initiatives, according to Sonim CEO Bob Plaschke.
- PUB DATE: 5/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Urgent Communications

As more and more colonists came to the early counties, forests were naturally cleared and wooden homes as well as other structures were built. In those homes, owners had wooden floors, wooden walls, wooden ceilings and, of course, furniture made of wood. Additionally, in time, houses and farms became closer to each other as the population increased.
- PUB DATE: 5/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Bulletin

VIDEO: Sometimes the best way of thanking your heroes is becoming one of them. A young man is now firefighter after he credits them for saving his life. The new recruit says he is ready to give others second chances. Zack Jones always had one dream job and that was to be a firefighter. “I grew up around just hearing the stories and it always sounded really cool to be a part of the department that saved my life,” said Jones.
- PUB DATE: 5/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News Channel 5 Nashville

After struggling for six years, legislators, labor advocates and municipal leaders will announce a long-awaited compromise Monday on post-traumatic stress disorder benefits for police and firefighters. Though they declined to provide details of the agreement, Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague — who’s spearheaded the push to expand coverage for first responders — and Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Executive Director Joe DeLong, both predicted Friday it would draw bipartisan support.
- PUB DATE: 5/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CT Post

VIDEO: The Kern County Administrative office and the Kern County Firefighter's Association have not been able to settle on a two-year contract after the two sides failed to agree on how to cut overtime spending. The Firefighters Association voted against the county's offer last night, an offer that would have cut overtime spending by the department by $3.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KERO-TV ABC 23 Bakersfield

Keith Johnson could tell story after story about the vitriol he’s faced as EMS chief of Malvern Fire Company. “I had a gentleman literally in one breath thank me for my crew saving his daughter’s life," he said, “and in the second breath say: 'But your bill’s ridiculous, I’m not paying.’” In Berwyn, Fire Chief Eamon Brazunas has gotten scathing notes from folks upset about their ambulance bills because they wrongly assume that the service is free for taxpayers.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer

VIDEO: A massive fire early Thursday consumed 613 Automotive, a used car dealership at the south end of the village that was being used as the staging area and a set for the filming of an HBO miniseries. Ellenville Police Chief Phil Mattracion said the cause of the 1 a.m. fire at 188 S. Main St. (U.S.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Freeman

Rhode Island’s public employee unions have again scored a victory in the state’s Democrat-dominated General Assembly. In a series of final votes on Thursday, state lawmakers approved bills to mandate time-and-a-half pay to firefighters who average more than 42 hours a week and to lock in the wages and benefits in expired teacher and municipal public employee contracts until a new contract is in place.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal - Metered Site

Around the U.S., many police departments, fire departments, emergency medical services, and other first responders are experiencing a shortage in staff. Fire Marshal Ricky Shores said Columbus Fire and EMS is currently about 25 people short and they only hire once a year. Shores said when Columbus Fire and EMS are at full staff, they have roughly 100 people on board.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVM-TV ABC 9

The city’s firefighters union voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night against the ratification of a contract proposal that Mayor Joseph J. Solomon had heralded as a major advancement for Warwick’s finances. As proposed, the two-year deal provided no raises and it also resolved other issues, including a pension overhaul program that was reversed in a recent arbitration proceeding, according to Solomon.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal

After years in the works Detroit Fire and EMS will now be wearing body armor. The new policy started today. The firefighter association president is conflicted about the new change. Mike Nevin says the job is dangerous. EMS and fire assaults happen frequently, so bulletproof vests are a welcome addition.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXYZ ABC 7 Detroit

Washington Governor Jay Inslee will today sign precedent-setting legislation protecting people and orcas from toxic chemical pollution. After the law is signed, Washington will have the nation’s strongest policy regulating toxic chemicals in products, a major source of harmful chemicals in our homes and environment.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SaferChemicals.org

A program to activate first responders kicked off Wednesday morning in Lauderdale County. The campaign is designed to utilize the knowledge of law enforcement and firefighters in a way you might not think about. On a typical day, the Florence-Lauderdale Visitors Center is chock-full of tourists. Wednesday morning things were a little different; the visitors were wearing guns and badges.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHNT 19 News

Two massive fires in one day in the city of Troy have the firefighters’ union president continuing to call on city leaders for better staffing and another set of turnout gear. “It needs to be addressed. We can’t wait for a grant,” said Eric Wisher, Troy Uniformed Firefighters Association president. Wisher says the call volume has increased 40 percent over the years with new developments in the city.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spectrum News

VIDEO: Two volunteer firefighters were hurt on the job. The Salem Township firefighters were trapped inside a flipped fire engine. “(I) just thank God was in the right place for everybody,” said Salem Township Fire Chief Todd Lewis. First responders were called out to a barn fire along 300 West in Daleville around 1 p.
- PUB DATE: 5/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIN-TV Fox 59

The July 2018 death of an inter-agency captain who was helping fight the Ferguson wildfire was ruled a “serious accident” and sparked an investigation and change in policies for the National Park Service. Capt. Brian Hughes, 33, of the NPS Arrowhead Hotshot agency, was killed on July 29, 2018, while he and his crew were removing hazardous standing dead trees to prevent the fire near Yosemite National Park from spreading, according to a news release.
- PUB DATE: 5/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Merced Sun-Star - Metered Site