In one day, 53 firefighters packed up two fire houses and left behind the stations they knew and loved. That day, Jan. 23, Vancouver’s two new fire stations were deemed complete — complete enough, anyway, to unlock the doors and put the state-of-the-art facilities into service.
“It’s definitely still a work in progress,” said Vancouver firefighter and paramedic Pete Adams. - PUB DATE: 2/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Vancouver Columbian
I had just backed out of a parking space and was adjusting my seatbelt when I noticed that a car parked across from me had its backup lights on. Feeling certain that the driver would notice my car right behind his, I was not concerned. That is, until the car started backing up, right toward me. I tapped the horn, but the car kept coming. - PUB DATE: 2/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireChief.com
Barrington officials are suing a Canadian trucking company over the cleanup of a chemical spill last year, alleging firefighters unwittingly handled a hazardous chemical that damaged their equipment after being told the material was vegetable oil.
The spill happened shortly after 11:30 p.m. March 7, when a semitrailer belonging to Xan Systems Inc. - PUB DATE: 2/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
Robert Lay, the town’s fire chief since 2013, was recently placed on paid administrative leave by selectmen but said Tuesday he’d be willing to come back to work.
For that to happen, however, Lay said he would like to see his contract renegotiated and a mixup over his health insurance costs cleared up. - PUB DATE: 2/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Newburyport Daily News
FirstNet nationwide contractor AT&T today launched a new visual brand that will be associated with FirstNet services and products, according to AT&T and FirstNet officials. FirstNet will continue to use its existing logo to designate organizational activities, as opposed to products and services that subscribers can buy. - PUB DATE: 2/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Urgent Communications
Weeks after a tragic fire on Bowdoin Street in Providence, a firefighter who was trapped inside a burning building is speaking to Eyewitness News.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 6, more than 100 firefighters filled Bowdoin Street as they battled flames that extended to several homes. Providence firefighters Dan Rinaldi and Jay LaSalle had just finished a check inside one of the homes, so they decided to head into another. - PUB DATE: 2/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12
Six months after severe flooding caused an estimated $10 million in damages at Burton Barr Central Library, Phoenix officials have finished a personnel investigation and decided to fire, demote or suspend five more employees.
That brings the total number of employees disciplined for the disaster to 11. - PUB DATE: 2/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix
The FDNY is no longer just a boy’s club.
Two women will be sworn into top positions in the department at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn Wednesday, a historic moment for the male-dominated agency.
Laura Kavanagh will be named the department’s first deputy commissioner while Elizabeth Cascio — who has served for more than three decades — is the department’s chief of staff. - PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
Bill Clayton, a wildland firefighting expert who saved countless lives and entire towns during a career that spanned 50 years, died Sunday at the age of 77 of natural causes at his home in Carlsbad.
"He was a legend in the fire service," said lifelong friend and recently retired Cal Fire Battalion Chief Ray Chaney. - PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune
A state Supreme Court judge ruled in the city’s favor to block arbitration over the “minimum manning” clause in its labor contract with the firefighters, which requires 15 firefighters must be on duty at all times.
It’s been the main sticking point during the city’s 3½-year contract stalemate with the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191. - PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times
The top woman leader in the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has resigned in a scathing letter to Chief Richard Bowers.
Kathleen Stanley, who is one of only three women battalion chiefs in the fire department, was appointed by Bowers to be the Women's Program Officer. Her job was to help women in the department do their jobs without fear of harassment, misconduct or retaliation. - PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV 9 DC
The Fort Wayne Fire Department plans to be even more effective when responding to emergencies.
By July, the department hopes to have nearly 80 firefighters trained in advanced life support on the crews of 18 of its fire engines, Chief Eric Lahey said Tuesday. That would allow the department to have firefighters trained in advanced lifesaving on every fire engine every day so they can start lifesaving care as soon as they arrive at an emergency situation. - PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fort Wayne News-Sentinel
Former Akron fire union treasurer Joseph Ruhlin pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing funds from the Akron fire department’s union.
Ruhlin pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors to a charge of theft in office and tampering with records, both third-degree felonies, which carry penalties of up to three years in prison. - PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Akron Beacon Journal
An investigation is underway into the cause of a chemical fire at an Elmwood Avenue business that sent 14 firefighters to the hospital.
According to Cranston Fire Chief William McKenna, crews from across the state responded to a chemical fire that broke out shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, including various fire departments, hazmat crews and the state fire marshal. - PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12
A newcomer to the Brunswick Fire Department will earn $9.29 per hour to rush into a burning building.
That comes out to $28,370 per year when with their 24 hours on, 48 hours off schedules.
Brunswick Fire Chief Randy Mobley said this bottom line is the primary factor behind the department’s perpetual revolving door, in which firefighters the city hires and trains soon depart to fight fires elsewhere for more money. - PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Brunswick News
At fire house 12 in Waipahu, firefighters aren't just worried about their own health. They're worrying about their kids. In the last five years, children of three firefighters at the station have been diagnosed with bone cancer.
The third case was diagnosed this month.
In the wake of the cancer cluster, Honolulu's fire chief and the firefighters union are calling for an investigation. - PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHNL/KGMB-TV Hawaii News Now
Legislation permitting properly trained first responders to carry firearms unanimously passed the West Virginia House of Delegates Thursday, and is now on its way to the Senate. House Bill 2916, introduced by Delegate David Pethtel, D-Wetzel, would allow emergency service personnel, ambulance drivers and firefighters to carry weapons when performing their duties if they successfully pass an equivalent firearms training course provided by the West Virginia State Police Academy and maintain their certification. - PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Intelligencer
A young boy was rescued by emergency responders on Monday afternoon after a car submerged into Brush Creek.
According to Kansas City police, officers were called to the scene at 4725 Prospect Avenue on an accident.
Police say a child inside a running vehicle knocked it into gear, causing the car to roll down the hill and into the creek. - PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCTV-TV CBS 5 Kansas City
A Santa Maria firefighter who helped rescue 62 children and camp staff from the Whittier fire last year will be an honored guest at the president’s State of the Union speech Tuesday.
David Dahlberg, a fire prevention technician with the U.S. Forest Service, is one of 11 people chosen to be President Donald Trump’s honored guest at his speech before Congress. - PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Tribune
Two firefighters, one with just a few months on the job, pulled a critically injured man from a burning Washington Heights apartment building Sunday night, an FDNY spokesman said.
The blaze broke out just before 5:30 p.m., on the fourth floor of a building in the Rangel Houses along the Harlem River Drive. - PUB DATE: 1/29/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
