The City Council’s investigative body is moving forward with its own probe into the misuse of $8.2 million in emergency public safety dollars to cover payroll and other expenses.
The probe, in part, seeks to determine which employees at city hall were aware of the misuse, according to Councilwoman LaVetta Sparks-Wade, who originally made a request last month to the mayor’s office for financial records and correspondence related to Fund 224. - PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Indiana Times (nwitimes.com)
A Jacksonville fire captain testified Monday in federal court about what he calls discrimination and retaliation by his fellow firefighters.
"I felt rejected and dejected," Capt. Eric Mitchell testified before a jury.
Mitchell filed a lawsuit against Division Chief Gail Loput, Fire Chief Kurt Wilson and the city of Jacksonville. - PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJXT-TV CBS 4 Jacksonville
One year after the mass shooting in Las Vegas hit home the dangers faced by first-responders, Mesa leaders voted to spend $262,000 to equip firefighters and medical teams with body armor.
The protection already is available in Chandler, Scottsdale and Tempe, and will be in place in Gilbert this year. - PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix
San Antonio fire union President Chris Steele has been reprimanded for overseeing a political news conference while wearing a fake uniform that was nearly identical to its official San Antonio Fire Department counterpart.
On Sept. 20, Steele held a rally and news conference at the headquarters of the Bexar County Democratic Party, where he announced that the organization had endorsed the three proposed charter amendments the union had placed on the Nov. - PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Antonio Express-News
Bucyrus Fire Chief Jay Keller has sued the city for $1 million in damages that he believes were accrued while he was on paid leave last year.
The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland Division, by Keller's attorney, Adam Stone.
"We have no further comments," Stone said after telling the Telegraph-Forum that the city would be served notice of the lawsuit via certified mail. - PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mansfield News Journal
The firefighters union is criticizing the search process to replace retiring Fire Chief Stephen Geldart after none of the 19 candidates who applied for the position – including four Hudson firefighters – was selected.
The initial candidate pool was whittled down to six finalists – including two Hudson firefighters – who attended an assessment center that put candidates through a battery of exercises covering all aspects of the profession such as technical knowledge, personnel administration, leadership and grant writing. - PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MetroWest Daily News
It was 11:19 p.m. on Oct. 8, and a panicked caller to Sonoma County’s 911 dispatch center was incredulous the operator wasn’t aware her world had exploded in flames.
“What’s on fire?” the 911 dispatcher asked.
Everything, the caller said. The trees, the houses, anything standing on Mountain Home Ranch Road in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains. - PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Maybe they should take baked Alaska off the menu.
More firefighters are getting burned – thanks in part to a 32 percent spike in cooking injuries in firehouse kitchens.
Overall, there were 247 firefighter burns in fiscal year 2018, a 22 percent increase from 2017, according to the latest Mayor’s Management Report. - PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
Authorities on Sunday confirmed that three “males” died in a fiery car explosion Saturday night in Center City Allentown, what they called an “isolated incident.” They also believe “the perpetrator” was killed in the blast, an explosion that shook city buildings and residents, leaving many to wonder what could have led to such carnage. - PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Allentown Morning Call
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), if you have a reported home fire today, you are more likely to die than you were in 1980. This startling fact is attributed to several factors, including the way homes are built and the contents in them. “Open floor plans and a prevalence of modern synthetic furnishings make homes burn faster and the fires produce deadly smoke and gases within moments,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. - PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NFPA.org
A fire truck hit a tanker truck on U.S. Route 36 just east of state Route 258 around 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to Sgt. William Bower of the State Highway Patrol.
The firefighter driving the Newcomerstown Fire Department truck, Heather Stein-Wells, 42, was ejected from the truck. She suffered a broken hand, scrapes and required stitches at Coshocton Regional Medical Center. - PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Times Reporter
FirstNet provided the city of Whiteville, N.C., with critical voice and data communications throughout Hurricane Florence and subsequent flooding in the area, passing a “big test” regarding the resiliency and flexibility associated with the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN), according to a Whiteville official. - PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Urgentcomm
Former Fire Chief Mark O’Brien says he will fight his firing by the town manager, and will likely seek a public hearing before the Board of Selectmen, saying in an interview Thursday he “has nothing to hide.”
Town Manager Pat Finnigan confirmed O’Brien’s employment was terminated Sept. 18, but would not provide further details, citing personnel privacy laws. - PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seacoastonline.com
Easton's firefighter union says it does not want the city to start hiring part-time employees.
The union laid out its grievances with possible part-time hires in a Facebook post on Monday.
In the post, the union says hiring part-timers would equate to a cut in staffing and says the city isn't willing to send-part time employees to the Allentown Fire Academy for training, something Mayor Sal Panto denies. - PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFMZ-TV Channel 69
Bellingham Fire Department personnel made 15 training attempts to intubate a dead man as he lay in a body bag on the floor of the apparatus bay at Station 1, according to an investigation into the incident submitted Sept. 4 by a Seattle law group and released by the city Wednesday to The Bellingham Herald. - PUB DATE: 9/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald
Like their colleagues in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago, firefighters in Buffalo believe there's a link between hearing loss and the sharp, piercing sounds of the sirens that accompany them to fires.
But four years later, the lawsuits they filed against the siren maker are ending and no one on either side is claiming victory. - PUB DATE: 9/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Buffalo News
Firefighters are supposed to wait for Dallas police before they go into a dangerous situation. It's a new policy.
"Gunshot with victim with shooter in vicinity. Do you see police?” says a dispatcher. Sunday night when firefighters responded to a home near Fair Park, they had a tough decision to make. - PUB DATE: 9/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFAA.com
After what they called a "tough" budget process, the mayor and aldermen approved their FY19 budget.
One of the hotly debated items was restructuring the fire and police department, creating a public safety director who would oversee both fire and police departments.
Members of the fire department spoke to the mayor and aldermen in executive session where they expressed their desire for Chief Tommy Posey to remain their leader. - PUB DATE: 9/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: gulflive.com
Calling 911 for medical problems in Minneapolis generates a big response. The city Fire Department dispatches a half-million-dollar fire engine with several firefighters, even for minor issues like a sprained ankle.
A smaller vehicle operated by the Minneapolis Fire Department may begin responding to some health emergencies around downtown next year, one way the department is dealing with its growing volume of medical emergency calls. - PUB DATE: 9/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Star Tribune
Mayor Sylvester Turner has instituted a hiring freeze across the city government’s roughly 21,400 positions, ordering department directors seeking exceptions to meet with him or his chief of staff in person.
The directive, he wrote in a memo dated Friday, will be reviewed “at a later date this year. - PUB DATE: 9/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
