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 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
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 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
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
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
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)
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
When Orlando Police and Orange County Sheriff’s Office tactical teams used explosives to break through the wall of Pulse nightclub to confront gunman Omar Mateen, some Orlando Fire Department personnel — including its arson and bomb squad — thought the shooter was the one who set off the blast.
That detail was among several examples of inadequate communication and outdated training policies that hampered the multi-agency response to the June 12, 2016 massacre at Pulse, creating confusion between OFD, Orange County Fire Rescue, police and the Sheriff’s Office, according to a report released Wednesday. - PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel
As a third body was discovered among the ashes of a home in Agoura Hills, residents in nearby Malibu questioned fire officials about the division of resources and rushed evacuation notices during the Woolsey fire’s devastating march through Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The body, which has not been identified, was found by a cadaver dog searching a burned-out home in the 32000 block of Lobo Canyon Road with law enforcement Tuesday. - PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Chief Charles Gordon is ending his tenure as the city’s 21st fire chief.
Gordon, 57, will retire effective Dec. 28 after 30 years with department. However, his last day on the job will be next Tuesday. Gordon joined the department in January 1989 and rose through the ranks until he was appointed chief by former Mayor William Bell in September 2014. - PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AL.com
A woman with developmental disabilities who befriended a Portland firefighter but then was ordered to stay away from him and certain fire stations under threat of a criminal trespassing charge is suing the city for alleged discrimination.
Brandy Tuchscherer first encountered firefighters while rowing with the Wasabi Paddling Club’s “Special Dragons’’ team. - PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com
