Members of the Fire Department face another round of salary cuts as the state continues to cut spending in the resort. Firefighters will see their salaries reduced 11.3 percent Dec. 10, according to union officials. The move comes two months after Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez ruled the state could cut the department by 15 members, to 180, after Feb.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Press of Atlantic City

San Francisco city officials have launched a formal probe into allegations of racism and hazing at their fire training academy, NBC Bay Area has learned. The probe, which began this week, is in apparent response to allegations spelled out in a letter sent by eight African American trainees to Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Bay Area

A 60-year-old New York firefighter/safety officer has died in his sleep of an apparent cardiac issue after responding to a technical rescue hours before. According to the United States Fire Administration (USFA), Robert A. Fitch, a member of the East Herkimer Volunteer Fire Department, had responded to a rescue call involving a person who became stuck on some cliffs after attempting to rescue a pet.
- PUB DATE: 12/1/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

After more than 10 years as Fort Worth's fire chief, Rudolph "Rudy" Jackson Jr. has announced his retirement effective in March. "He said he has had a long career here as a firefighter and he's moving on to retired life," said Kyle Falkner, Fire Department spokesman. Jackson, who was named chief in March 2007, has been with the department for more than 35 years.
- PUB DATE: 12/1/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A Key Largo firefighter who came close to death trying in vain to save three underground utility workers felled by noxious fumes beneath a neighborhood street last January is suing those men’s employers for negligence. Leonardo Moreno, 32, an eight-year veteran of the Key Largo Volunteer Fire Department, did not hesitate before descending 15 feet into a manhole on Long Key Road in the Lake Surprise Estates subdivision Jan.
- PUB DATE: 12/1/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Miami Herald

Firefighters dealing with certain cancers will have more time to file for accidental disability retirement benefits under a bill signed into law late Wednesday by Gov. Cuomo. The bill extends the filing deadline to five years, up from two. It will retroactively apply to all disability retirement applications filed since Jan.
- PUB DATE: 12/1/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Firefighting is an occupation that poses many hazards. In 2016, over 62,000 firefighters were injured while on duty. Thirty-nine percent of those injuries occurred on the fireground.1 Risk management is increasingly seen in many occupations as a proactive approach to mitigating potential injury risks.
- PUB DATE: 12/1/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. Fire Administration

An Aurora Fire station under construction near East Jewell Avenue and E-470 caught fire Wednesday afternoon. Fire crews battled flames shooting from the roof of Aurora Fire Station No. 15, which is currently under construction in the Murphy Creek neighborhood. The two-alarm fire broke out sometime Wednesday afternoon at the construction site located at 1880 South Flat Rock Trail.
- PUB DATE: 11/30/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Denver Channel

The Orlando firefighters union says the paramedic fired last week because he violated health privacy laws was suffering from PTSD after responding to the Pulse nightclub massacre and was not receiving the treatment he requested. Josh Granada, who was one of the first responders to Pulse in June 2016, was terminated after he admitted to audio-recording a person during a medical call earlier this year and sharing it with co-workers.
- PUB DATE: 11/30/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentiel

At first glance, John Meffert thought the small plane was too low in the sky. It was about 9:30 a.m. the Friday before last Fourth of July. Meffert was in Orange County, California, driving south on Interstate 405, one of America’s busiest highways, ahead of a big getaway weekend. With the John Wayne International Airport off to his right, Meffert kept driving as the twin engine Cessna continued its descent.
- PUB DATE: 11/30/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV WB 5 Los Angeles

VIDEO - A fire rescue SUV slammed into a utility pole outside of the Croydon Fire Company Wednesday evening. It happened around 5 p.m. in the 900 block of State Road. Neighbors described hearing an explosion and seeing a bright light. "I saw the car come down the street with the lights on and I saw a big poof like fireworks," said neighbor James Nugent.
- PUB DATE: 11/30/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPVI-TV 6 ABC.com

I hope everyone who was able to take time off for Thanksgiving enjoyed the holiday and I want to thank all the public safety personnel who worked last Thursday so the rest of us could spend time with our families and friends. During our trip east, I was keeping tabs on coverage provided by AT&T where we were traveling and while in several states, I talked with the public safety community about today’s AT&T coverage and what might still be needed.
- PUB DATE: 11/30/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AllThingsFirstNet.com

A former Oklahoma City Fire Department assistant chief and member of the “Original 12” died Friday. Carl Holmes, 90, began his service with the department in 1951 as one of 12 black firefighters hired that year. Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson said in a time of racism and discrimination, Holmes and the other men were faced with profound challenges and worked to excel past the normal expectations associated with the job, with many rising through the ranks of the department.
- PUB DATE: 11/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NewsOK.com

The Orlando Fire Department plans to hire 25 paramedics, a move opposed by the city’s firefighters union but which Chief Roderick Williams says will help the agency handle the increased demands of a growing city. It would mark a shift for OFD, which currently doesn’t employ civilian paramedics. All of its firefighters are either emergency medical technicians or paramedics.
- PUB DATE: 11/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel

Suiting up for another tour of duty, Sean O'Rourke barely gets into his turnout gear when the first alarm comes into the station house of Tower Ladder 138 and Engine 289 in Corona, Queens. Climbing behind the wheel of the tower ladder truck, O'Rourke is the muscle driving the giant truck answering the call of the smell of gas at a home.
- PUB DATE: 11/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV 7online.com

A fire crew attended a boy with autism’s birthday party after none of his classmates showed up. FOX News reported that Holden Bridges, 7, invited his entire class to his birthday party, and began crying when he realized no one was coming. “He kept saying his friends were just getting ready, going to get presents, that’s why they were late,” Holden’s mom Amanda said.
- PUB DATE: 11/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

A former volunteer is facing multiple charges after allegedly embezzling federal money from a volunteer fire department. Kathy Gwinn, of Hurricane, is charged with federal program theft, embezzlement and stealing federal monies. According to federal court documents, Gwinn embezzled more than $75,000 through checks she wrote to herself from the Teays Valley Volunteer Fire Department, while she was a treasurer at the department.
- PUB DATE: 11/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSAZ-TV

The city of Salisbury has filed a lawsuit against a group of volunteer firefighters who broke away from the Salisbury Fire Department. The suit is seeking a halt to the spending of taxpayer and charitable funds and the return of property and improperly spent money. The case filed in Wicomico County Circuit Court names Company 1 and 11 of its officers individually.
- PUB DATE: 11/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Delmarva Now

Professional Firefighters of Kokomo Local 396 and the city of Kokomo likely are moving headlong into a court saga, after city officials denied a grievance filed by the union relating to collective bargaining efforts. The Kokomo Board of Public Works last week denied the union’s grievance, saying in a findings-of-fact document no articles or sections in the previous agreement between the two sides were violated.
- PUB DATE: 11/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kokomo Tribune

A fire department is working to reduce the negativity surrounding mental health issues by changing firefighter culture with peer support teams. News-Herald reported that the Euclid Fire Department’s peer-to-peer support program is made up of firefighters who are trained in active listening and crisis intervention, and Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters director of operations Lt.
- PUB DATE: 11/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1