The Littleton Fire Department officially disbanded on New Year’s Day 2019 after 128 years. Now, South Metro Fire Rescue will take over the department’s duties.
“Tradition and honor are really big in the fire service and certainly at South Metro Fire we wanted to make sure we honored the 128 years of tradition that Littleton Fire Rescue had established,” South Metro spokesmanEric Hurst said. - PUB DATE: 1/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCNC-TV CBS 4 Denver
California's largest public utility provider could face murder or manslaughter charges if it were found responsible for causing the state's recent deadly wildfires, according to court documents filed by the state attorney general.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co., or PG&E, could potentially face a range of criminal offenses if any of the wildfires broke out as a result of the utility failing to properly operate and maintain power lines, per an amicus brief filed in US District Court Friday by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. - PUB DATE: 12/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN
Dallas Fire-Rescue has a new chief, but he’s a familiar face.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax announced he promoted one of the department’s Assistant Chiefs, Dominique Artis, to Chief. At a news conference Friday morning, Chief Artis said, “I feel we have the best department in the country and I want to continue that momentum that we feel we’re on right now. - PUB DATE: 12/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS DFW
Jacksonville’s fire marshal will sit out inspections at a series of bikini bars as part of an agreement filed in federal court to end a lawsuit by a business that claimed its rights were violated.
Other fire inspectors will still check the businesses as always, but the agreement outlined this week would bar Fire Marshal Kevin Jones from inspecting seven adult entertainment businesses for the next nine months. - PUB DATE: 12/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Florida Times Union
Today, a revered public servant will answer the call of duty for the last time, to take a well deserved retirement.
Hornell Fire Chief Dan Smith’s last official day on active payroll will be on Jan. 10, but between now and then, he will use remaining vacation time and effectively hand the job over to former Captain Frank Brzozowski. - PUB DATE: 12/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Evening Tribune
The person of the year for 2018 is not an individual but the group of hardy people who had the back-breaking job of fighting wildfires in Oregon this year.
A few weeks ago, The Oregonian/OregonLive asked readers to vote from among 10 candidates to decide Oregon’s Person of the Year. More than 2,700 votes were cast, and “Oregon firefighters” won overwhelmingly with more than 34 percent of votes. - PUB DATE: 12/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Oregonian
Draper Battalion Chief flown from scene in critical condition. According to a Draper city spokesperson, the Battalion Chief did not under go surgery and has no internal injuries do the the accident.
A Fire Battalion Chief assisting on an accident scene on the side of I-15 was struck by a car.
The Draper Firefighter and his team were on the side of south bound I-15 near 146th South when a driver lost control of his car and slid into the battalion chief pinning him between two cars. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC4.com
Who should lead the state department responsible for wildland fires? Someone who knows how to manage forests, or someone who knows how to put out the flames?
The union that represents California state firefighters is leaning on Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom to appoint a fire chief to lead the state’s fire department. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sacramento Bee
Firefighters at the scene of house fire found themselves in the middle of a firefight with people in two vehicles on Thursday.
The Flint Fire Department responded just after 1 p.m. on Dec. 27 to reports of a structure fire in the 1100 block of Welch Boulevard, according to Battalion Chief Mark Kovach. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Michigan Live
A firefighter is receiving support from his colleagues in Allen after his own home was destroyed by fire.
Jeremy West is grateful no one was injured, but his house is a total loss. He says the timing of it all has put a lot of things into perspective.
“As a fireman, you just get toned out. You put the fire out and you go home, right?” West said. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox4news.com
The Youngsville Fire Department’s announced Thursday it will stop responding to most calls outside outside city limits, and other departments serving unincorporated portions of Lafayette Parish could follow suit.
With parish funding dwindling and unincorporated voters rejecting a property tax for fire protection this month, municipal fire chiefs say they are concerned their departments will not be reimbursed for calls outside their boundaries. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baton Advocate
Louis R. Harper Jr., the Baltimore City Fire Department’s first African-American captain, whose landmark 1971 lawsuit forced the city to end discriminatory practices in the hiring and promotion of firefighters and police, died Dec. 8 of symptoms related to dementia in hospice at FutureCare Cherrywood in Reisterstown. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun
By the end of the year the city fire department will be down 16 men due to retirements, but the drop in the ranks isn’t yet cause for Mayor Tony George to sound the alarm.
Instead, George has taken a wait-and-see approach for the outcome of next year’s binding arbitration on a new contract before making a decision on filling the spots. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wilkes Barre Times Leader
Bobby was one of the founders of our fire department."
Billy Ray Tanner grew up with Bobby Dunnaway and his sister. For more than 50 years, Dunnaway and Tanner had gotten to know each other pretty well.
“A lot of times Bobby would come up in his truck or something and I’d have the door open, and he’d come up and get him something to drink," Tanner said. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOX-TV ABC 13
The Marin County Fire Department has installed six new, high-definition cameras at several mountaintop locations in Marin.
The cameras are linked to a growing network that spans five western states and a supercomputer in San Diego that may some day use artificial intelligence to spot fires quicker and predict their course. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Marin Independent Journal
For the first time under a new law, state utility regulators have been asked to consider imposing penalties on the drilling company involved in last summer’s fatal Sun Prairie natural gas explosion.
A panel charged with policing utility notification laws last week sent the Public Service Commission a case based on a complaint filed by USIC Locating Services, the company that was hired to mark the locations of underground pipes prior to the explosion, which killed a firefighter and injured others. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com
South Jersey fire company is mourning the loss of one of their own who was killed in a single-car crash while responding to a call in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County on Christmas morning.
Police say 21-year-old Natalie Dempsey of Mays Landing was driving a black 2001 Honda Accord, when she lost control, and drove off the roadway, striking a guardrail. - PUB DATE: 12/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPVI- TV ABC6
Six former employees of the Florida State Fire College and two of their spouses have filed a class-action lawsuit against manufacturers of firefighting suppressants used at the college, which they claim led them to develop various cancers and diseases from exposure.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleges the companies were negligent and purposefully hid findings of studies that showed chemicals in the suppressants were carcinogenic and dangerous to the environment. - PUB DATE: 12/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Commercial
Niagara Falls is looking for new police and fire chiefs, after both incumbents resigned to take demotions that could prove more lucrative.
Police Superintendent E. Bryan DalPorto will step down Dec. 31 and resume his old rank as a patrol captain. Fire Chief Thomas Colangelo quit in November and resumed his former rank as a battalion chief. - PUB DATE: 12/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Buffalo News
When the chiefs of the three volunteer fire squads serving Upper Merion came to the township’s board of supervisors, they were desperate.
We need some help, they said. Scraping together enough members to respond to emergencies was becoming difficult, especially during the day. The Montgomery County township’s population continues to grow and, with it, the number of calls to the all-volunteer companies based in Swedeland, King of Prussia, and Swedesburg. - PUB DATE: 12/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer
