For the second time in less than a week, the Spokane Valley Fire Department has announced the death of a former fire captain, and again, work-related exposure to toxins is suspected as the cause.
On Friday, the department announced that former Capt. Tim Cruger, 67, died of cancer caused from exposure to smoke while on the job. - PUB DATE: 1/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Spokesman Review
Despite vehement opposition from the mayor and some Colorado Springs City Council members, the local firefighters union has collected enough signatures to place a collective bargaining question on the city’s April ballot.
All that’s left is a vote next week by the council, a formality because the Professional Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 5, collected about 16,000 signatures that were validated late last month, City Clerk Sarah Johnson said. - PUB DATE: 1/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Colorado Springs Gazette
Mayor Catherine Pugh has promised the Fire Department an extra $1.2 million fire truck in her 2020 fiscal year budget, the department said Thursday, after the firefighters union warned that two out-of-service trucks in Northwest Baltimore could affect response times.
IAFF Local 734 President Richard “Dickie” Altieri said the city is seeing a “ripple effect” from repeatedly “pushing problems back another year. - PUB DATE: 1/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun
Two of Cambridge’s minority firefighters said they have never experienced racism or sexism in the department, but did have some ideas of how to increase diversity.
Dave House, an African-American fire captain, said he would like to see more outreach to young people on social platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook. - PUB DATE: 1/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wicked Local Cambridge
Portland Fire Chief Mike Myers submitted his resignation Thursday, the day after his new boss, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, was sworn into office.
Myers’ resignation comes amid his push to reimagine Portland Fire & Rescue from top to bottom, efforts that earned him respect and praise in City Hall. He left for a personal reason, to join his wife who has moved to the Oregon coast, he and Hardesty said. - PUB DATE: 1/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com
Jan Rader, the first female fire chief in West Virginia, is making a big impact on Huntington's fight against the opioid epidemic. In her Ted Talk released Wednesday, Rader said Huntington's overdose deaths are down 50 percent.
"This epidemic is far from over, but each and every one of us has a part to play in this epidemic. - PUB DATE: 1/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS News This Morning
A new law taking effect in 2019, will help first responders dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder get coverage through workers’ compensation.
Brian Cristofono landed his dream job as a firefighter in Maplewood and eventually moved to a St. Paul department. It was the job he always knew was in his blood. - PUB DATE: 1/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox 9 News
VIDEO: In an emergency, we depend on the swift actions of firefighters.
But what happens if the firefighters turn on each other?
An incident in Prince George's County between two fire departments led to two people on leave. - PUB DATE: 1/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC 7 News
Cranston’s deputy fire chief asked last week to seal a case documenting a disorderly conduct charge linked to his dispute with a fellow firefighter in September 2017.
Deputy Chief Paul Valletta Jr., 60, on Dec. 11 entered a not-guilty filing to one count of disorderly conduct, meaning the case will be expunged from the court record if he obeys the law for a year. - PUB DATE: 1/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal
Just before noon Monday, the Fire Department received an emergency call about "an odor of gas coming from the basement" of a Broadway business.
No fire was found, but the call was just one of hundreds of gas-related complaints last year in the city.
Fire Chief Brian Moriarty expects such calls will continue in the new year in the wake of the Sept. - PUB DATE: 1/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Eagle Tribune
A volunteer firefighter with the Lake Mills Fire Department is dead after stopping to help a driver on the Beltline near Monona Drive on New Year's Eve. The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said preliminary results of an autopsy confirm that 46-year-old Christopher P. Truman of Lake Mills died from injuries sustained in the crash. - PUB DATE: 1/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMTV NBC Madison
Detroit fire officials are investigating a suspicious fire at the department's former training center and whether sensitive records were left behind at the site.
The fire started about 2 p.m. Thursday at the Fire Department's abandoned training academy at Warren and Lawton on Detroit's west side. The fire originated on the second floor of the six-story building, said Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell. - PUB DATE: 1/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit News
The owners of The Sub and and an adjoining business, which were destroyed in a 2015 fire, are suing the city of San Luis Obispo for more than $5 million, claiming that firefighters’ methods used to combat the blaze were “tantamount to arson.”
The lawsuit, filed Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, alleges the Fire Department purposefully burned down the structure rather than put firefighters in harm’s way, and that city administration turns a blind eye to the department’s alleged “unwritten policies” of letting buildings burn. - PUB DATE: 1/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Luis Obispo County Tribune
On New Year's Eve in St. Louis hundreds of shots were fired into the sky to celebrate the new year, and according to Issac Newton, they all landed somewhere.
One of them ended up in a St. Louis firehouse, narrowly missing a firefighter.
"It just so happen that the bullet came through the window adjacent to where he was standing and missed him," said St. - PUB DATE: 1/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSDK-TV NBC 5 St. Louis
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
