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National Fire News

Lawsuit alleges negligence in 2016 death of Hawaii firefighter

The son of a Honolulu firefighter who died after a training accident in 2016 has filed a lawsuit against the city. In June of last year, 63-year-old Cliff Rigsbee was riding a rescue sled during an offshore training exercise near Kaimana Beach Park. After plowing through a series of large waves, he went unconscious.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHNL/KGMB-TV Hawaii News Now

Funeral Details for Chief Alan Brunacini

Chief (Ret.) Alan Vincent “Bruno” Brunacini, 80, passed away Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, in his hometown of Phoenix, Ariz. He was born on April 18, 1937, in Jamestown, New York. When he was about 5 years old, Bruno’s family relocated to Albuquerque, N.M., where he graduated from Highland High School. He moved to Phoenix as a young man, and in 1958, he joined the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD).
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fire Engineering

Upheaval at California fire district as chief waits to be fired

Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Chief Rick Weigele said Tuesday he expected to be terminated by the district’s board this week. Wednesday, about 45 people attended a special board meeting in Riverbank to support Weigele, who was the subject of closed-door performance reviews Friday and this week, despite starting the job only five months ago.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Modesto Bee

DC firefighter critically injured makes remarkable recovery, discharged from hospital

In the days after D.C. rookie firefighter Dane Smothers Jr. was critically injured in an accident at the scene of a house fire, there were fears he would not survive. The 28-year-old had numerous broken bones and there were real concerns he would never walk again. But after nearly three months in the hospital, Smothers is not only walking, but he said he wants to go back to work.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTTG-TV MyFox 5 DC

Former Maine fire chief pleads guilty to setting woods fire

A former Old Orchard Beach fire chief pleaded guilty Wednesday to arson for setting a fire last year that burned 42 acres of wetlands. Ricky Plummer, 61, entered the guilty plea to the Class A felony in York County Superior Court in Alfred. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 9, said Deputy District Attorney Justina McGettigan.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Press Herald

New Jersey firefighter, 31, dies during training drill

A 31-year-old Stanhope firefighter died Monday evening during a drill at the Sussex County Public Safety Academy in Frankford, according to officials. Edward J. Frenenski, an active member of Stanhope Hose Company No. 1, suffered a medical emergency as he took part in a vehicular extrication drill that involved his entire fire department around 8:20 p.
- PUB DATE: 10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Jersey Herald

Former Florida fire chief sues city leaders, others over firing

Former Naples Fire Chief Steve McInerny has filed a lawsuit over his firing last year, alleging that city and union leaders "concocted a scheme" to bring him down. He is demanding a jury trial and seeking damages. His long list of defendants includes former Naples Mayor John Sorey, current and former City Council leaders, Naples firefighters and members of their union Local 2174, along with the city's TV channel and the city.
- PUB DATE: 10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Naples Daily News

What Firefighters Can Do to Combat Ransomware

With so many concerns on the minds of our nation's firefighters -- training, tactics and protocols; not to mention putting their lives on the line -- it's understandable if something as simple as being cautious with an email is overlooked during a stressful day. One small slip, however, and an entire fire department can fall victim to a hacking attack which can cripple internal communications and data storage or compromise sensitive information for both department members and everyday citizens.
- PUB DATE: 10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Illinois county launches PulsePoint app

More people in Champaign County could survive cardiac arrest with the help of a free smartphone app designed to mobilize the public to start treatment in the first critical minutes. The PulsePoint Respond app was launched Monday in Champaign County by Presence Regional EMS and METCAD, the local emergency dispatch agency.
- PUB DATE: 10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The News-Gazette

Female firefighter recruit sues California city for sexual harassment, retaliation

A former firefighter recruit is suing San Diego for discrimination, harassment and retaliation because she was fired last year after speaking up about lewd comments and penis drawings in the Fire Academy locker room. Nicole Pappas, 31, claims male members of her 2015 recruiting class criticized her weight, commented on her butt and forced her to look at penis drawings by taping them on the wall, emailing them and posting them on social media.
- PUB DATE: 10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune

