A Euclid Fire Captain says it’s still difficult to think about the July 3, 2016 fireworks accident that could have cost him his life.
“Right after it happened, I remember thinking to myself that I think I am going to die and I don’t even know where I am or what happened,” said Fire Capt. Jay Northup. - PUB DATE: 6/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJW-TV MyFox Cleveland
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released its annual U.S. Firefighter Fatalities report, which showed a total of 60 U.S. firefighter fatalities while on duty in 2017. This number represents the lowest total reported since 1977, when NFPA began reporting on-duty firefighter fatalities; it is the sixth time in the last seven years that the total has been below 70 deaths. - PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NFPA.org
A DC Fire and EMS report says that improper positioning of equipment and a rookie's inexperience were the biggest contributing factors in an apparatus incident that left a young firefighter with severe injuries in August 2017.
Probationary firefighter Dane Smothers Jr. was serving as a lineman (nozzle firefighter) during a Capitol Hill house fire on Aug. - PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com
Five members of a family, including three young children, were killed early Sunday morning after their getaway cabin near Hood Canal exploded and burned, according to Jefferson County fire and police officials.
The family was from Monroe and used the 250-square-foot cabin frequently, officials said. - PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seattle Times
Police said a Decatur man tried to kill himself by setting his trailer home on fire and then threatened to assault one of the firemen who was trying to put the blaze out.
A sworn police affidavit said the 24-year-old man, who is accused of setting the fire in an office of the trailer in the 2000 block of Hedrick Court on Saturday night, also told police he knew his mother was present in the structure at the time. - PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Herald & Review
With fire season heating up in Southern California, firefighters unveiled a new “fire hydrant” for helicopters on Monday that could drastically reduce turnaround times for water drops in remote areas.
Set on a 1,700-gallon metal water tank, the Remotely Activated Snorkel Site uses robot-controlled valves to tap into an area’s municipal water system, allowing quick access for snorkel helicopters that otherwise would have to spend valuable minutes flying to a reservoir or other water source. - PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Register
A former Whatcom County firefighter who died of cancer this week is being listed as a line-of-duty fatality under state law that classifies certain kinds of cancer as job-related.
Firefighter John Swobody died Monday night after a years-long battle with lung cancer, said Chief William Pernett of North Whatcom Fire and Rescue. - PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald
A firefighter died from injuries he sustained while battling a grass fire in the Davis Mountains in West Texas on Sunday, according to fire officials in Weatherford.
Andy Loller, 42, a Weatherford firefighter, was deployed to assist firefighters across the state at the Scenic Loop Complex in Jeff Davis County, Weatherford Fire Marshal Bob Hopkins said. - PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Star-Telegram
A group of off-duty uniformed firefighters got into a drunken bare-knuckled brawl at a Bronx bar on Wednesday — just hours after they were honored for their heroics by the mayor and fire commissioner, the Daily News has learned.
A racial slur thrown at a black firefighter sparked the fight inside Billy’s Bar near Yankee Stadium between Bronx’s Rescue Company 3 and members of Ladder Company 49 and Engine Company 68, which share a stationhouse in Highbridge. - PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Daily News
Butler county’s two largest townships — Liberty and West Chester — have forged an automatic mutual aid agreement to ensure crews get on every fire scene as quickly as possible.
“Our residents should not care what it says on the side of the truck, whether it says West Chester, Liberty, Sharonville, nor should they care what color the truck is,” West Chester Twp. - PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHIO-TV Dayton
The Saint Bernard’s reputation as a brandy-toting, mountaineering lifesaver is the stuff of legend in Europe and for centuries has made for dramatic literary and cinematic storytelling. The human species returned the favor Friday in a quiet suburban neighborhood much closer to sea level in the Twin Cities. - PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Star-Tribune
Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered Pennsylvania state flags to fly at half-staff at all state offices and facilities to honor a Dover Township fire police officer who died while doing maintenance on a fire vehicle.
Grant Froman, 55, was pronounced dead at 9:59 a.m. Wednesday, June 6, at York Hospital, according to York County Coroner Pam Gay. - PUB DATE: 6/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: York Dispatch
A firefighter recruit was injured after falling from a building at a New Haven training academy on Thursday.
A New Haven Fire Department lieutenant confirmed to News 8 that a recruit from the Providence Fire Department Training Academy fell from a building while training at the New Haven Regional Fire Training Academy at 230 Ella T. - PUB DATE: 6/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTNH-TV ABC 8 New Haven
Fires burn hotter nowadays than they did 50 years ago, according to Mike Healy.
It’s modern construction materials, held together with flammable glue, and the prevalence of plastics in our homes, he said.
“Just the way the fires burn today is an immense difference. The fires are much hotter,” Healy said. - PUB DATE: 6/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News (Lohud.com)
A political and emotional brush fire is smoldering within a grieving Chicago Fire Department over a national anthem protest that marred a charity football game dedicated to the memory of two fallen Chicago heroes.
Camron McGarity, an African-American firefighter, kneeled while the Star Spangled Banner was being played before the CFD Blaze faced off against the Chicago Police Department’s Enforcers last Saturday in the eighth annual “First Responders Bowl. - PUB DATE: 6/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times
San Luis Obispo firefighter Thomas Kofron is no stranger to high-stakes situations. He saved his family's home from a devastating wildfire using only bottled water and orange juice.
On Wednesday, Kofron faced an even tougher challenge: surviving an extreme obstacle course on national TV.
Kofron, who works for Cal Fire, appeared Wednesday on NBC's "American Ninja Warrior," which challenges competitors to prove their physical mettle in the hopes of winning $1 million. - PUB DATE: 6/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Tribune
Jodie Hettrick has been appointed to lead the Anchorage Fire Department, according to an announcement Wednesday from the mayor’s office.
Hettrick joined the department in 2012. She has served as acting chief since the previous chief, Denis LeBlanc, retired in May.
Now that her position is official, Hettrick says there are some internal initiatives that can go forward. - PUB DATE: 6/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Alaska Public Radio Network
Hernando County commissioners shut down the Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire Department on Valentine’s Day 2017. They did so for good reason.
The volunteers were failing to respond to 911 calls. They’d ignored a state requirement to hire a medical director. For more than two years, they never produced a financial audit to show how they were spending taxpayer dollars. - PUB DATE: 6/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said Monday he plans to conduct yet another search for a permanent fire chief, but it will likely begin after the City Council considers a proposal to remove the mandatory retirement age for high-ranking members of the fire and police departments.
Pare told the Council Finance Committee the city’s search for a fire chief is nearing the three-year mark due in large part to an existing ordinance that requires firefighters to retire when they turn 60. - PUB DATE: 6/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12
Roy and Ted Wagner were there at the beginning when their father played a big part in their central New Jersey hometown forming a volunteer fire company — and they're still going strong half a century after joining the ranks themselves.
Long after following their father into service with the Plainsboro Volunteer Fire Company, the identical twin brothers were feted by colleagues this week for dedicating the last 50 years to their community. - PUB DATE: 6/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
