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National Fire News

California city renames fire department training center after slain captain

Long Beach City Council voted Tuesday, Nov. 20 to rename a Fire Department training center after David Rosa, the captain who was killed on duty earlier this year. The facility, at 2249 Argonne Avenue in the Stearns Park neighborhood, will now be called the “Captain David Rosa Regional Training Center.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Long Beach Press-Telegram

Rhode Island fire chief: Terminated fire lieutenant deleted thousands of records

A former town fire lieutenant charged last week with two counts of computer trespassing deleted hundreds of thousands of files from the department’s computer system, according to Fire Chief Kevin Robinson. Robert Warner, who was fired from the Fire Department in July, was charged last week by the Attorney General’s office after an investigation by the East Greenwich police.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal

Chicago hospital gunman had been kicked out of fire academy: 'He had issues. He was not getting along well'

Long before he opened fire at a Near South Side hospital, Juan Lopez had a documented history of abusive behavior that he sometimes backed up with a gun. While a trainee at the Chicago Fire Department Academy nearly five years ago, Lopez faced dismissal after being accused of “aggressive and improper conduct” toward women, according to the department.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

After four years, feds end oversight of Texas fire department’s hiring

The U.S Department of Justice has ended its oversight of Austin Fire Department’s hiring processes after allowing a legal settlement regarding racial discrimination to expire. Federal officials could have continued their oversight of the Fire Department’s hiring of new firefighters for four years, according to a memo sent from interim Fire Chief Tom Dodds to the Austin City Council on Tuesday, but the Justice Department did not find “good cause” to extend the settlement, also known as a consent decree.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman

DC Firefighters spending own money to maintain aging trucks could face disciplinary action

Some D.C. firefighters have been using their own money to buy auto parts and perform minor repairs on their vehicles themselves at their stations to avoid lengthy delays and shoddy workmanship at the fire department’s garage, five department sources have told The Washington Times. The station repairs violate D.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Washington Times

New Video Shows LAFD Helicopter Rescue 3 People, 2 Dogs Trapped in Mountains at Height of Woolsey Fire

New video released Monday shows Los Angeles fire officials pause their work dropping water on the Woolsey Fire to rescue three people and two dogs who were stuck in a remote area of the Santa Monica Mountains one day after the deadly blaze broke out, officials said. Pilots David Nordquist and Joel Smith were battling the blaze in an L.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV WB 5 Los Angeles

Detroit fire union files unfair labor charge over response policy

The city's fire union has filed an unfair labor charge over a controversial response policy that dictates when firefighters use lights and sirens. The union contends the policy was unilaterally imposed without regard for the bargaining unit or the public. The Detroit Fire Fighter Association filed its complaint Friday with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission alleging the city violated its duty to bargain under the Public Employment Relations Act with unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment without bargaining in good faith.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit News

Three die in air ambulance crash in North Dakota

Three people died Sunday night when a Bismarck Air Medical plane crashed northwest of Mandan. According to a release from CHI St. Alexius Health, the plane, which was flying to Williston to assist in a patient transport, went down prior to arrival. A Bismarck Air Medical pilot and paramedic, along with a CHI St.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bismarck Tribune

Connecticut fire district's firefighters call for changes, new chief

Eighth Utilities District firefighters petitioned the agency’s board of directors Monday for sweeping changes, including appointment of a new chief, a financial audit and “the redevelopment and rebuilding of the department.” “We, the volunteer members, want to reclaim the department and form it into the department and family it once was,” the petition, signed by 27 current and former firefighters, said.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant

Pennsylvania state auditor general to begin audit of volunteer fire department finances after theft charges

State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Monday a team from his office will begin auditing the Delmont Volunteer Firemen’s Relief Association as four former members of the fire department are charged with stealing tens of thousands of dollars in recent years. “I was deeply troubled by the theft charges filed against several former members of the fire department,” DePasquale said.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Feds: Chaotic response a factor in deaths of three Delaware firefighters

A lack of training, an unclear strategy and flawed communication contributed to the 2016 deaths of three Wilmington firefighters in Canby Park, according to a report published by federal investigators on Friday. The report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is the result of an investigation launched within weeks of the Sept.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wilmington News Journal (Delaware Online)

Video: Two dozen hurt as MTA bus slams into FDNY firetruck

More than two dozen people were hospitalized Friday afternoon after an FDNY engine and a city bus collided in the Bronx, officials said. Firefighters from Engine 46 were responding to medical emergency about 12:15 p.m. in Mount Hope when it turned left from E. 175th St. onto Webster Ave. — right into the path of a BX41 bus.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

The catastrophic Camp Fire isn't even halfway done burning, officials predict

While hundreds of families wait in agony to learn the fate of missing loved ones, officials gave a gut-wrenching forecast on the fate of California's Camp Fire: It's not even halfway done burning yet. Since the Camp Fire erupted November 8 in Butte County, it has killed 77 people, destroyed more than 10,500 homes and torched an area the size of Chicago.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

Georgia Fire department gets support from mayor

Mayor Hardie Davis offered his support to the city’s Fire/EMA department at a news conference Friday and announced a series of meetings to address concerns about it. “For the last several months, this community, elected officials, local government, the media and others have engaged in what seemingly is a never-ending discussion about public safety,” Davis said.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Augusta Chronicle

Houston’s credit outlook takes hit after firefighter pay parity passage

Houston’s credit outlook has taken a hit after residents earlier this month voted to pay firefighters the same as city police officers. Fitch Ratings this week downgraded the city’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative,” saying the anticipated $100 million annual cost of the Proposition B charter amendment will hamper the city’s spending ability and could lead to a downgrade in the its AA bond ratings in the future.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

Veteran Washington firefighter was sleeping when run over by pickup truck at California wildfire

A veteran firefighter who came to California from Washington state to fight the Woolsey fire was left with major injuries when he was run over by a pickup truck as he slept at night in a field next to a fire truck in the Malibu area, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday. Terry Geisleman, 46, of the South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Department of Port Orchard, Washington, received crushing injuries to his chest and the left side of his body, a CHP report on the 11:45 p.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Bernardino County Sun

FDNY retaliated against two EMS lieutenants upset over a new pilot program, labor board rules

Top Fire Department brass retaliated against two emergency medical services lieutenants due to their “union activity,” a labor board ruled, the Daily News has learned. FDNY Lt. Douglas Rondon was “totally restricted” from duty for an entire year after he reached out to his union president for assistance on potential disciplinary charges.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

How Arizona firefighters are fighting to curb trauma and suicide rates

While it's a scary trend, it's one that's commonly swept under the rug. First responders are now more likely to die by suicide, than in the line of duty. Each year, the number of men and women in the fire service taking their own lives continues to rise, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC 15 Phoenix

Wildfire's destruction of California town creates uncharted credit territory

The deadly wildfire that left the town of Paradise, California, in ruins may become a test case for the municipal bond market. “The situation casts doubt on whether the local government can meet over $3.5 million in annual payments to pension obligation bondholders, CalPERS and retiree healthcare plan participants,” wrote Marc Joffe, a policy analyst with the Reason Foundation.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: BondBuyer.com

Enough is enough: 5 ways to end bullying in fire and EMS

A lot has been published recently about harassment and discrimination. However, much less is being said about the problems of bullying in the fire and EMS industries. Yet, these problems have equally-serious effects on their victims. I was recently at a state EMS conference and heard a speaker give a very poignant discussion on suicide in EMS.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

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