First responders across the United States now have access to FirstNet after all 50 states, two territories and Washington, D.C. opted into the network.
AT&T announced that all first responders can now choose to use the lifesaving communications network. “This is a landmark day and monumental achievement for public safety – one that has been years in the making,” First Responder Network Authority Board Chair Sue Swenson said. - PUB DATE: 12/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1.com
A handful of words often come to mind when most people think of the fire service.
Bravery, duty, compassion and sacrifice are among the most common, but the one that stands above all others for one Detroit-area family is dedication.
One family has shown more dedication to the Detroit Fire Department over the last century than many could imagine. - PUB DATE: 12/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com
They used to be points of pride among firefighters – and with some they might still be considered as such.
But now area fire departments, as well as many others around the country, are trying to teach their personnel that dirty coats and soot-blackened helmets represent cancer risks to be avoided.
Studies have shown firefighters developing or at risk of developing cancer at a higher rate than the general population – nearly twice as much with some forms of cancer such as testicular or malignant mesothelioma. - PUB DATE: 12/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Examiner
Two dozen horses died in an early morning blaze at Folly Farm in Simsbury Thursday, one of the deadliest barn fires nationally in recent years and a staggering blow to the family-owned farm.
All 24 horses housed in the farm’s largest barn died of smoke inhalation, according to James Baldis, chief of Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department. - PUB DATE: 12/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hatford Courant
Two Eastern Iowa fires that killed a combined nine people, including four children, within five days made 2017 the deadliest year in more than a decade for fire deaths in Iowa.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office reported 38 confirmed fire deaths as of Wednesday, with another 13 expected to go on the list, said Ron Humphrey, special agent in charge of the Office’s Arson and Explosives Bureau. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Gazette
West Lebanon Township has suspended and decertified Speedwell Fire Company as a first responder because company members allegedly responded to a call after drinking alcohol.
Seven out of nine fire company members who responded to a call at 10:10 p.m. Dec. 14 were under the influence of alcohol, township commissioner John Brenner said in a letter to Lebanon County EMA Director Robert Dowd. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lebanon Daily News
A Hibbing, Minn., fire that claimed several lives Tuesday took a heartbreaking turn on Wednesday when Hibbing authorities revealed that the deaths included a retired city fire captain, his wife and two of their grandchildren.
Steven Jon Gillitzer, 67, and his 63-year-old wife Patricia Lynn Gillitzer died at their home while attempting to rescue their grandchildren in 20-below temperatures, the Hibbing fire department said in a statement Wednesday. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: mprnews.com
Firefighters across Delaware are moving toward a universal procedure for answering the most serious call that can come over their radios — the one that signals one of their own is in trouble.
Delaware firefighters all soon will be using the same mayday signal, an attempt to keep them better coordinated if the worst should happen. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: delawareonline.com
A Pompano Beach charity that collected more than $43 million for breast cancer research, families of fallen firefighters and fire victims, kept most of the money, authorities say.
The Florida Attorney General’s Office is seeking to shut down the Community Charity Advancement, Inc., which did business as Breast Cancer Research and Support Fund, U. - PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun Sentinel
Many firefighters at New Milford Fire Company 1 will remember Frank Matagrano for his 43-plus years of dedication to the company as both a volunteer firefighter and an engineer.
Matagrano, 75, died on Friday, nine days after he suffered a stroke, which then led to a heart attack as he was on his way to a scene. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northjersey.com
After over a year of surgeries in an attempt to heal his knee from infection, a firefighter underwent surgery to have his leg amputated.
Reporter Herald reported that Berthoud Fire Protection District fire investigator Josh Macdonald was injured in a March 2016 house fire after pulling 75-year-old Cecil Ann Dunfee from her burning home. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1.com
Spokane Fire Department said they are seeing an increase of violent calls that have jeopardized the safety of first responders.
The Spokane Fire Department responded to a house fire earlier this week.
The homeowner became violent. He struck a firefighter in the face while being rescued. He became violent again, striking another first responder. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KREM.com
A Kansas City, Kan., firefighter and paramedic was found dead in his bed Tuesday morning at the Fire Station 19 at 80th Terrace and State Avenue, the fire department announced.
Jason Garrett was 46 years old and had been with the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department for five-and-a-half-years. The death is under investigation, but it is believed he died of natural causes. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas Star
Kelley Whitelens hiked a steep hill toward the backyard of a home on Coyote Road in Santa Barbara, one hand wiping the sweat from her face, the other pulling up her sagging pants.
Whitelens is the only female firefighter in a 19-person team from South Dakota fighting the fierce Thomas fire — which, at 281,620 acres spread across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, is California’s largest wildfire on record. - PUB DATE: 12/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
Mayer Fire Captain Jeffrey A. Vollmer died early Tuesday at his home from an apparent heart attack. He was 40.
Captain Vollmer passed suddenly after returning home from a training exercise.
Captain Vollmer was a second-generation firefighter and a 12-year veteran of the Mayer Fire Department. He was a graduate of Ortonville High School and the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks. - PUB DATE: 12/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KARE11.com
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill this week that allows the Yonkers Fire Department to tap into a controversial fund used for a variety of department expenses.
The fire union and Democrats in the state Legislature pushed for the law after the union stopped spending the cash when Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found the spending flouted state law. - PUB DATE: 12/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
The U.S. Senate Thursday night passed the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4661). The House of Representatives passed the same bill Monday. As a result, the measure is on its way to the president’s desk, saving the FIRE and SAFER Grant programs from expiring on January 2 and pushing their sunset dates out to September 30, 2024. - PUB DATE: 12/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs
It is with a shared vision, to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) by stimulating effective community, professional and citizen action, that the PulsePoint Foundation and the Citizen CPR Foundation announce Sonoma County EMS/Save Lives Sonoma as the inaugural winner of the 2017 PulsePoint Grant Competition. - PUB DATE: 12/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Citizen CPR Foundtion
VIDEO - Rob Hecksel, a retired firefighter diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February, was hoping for a long second career as a social worker.
He’s trying to compress that mission into his remaining time.
Hecksel, 51, of Lansing was a battalion chief with the Lansing Fire Department. He retired three years ago after a 25-year career but wanted to find another job that he loved and that improved the lives of others. - PUB DATE: 12/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lansing State Journal
A firefighter with the Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department died Wednesday after he helped battle an early morning barn blaze.
Jeffery Alan Blackmer, 42, apparently fell ill at the fire station at 8021 N. Ind. 3, where he was cleaning gear after the fire in the 7700 block of North Delaware County Road 320-E. - PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Muncie Star Press
