Most fire departments are still doing regular performance reviews, and a few of them may still be happy with the process. However, many departments are clearly not. Some fire departments have even gone so far as to eliminate the performance review process altogether.
What’s wrong with the way many fire departments do performance evaluations? And how can the process be improved as to be truly meaningful and valuable for those who use it?
When I became a firefighter, decades ago, the performance review process worked like this: Every six months or so, someone in a position of authority would fill out a form which rated individual department members on different characteristics on a scale of one to 10. - PUB DATE: 4/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1
Councilman Cody J. Horbacz would like to see city firefighters go out and complete commercial building inspections during their downtime when they’re not fighting fires.
He found out on Tuesday night that’s not possible because of a 1993 agreement with the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191 that specifies two firefighters must complete those duties out of the city’s Code Enforcement office. - PUB DATE: 4/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times
VIDEO - Several girls leapt from the balcony of an Edgewater building early Monday evening to escape roaring flames that ripped through their dance studio and other businesses as people rushed with ladders to mount a frantic rescue effort.
None of the girls was seriously injured, though 10 to 15 suffered minor injuries in the harrowing escape, which was captured on video, according to borough Mayor Michael McPartland. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com
The bus driver convicted of negligent homicide in January for a 2016 crash on Interstate 10 in LaPlace that killed an on-duty firefighter and two other men received the maximum 15-year prison sentence on Monday.
Denis Amaya Rodriguez, a Honduran immigrant who was in the country illegally, also was fined $5,000. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Advocate
The long-tangled case against a San Francisco firefighter accused of drunkenly plowing his fire rig into a motorcyclist in the city’s South of Market neighborhood — only to then run to a nearby bar to chug water — ended in a guilty plea on a significantly lesser charge, prosecutors said Monday.
Michael Quinn, who resigned from the San Francisco Fire Department after the 2013 crash, pleaded guilty Friday to one misdemeanor count of delaying an arrest and was sentenced to two years probation, bringing an end to an unusual saga. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate.com)
The firefighters wore full gear, including their breathing systems, and carried a hose as they waited outside the front door to enter an abandoned house and put out a fire.
Brian Cox wore a black overcoat and carried a camera as he approached the front door to record video of the firefighters extinguishing the fire. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Richmond Palladium-Item
A groundbreaking program at the Tucson Fire Department to help people and save money is showing significant progress in its second year.
The Tucson Fire Department receives hundreds of 911 calls each day. The department’s infrastructure of people and machines is designed to handle around 65,000 calls per year but Captain Brian Thompson says the actual number of calls is more than 92,000. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGUN-TV ABC 9 Tucson
A North Carolina fire chief was killed after a car overturned and caught fire on I-40 in Iredell County Sunday.
Chief Richard Sales, 52, of Reynolds Volunteer Fire Department was killed in the crash.
He was on his way to accept an award on behalf of the fire department at Child Passenger Safety Conference in Wilmington when the crash happened. - PUB DATE: 4/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTV-TV Channel 3
A man found critically injured after an apartment fire at Trump Tower in New York City on Saturday has died, police said.
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania and their son, Barron, were in Washington, D.C., a spokesperson said.
The Fire Department of New York commissioner earlier said that firefighters found the occupant of an apartment on the 50th floor and he was transported to a hospital and was in critical condition. - PUB DATE: 4/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News
The Board of Public Safety members balked at the idea of level-funding the Torrington Fire Department budget after Chief Gary Brunoli said a firefighter would have to be laid off to reach the mark. His solution was to lower funding provided to volunteer fire departments.
Brunoli presented cuts to his original proposal Wednesday, saying he had eliminated $665,673 in proposed expenses to bring the budget into line with the current year. - PUB DATE: 4/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Torrington Register Citizen
Firefighters best known for passing out candy to children at Christmas are embroiled in a battle with the city of La Verne and their department’s management. The feud is so fierce, it’s resulted in two lawsuits and has prompted the cash-strapped city to spend money on an outside lawyer.
La Verne Firefighters’ Association, Local 3624 alleges Fire Chief Peter Jankowski has targeted union members in retaliation for supporting the mayor’s opponent during the 2017 campaign. - PUB DATE: 4/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Whittier Daily News
When Eric Hardy read about the emotional suffering of Kathy Fury, mother of submarine arsonist Casey Fury, he thought about himself and many others hurt by the fire.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Fury is having a hard time,” Hardy said, during the two hours it took the former Portsmouth Naval Shipyard firefighter to summarize the impact the fire had on him, his family and other firefighters. - PUB DATE: 4/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seacoast Online
New evidence was revealed Thursday in a lawsuit filed against Motorola by the family of four Houston firefighters killed in the Southwest Inn fire in 2013.
The lawsuit on behalf of the families of Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, Matthew Renaud and Anne Sullivan filed suit in 2016, seeking punitive damages. - PUB DATE: 4/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Click2houston.com
The Buffalo firefighter exam is coming up May 1, but the Common Council’s immediate focus is on finding someone to administer the psychological portion and re-evaluating 41 potential recruits rejected during the last hiring process on the recommendations of the city's former psychologist.
About a dozen African-American applicants – most for the Fire Department – complained to a Council committee in late February that they passed other parts of the fire or police test but were removed from eligibility lists after a 10- to 15-minute verbal psychological exam that they felt had racial undertones and was biased against them because they are African-American. - PUB DATE: 4/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Buffalo News
PODCAST - In this episode we focus on what two communities are doing to help mitigate the opioid crisis. First, we talk with Fire Chief Jan Rader from Huntington, West Virginia. Chief Rader was featured in the Netflix, Oscar-nominated documentary Heroin(e) by filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon. Chief Rader discusses how different parts of the community came together to tackle the growing crisis in Huntington. - PUB DATE: 4/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Vision 20/20 - CRR Radio
Sepsis is a serious medical condition striking more than a million Americans every year. It happens when the body over-reacts to an infection causing blood clots, leaky blood vessels, and organ damage. As many as 30 percent of the people who get it die. But a hospital in Texas has teamed up with a local fire department to identify and treat sepsis in the field. - PUB DATE: 4/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAT
A silver Honda Civic, tipped on its side, spills shattered glass onto the road. Behind it, a Hyundai Elantra is wedged into the rear of a Buick LeSabre, while a mangled Chevy Cavalier, sideswiped by a minivan, adds to the sense of chaos overtaking the pileup.
This was the scene Thursday in Douglas County, at a facility that officials hope will teach emergency personnel across the state how to clear crash scenes quickly and, in turn, stay alive. - PUB DATE: 4/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Denver Post
Firefighters from around the state are expected to gather this weekend for the funeral of a southern Minnesota firefighter who died in the line of duty hours after answering two emergency calls last week. Timothy Royce, 58, responded with fellow Mapleton firefighters to a traffic crash and then a medical call Thursday. - PUB DATE: 4/5/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
A Houston firefighter says his instincts from training immediately kicked in when he was off-duty Easter Sunday and helping to save a man's life.
Chas Martin is still emotionally and mentally shaken from the gas station shooting that was on Facebook Live.
As he gained his composure during an interview with Eyewitness News he said, "I'm sorry, it is just kind of rough talking about it. - PUB DATE: 4/5/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 13 Houston
On the same day in June 1980, Phil Hadley and Terry Lamb were hired to work the hand crew of the Ventura County Fire Department.
Last week, the two retired together, ending their final shifts at 8 a.m. Thursday in Simi Valley. Both are 55.
“It’s a blessing working with your best friend each day,” Hadley said Wednesday, hours before the end of their last shift. - PUB DATE: 4/5/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ventura County Star