'NBC Nightly News' takes on rising cancer rates among firefighters

Last night's NBC News segment featured an in-depth look at firefighter occupational cancer. The segment featured an interview with a Boston firefighter who is battling blood cancer and Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn, who called cancer rates in the fire service an "epidemic." According to the segment, three active or just-retired firefighters are diagnosed with cancer each month.
- PUB DATE: 10/24/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Indiana city approves six-figure lawsuit settlement with police, fire departments

The end of a nearly yearlong dispute between Mayor Lloyd Winnecke's office and the police and fire departments was reached Monday with a six-figure settlement. City Council approved using $300,000 of income tax revenue to end the lawsuit between the unions and city over the changes to the 2017 health insurance plan the city offered employees.
- PUB DATE: 10/24/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Evansville Courier & Press

Southern California wildfire began with call of burning bush, but response was low priority

The motorist who first reported the Canyon Fire 2 said Monday, Oct. 23 that he described the Oct. 9 incident as a fire, not as smoke. The distinction matters because Orange County Fire Authority officials confirmed Monday that the dispatcher’s first response was to send a single fire engine with lights and sirens off, a deployment known as a low-priority “smoke check.
- PUB DATE: 10/24/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Register

Rhode Island deputy fire chief returns to work amid assault case

Cranston’s deputy fire chief is back on the job even as he faces criminal charges tied to an alleged fight with a lieutenant. Cranston spokesman Mark Schieldrop confirmed to Eyewitness News that Deputy Chief Paul Valletta has been taken off administrative leave, more than a month after the city placed him on paid leave following his arrest.
- PUB DATE: 10/24/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12

Man arrested for placing pipe bomb behind Minnesota fire station

A man who allegedly placed a pipe bomb in the woods behind a fire station in Ramsey, Minn. on Monday afternoon is being held in the Anoka County jail, police said. Officers found the bomb behind the station on the 5600 block of NW. Alpine Drive after a witness called police to report a man placing the device in an area between Station No.
- PUB DATE: 10/24/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minneapolis Star Tribune

Las Vegas area police and firefighters learned from past tragedies, using different tactic to save lives

With shooting victims on the site of the Route 91 Harvest Festival and taking shelter in nearby hotels, police officers clustered around firefighters, protecting the paramedics as they worked to stabilize and move the wounded to safety. The agencies had practiced together for years on these rescue task forces, preparing for the possibility of a mass-casualty event like the Oct.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Vegas Sun

Unmasked: Firefighters and Cancer

No one warned Mark Rine that while he was saving others, he was killing himself. The bad habits that would ensure the firefighter’s death sentence started with his very first fire in 2007. Rine was supposed to help set up the ladder, but he ignored his orders, grabbed the hose and charged into the burning two-story brick house.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Gatehouse Projects - Columbus Dispatch

Did firefighters mishandle Canyon Fire 2? California county supervisor wants an investigation

Internal reports that the Orange County Fire Authority bungled its initial response to the Canyon Fire 2 are prompting Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson to ask colleagues for an independent investigation of the fire that burned 9,200 acres and destroyed or damaged nearly 60 homes around Anaheim Hills.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Register

Crazed driver tries to steal FDNY fire truck after plowing into cars

VIDEO - New video shows the moment a crazed driver tried to steal a fire truck after plowing his box truck into several cars near Times Square Sunday. Video of the scuffle shows the truck driver, who can be seen wearing a green T-shirt, frantically climbing in the driver’s-side door of a fire engine on 10th Avenue and 43rd Street.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

Minnesota fire chief says he’ll step down, will stay on at department

Tim Butler, who has been St. Paul’s fire chief for a decade, announced Saturday he will step down from the department’s helm. Butler asked the mayor that he be allowed to continue working at the fire department by returning to a lesser role he used to have. Butler has faced controversy, particularly in recent weeks.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pioneer Press

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