Rules cited in the dismissal of an Atlanta fire chief that require city employees to get pre-clearance for outside employment are not constitutional, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
But U.S. District Judge Leigh May ruled in the city's favor on a number of other constitutional issues raised by former chief Kelvin Cochran in a lawsuit filed against the city and Mayor Kasim Reed. - PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Times
Police officers rode their horses with attached antlers to make them look like reindeer.
Cheer squads pumped up a crowd of families who watched the Twinkle Light Parade in Nob Hill earlier this month with glee.
But trouble wasn’t far away. “It was an evening that took a frightening turn for one little girl and her mother,” Albuquerque Fire Chief Gilbert Santistevan told a news conference to honor a pair of quick-thinking firefighters. - PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Albuquerque Journal
Congress today passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), a comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax code. The IAFC applauds Congress for addressing several important issues affecting the fire and emergency service, including: Fire Sprinklers: Since the devastating 2003 fire at the Station Nightclub in Rhode Island, the IAFC has urged Congress to incentivize business owners to retrofit their properties with fire-sprinkler systems. - PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs
The Baltimore Fire Department is reeling as the city has experienced the most fire deaths in a decade, Chief Niles R. Ford said Wednesday.
Twenty-eight people have died in fires with more than a week left to go in the year — more than half of them in just four incidents, according to the Fire Department. - PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun
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: 12/20/2017 10:15:37 PM - SOURCE: Muncie Star Press
Premature. That is how a state Supreme Court judge described a lawsuit filed by Utica fire Chief Russell Brooks against the City of Utica when he ruled to dismiss it without prejudice.
Brooks filed his lawsuit against the city and Mayor Robert Palmieri. In it, Brooks claimed the city rejected an application for sick leave benefits connected with his chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a condition he said was contracted as a result of his response to ground zero for 9/11 recovery operations. - PUB DATE: 12/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch
The House of Representatives Monday night passed the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4661) under suspension of the rules of the House, which usually is reserved for non-controversial legislation. The bill would: Authorize $76.49 million in funding for the U. - PUB DATE: 12/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs
The municipality of Anchorage has paid one of its firefighters more than three-quarters of a million dollars after his successful lawsuit against the fire department.
It’s the second large civil award this year the municipality has paid to a public safety employee, after two police officers won $2.7 million last summer in a lawsuit over racial discrimination. - PUB DATE: 12/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Alaska Public Radio
Poor communication by Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers with Gatlinburg authorities undermined the initial response to last year's deadly wildfire and cost lives, a report released Tuesday found.
"Insufficient warning by (the park) contributed to a dramatically reduced time frame to conduct needed evacuations," the outside review concluded. - PUB DATE: 12/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Knoxville News Sentinel
As Hermosa Beach moves toward contracting with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for firefighting services, 13 firefighters have sued the city over how their regular and overtime compensation has been calculated, it was announced today.
The suit filed in federal district court alleges the city has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and seeks not only the compensation the firefighters say they deserve but double damages spanning three years as a penalty, plus interest and attorneys fees, according to Katie Casey, Hermosa Beach's public information officer. - PUB DATE: 12/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles
Officials say a firefighter suffered a heart attack while responding to a call at a Chase Bank Monday morning in Nyack and later died.
Nyack fire crews responded to the bank on North Broadway around 8:30 a.m. after reports of a chemical spill. Officials say a battery in the bank's alarm system overheated, creating an odor. - PUB DATE: 12/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News 12 Westchester
The city and state used private investigators to check on firefighters out on extended sick leave after the city’s Fire Department failed to conduct those compliance checks, state officials said.
The decision to use investigators, allowed under the state takeover of the city, came after city and state officials were made aware of possible abuse of sick leave, said Lisa Ryan, spokeswoman for the Community Affairs Department. - PUB DATE: 12/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Press of Atlantic City
A Cranston firefighter who accused a deputy chief of assaulting him has filed a federal lawsuit against the chief, the city of Cranston, and the fire union.
As first reported by Target 12, Lieutenant Scott Bergantino filed the suit Friday, alleging assault, poor training, breach of duty, and negligence. - PUB DATE: 12/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12
Milwaukee Fire Engine 6 rolled out of its east side station on Brady St. for the last time Monday morning.
Current and retired firefighters and neighbors came out shortly before 8 a.m. to bid farewell to the beloved firehouse and honor those who occupied it, keeping the neighborhood safe for generations. - PUB DATE: 12/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Matthew Rose and his father, Richard Rose, have spent a total of 113 years firefighting.
Matthew, a former Stonelick Township fire chief, has spent 43 years saving lives at three different fire departments in Greater Cincinnati. Richard has 70 years under his belt; he’s worked everywhere from Loveland to Goshen to Fayetteville. - PUB DATE: 12/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCPO-TV ABC 9 Cincinnati
An Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a new route hurtled off an overpass Monday near Tacoma and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing at least three people, authorities said.
Seventy-seven passengers, six crew members and one technician were aboard when the train derailed about 40 miles south of Seattle before 8 a. - PUB DATE: 12/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000
PHOTOS - An Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a new route hurtled off an overpass Monday near Tacoma and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing at least six people authorities said.
Seventy-eight passengers and five crew members were aboard when the train derailed about 40 miles south of Seattle before 8 a. - PUB DATE: 12/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000
There’s an understanding among firefighters that dirty gear is a measure of toughness. The char from past fires is a way to garner respect and serves as a badge of honor.
But that badge, that dirty turnout gear, is now an ominous reminder of the perils of the job. And in an abrupt change of culture, the blackened gear is now considered an enemy. - PUB DATE: 12/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The cause of death has been released for a San Diego firefighter who was killed while battling the massive Thomas Fire raging in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Cal Fire San Diego Unit Fire Apparatus Engineer Cory Iverson died from thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, an autopsy performed Friday found, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner Office. - PUB DATE: 12/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KABC-TV Los Angeles
The Oklahoma City Fire Department has returned all of its rigs to full-time service after 13 months of cutbacks imposed to stave off a budget shortfall.
The department saved $2.6 million between October 2016 and this November by reducing overtime from "callbacks," when staffing falls below minimums. - PUB DATE: 12/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Oklahoman
