A firefighter claims his dreams of being on an elite FDNY rescue squad were crushed when his co-workers began suspecting he is gay.
Jason Johnson, 40, a former National Guardsman, says in his Manhattan federal lawsuit filed Monday that he made it to a Special Operations Command unit in 2016, only to be kicked off the team several months later following a bizarre crotch-grabbing incident while riding a firetruck, which resulted in Johnson being branded as “gay. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
Toledo firefighters worry they might have to temporarily close a firehouse if one more back-up fire engine winds up in the repair shop, but councilmen hope a slight budget reconfiguration will help alleviate those fears.
Fire Chief Brian Byrd this month told council that crews have been consistently using rigs meant to be in reserve as their front-line equipment when they respond to fires. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade
The firefighter who died while responding to a combine fire has been identified.
According to Shelby County Emergency Management officials, 58-year-old Tom Henrich died Saturday afternoon after he fell ill while on a call. He was the Earling Fire and Rescue Department chief. KJAN Radio reported the fire was near Highway 37 and Hazel Road around 2:40 p. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KETV
Overtime costs at the Los Angeles County Fire Department surged 36% in the last five years, placing some firefighters among the highest-compensated workers in local government.
The increase comes as the department grapples with staffing shortages and several seasons of extreme wildfires. Yet some county officials and outside experts question whether fire commanders are properly managing their $1-billion payroll. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
There wasn’t a dry eye in Sunday's "Shark Tank."
Kaley, Christian and Keira Young may have wowed the sharks with their late father’s invention, but it’s the Young family’s story that broke their hearts.
“It was his dream to pitch it on 'Shark Tank,' ” Kaley said of the Cup Board Pro, a chopping board with a detachable bowl for easy cleanup. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today
Florida Gov. Rick Scott issued another rebuke of Verizon, telling the cell provider in a terse press release that he expects the company to give him a plan today to restore service to the areas hit by Hurricane Michael, and that all cell providers should waive bills for October.
The press release was addressed to all cell phone providers, but it singled out Verizon, which has struggled to restore service in Bay County, where Michael made landfall. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times
A top FDNY official in charge of assessing aspiring firefighters has been hosed out of that role, The Post has learned.
Margaret “Peg” Quinn-Puppa, deputy director of the FDNY’s candidate investigation division, “is assuming other duties in human resources,” said department spokesman Jim Long.
Those duties are “outside” of candidate investigation, Long added without further comment. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
Gulf County Fire Coordinator Brad Price, firefighter and paramedic, was helping to clear some of the debris Hurricane Michael left behind Thursday when a tree fell on his tractor.
"We are heartbroken to announce the loss of one of our own," the Gulf County Sheriff's Office announced on social media, hours after colleagues found the 49-year-old father of two and youth softball coach from Wewahitchka dead. - PUB DATE: 10/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Local10news.com
The FDNY will be celebrating a five-alarm milestone on Friday.
Fifteen women are set to proudly walk across the stage and receive their graduation certificates at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York in Jamaica, Queens — the highest number the department’s seen since 1982, when the FDNY opened its doors to 41 women following a groundbreaking discrimination lawsuit. - PUB DATE: 10/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
A Saint David Fire District firefighter died in training Wednesday.
According to Saint David Fire District, 36-year-old Joshua Eugin died during a multi-department training exercise. Eugin was taking part in a "blackout drill," in which firefighters simulate rescuing victims inside a dark structure with fake smoke. - PUB DATE: 10/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGUN9.com
Keeping firefighters safe is top of mind for city leaders. After a Columbus firefighter lost his battle with cancer a few weeks ago, a new fire station in the far east side of town is being built with firefighters safety and health in mind.
Fire station 35 in Blacklick is being constructed with decontamination showers, better exhaust ventilation, and a specific room where firefighters go to after a scene to decontaminate their gear. - PUB DATE: 10/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSYX-TV ABC 6
PHOTO: The Oceanside Fire Department set a record with 17 babies born to wives of firefighters from July 2017 to July 2018.
"This is the most babies at one time we've ever had," said Fire Captain Tim Scott of the Oceanside Fire Department on Wednesday.
Scott said after a different fire department posted about the number of babies born to them that year, Oceanside decided to count their numbers. - PUB DATE: 10/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNSD-TV NBC San Diego
VIDEO/PHOTO - A firefighter is expected to survive after an FDNY fire truck jumped a curb and slammed into parked vehicles in Brooklyn.
The accident happened just after 6 p.m. Wednesday at East New York Avenue and St. Marks Avenue in Brownsville.
Sources say the truck had been stopped at a traffic light on East New York Avenue when the driver suffered some sort of seizure. - PUB DATE: 10/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV 7online.com
VIDEO - Colleagues, friends and family members of fallen Hanover firefighter Lt. Brad Clark took to the podium at Meadow Event Park today to share eulogies and memories of the deceased.
Lt. Clark was killed in the line of duty on Thursday after a tractor-trailer struck the firetruck that he and 3 colleagues were standing outside of while assisting a motorist on I-295 in Hanover. - PUB DATE: 10/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVR-TV CBS 6
Recently, the American Ambulance Association (AAA) reached out to local fire and emergency service leaders asking them to sign on to a newly proposed national EMS cost reporting system. The leaders of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), and the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association (Metro Chiefs) ask that fire service leaders not sign on to this effort. - PUB DATE: 10/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs
The city’s firefighters’ union might know before the end of the year whether an arbitrator will decide if a “minimum manning” clause can continue in its labor contract.
On Wednesday, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Rochester, heard oral arguments from attorneys for the city and the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191. - PUB DATE: 10/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times
San Antonio is the first large metropolitan city in the nation to begin carrying whole blood inside ambulances and response trucks.
Patients suffering traumatic injuries and losing blood fast now have a much better chance of surviving. And local medics believe it's the biggest trauma response game changer in decades. - PUB DATE: 10/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAT-TV ABC 12 San Antonio
After a little more than two years on the job, Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief David Coatney appears to be headed for the exit.
Coatney on Tuesday was named the sole finalist to become director of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, also known as TEEX. State law requires the university and Coatney — who officials say energized the Dallas department and made major strides in promoting safety measures — wait 21 days before making the deal official. - PUB DATE: 10/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dallas Morning News
While Virginia firefighters are mourning the loss of one of their own in a fatal crash, the injuries of another are just now coming to light.
Lt. Brad Clark died Thursday while responding to an emergency call as the remains of Tropical Storm Michael swept over Central Virginia. The 43-year-old firefighter was killed when a tractor-trailer struck the fire truck Clark and three colleagues were standing outside of on the shoulder of I-295. - PUB DATE: 10/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTKR Channel 3 News
When Greg Malmquist became a firefighter in Lake Elmo more than three decades ago, many volunteer fire department rosters listed just a handful of surnames. Sons served alongside fathers and brothers and uncles, and most often stayed in the department for decades.
“Times have changed,” said Malmquist, now the fire chief in Lake Elmo and the only full-time member of the department. - PUB DATE: 10/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
