Englishtown Fire Chief Lou Sarti said the death of long-time firefighter Pasquale "Pete the Pepper" DiBenedetto on Thursday has left a big hole in the close-knit volunteer department in Monmouth County. "It's a very big loss," Sarti said of the 47-year veteran of the department. "It's a hole I don't know if we'll be able to fill.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

The Civil Service Commission has denied an appeal from District Fire Chief Samuel Richesson who, despite scoring highest on the Civil Service exam, was passed over for promotion to deputy chief after his performance in an interview. “The preponderance of the evidence shows that Mr. Richesson performed poorly during his interview,” Christopher C.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Paramedics in an Indianapolis suburb will begin providing laughing gas instead of powerful opioid painkillers to patients. Fishers officials say the use of nitrous oxide is expected to reduce the amount of fentanyl administered to injured patients by about two-thirds. Fishers Fire Capt. John Mehling tells The Indianapolis Star using the gas commonly given in dentist offices will reduce the risk of addiction and harmful side effects with fentanyl.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Indiana Times

Responding to a conflict-of-interest controversy, the Oakridge City Council voted Thursday evening to consider terminating the contractor serving as its fire chief. The council voted 5-1 to meet with city attorneys in a nonpublic session to discuss potentially ending its contract with Michael Hansen.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Eugene Register-Guard

Six people trapped in their apartments were rescued by firefighters from a burning three-story building Sunday afternoon in a fire that required “a massive effort” by the entire force of 88 firefighters on duty. Acting Deputy Assistant Chief Stephen Houle said firefighters arriving at 155 Elmwood Ave.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal

For more than four hours, no one heard from Braden Varney. The 10-year veteran of California’s firefighting force had been dispatched to bulldoze a firebreak on a precarious ridge near Marble Point in Mariposa County, an effort to contain the stubborn Ferguson Fire near Yosemite. It was before dawn on July 14, and the blaze that ignited a day earlier in Sierra National Forest was pushing toward the tiny town of Jerseydale.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

More than 10,000 fire and emergency service leaders, experts, exhibitors, guests and industry partners from around the globe will assemble August 8-11 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, for Fire-Rescue International (FRI), the annual conference and expo of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

Authorities say a St. Louis man broke into a Kinloch firehouse for five hours Monday, ate a tub of ice cream, took a shower and stalked the building with a butcher knife and a fireman's tool before he was discovered. Thomas Robertson, 28, of the 400 block of Thomas Street in St. Louis, was charged Tuesday with felony second-degree burglary.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Much like Class D fires, political fires require special resources to extinguish ... water doesn’t work well. For all of the hyperbole about how “things burn differently in my town,” we hear all so often, there are some things affecting the fire service that do indeed “burn differently” from community to community.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

A city firefighter faces a felony theft charge after he allegedly forged several doctor's notes to receive paid sick time off last year. Bethlehem officials said it cost more than $4,500 to pay James Delgrosso Jr., 40, of Bethlehem for the missed time and for someone to cover his shifts. Delgrosso was also charged Monday with forgery for the notes he allegedly submitted to get time off from February through November, according to Northampton County court records.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Allentown Morning Call

A Layton firefighter who was severely injured during SWAT training this week is now recovering in the hospital. Brian Cunningham’s wife called it a “freak accident” during a simple training exercise. The team was practicing busting open doors with small explosives when one of them backfired. Cunningham is now recovering after major reconstructive surgery on his face.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Abc4

The massive wildfires burning across California have highlighted long-standing strains on the state’s mutual-aid system, which is designed to quickly rally support from nearby fire agencies to help protect homes and save lives. From Tuesday through Saturday last week, requests for more than 900 fire engines from commanders around California went unfilled, according to state officials, leaving emergency responders in many communities with far less help than they had hoped for.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

The president of the Syracuse police union said it's ridiculous that Ted Ackerman would fear police officers might shoot him as he hid after a fatal hit and run last year. Ackerman, a city firefighter, fled the scene of a fatal accident he witnessed, then hid in the basement of Pastime Athletic Club while police banged on the door upstairs.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Syracuse Post-Standard & Syracuse.com

It took a legal battle lasting more than two years for Tanja Vidovic to return to her job as a Tampa firefighter in early April. But after only three months back at Tampa Fire Rescue, her future at the department is in doubt again. Vidovic, who won a federal discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the department in December, is now accused of being untruthful and creating a hostile work environment, her husband Jared Vidovic told the Tampa Bay Times.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Tribune and TBO.com

A recent fatal house fire in Bartonville drew attention to a little known but vital system of inter-agency agreements that help firefighters get help when they need it. Mutual aid is nothing new. Most people know that if a fire is too big, a department will call in reinforcements or backups. But how those additional resources are called and in what order remains a mystery to most people not involved in firefighting.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Peoria Journal Star

Las Vegas Paramedic/Firefighter Matthew Driscoll knew he had transported human trafficking victims in an ambulance. So when an injury forced him into light duty, he had an idea about how to spend that time: he started working on a training program to help first responders, hospital employees, counselors and social workers recognize signs they were encountering trafficking victims.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Hillsborough County will reopen its review of four paramedics facing discipline in the case of a stroke patient who died, saying it needs to know more about why the medics decided not to transport her during an emergency call. County Administrator Mike Merrill announced the decision after the paramedics gave statements during closed hearings into the matter Tuesday at County Center.
- PUB DATE: 8/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Tribune and TBO.com (Tampa Bay Online)

According to the Asheville Fire Department, for the second time in North Carolina history, a firefighter death caused by cancer is being determined by the Industrial Commission as a “line of duty death.” The fire department says this decision means his family will receive a survivor’s benefit. It will also give Willis’ children free college education at public North Carolina universities.
- PUB DATE: 8/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS

A district judge issued a temporary restraining order against Mayor Sylvester Turner in the latest chapter of the long-standing dispute with the firefighter's union over a pay parity initiative. The Houston Professional Firefighter's Association claims Turner and council member Dave Martin, who is also named in the suit, used a meeting last week at the council's subcommittee on finance to campaign against the initiative that would establish "pay parity" between police officers and firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 8/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 13 Houston

Firefighters who inadvertently left food cooking on the stove caused the fire that left their northwest Omaha fire station with extensive damage. It will take at least three weeks to repair the damage caused by the Sunday morning fire at Station 43, near 103rd and Fort Streets, officials said Monday.
- PUB DATE: 8/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Omaha World-Herald