A female firefighter who claims she was demoted and told to stay home with her young son has filed a sex-discrimination lawsuit against the Lower Swatara Fire Department.
Jessica Etzle contends in the U.S. Middle District Court suit that she was stripped of her post as lieutenant and told by the fire chief in January 2016 that, "'You have a 6-year-old son' and she needed to be home and be a mother to her son. - PUB DATE: 9/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: PennLive.com
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Tuesday directed all land managers and park superintendents to be more aggressive in cutting down small trees and underbrush to prevent wildfires as the smoke-choked West faces one of the worst fire seasons in a decade.
In a memo, Zinke said the Trump administration will take a new approach and work proactively to prevent fires "through aggressive and scientific fuels reduction management" to save lives, homes and wildlife habitat. - PUB DATE: 9/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Montana Standard
Court documents are shedding new light on the incident that left Union head and Deputy Cranston Fire Chief Paul Valletta facing simple assault and disorderly conduct charges.
It happened Saturday. An affidavit says problems started when Valletta made "degrading" comments against Lt. Scott Bergantino in front of fellow firefighters. - PUB DATE: 9/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLNE-TV ABC 6
Three people died of carbon-monoxide poisoning on Tuesday from a generator that was running inside their Orange County home after Hurricane Irma, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Four other members of the multigenerational family were taken to Florida Hospital in very serious condition.
Neighbors in the Kingswood Manor neighborhood near Lee Road — who were still without power Tuesday night — found out about the incident mostly through word of mouth, as helicopters and media arrived on the scene. - PUB DATE: 9/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel
Capt. Scott Ferguson, who served three decades with Rural Metro Fire Department and was known as an accomplished musician in his off-time, died while on duty Sept. 8. He was 57.
Ferguson suffered “a major cardiac event on duty” that left him in very critical condition, said Battalion Chief John Walka. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tucson Arizona Daily Star
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed new legislation that expands unlimited paid sick leave benefits for 9/11 first responders.
First responders to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, who later developed an illness as a result, could now be eligible for unlimited paid sick leave.
“When the towers came down, those big clouds that people breathed in, there may be people who ran from that scene, who may be diagnosed with the 9/11 disease and not even know it yet,” Clifton Park Fire Chief Art Hunsinger said. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTEN.com
PHOTO - When Robin Malone saw him climbing step after step at Rhodes Fitness Monday, she knew she had to tell someone.
One by one, Gulfport firefighter Collin Stuart climbed stairs on the exercise machine until he reached the equivalent of 110 floors — and he wore his firefighter uniform for the entire duration. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sun Herald
A new three-year contract between the town and call firefighters provides financial incentive to those who respond to emergency calls often, officials say.
Fire Chief Thomas Daige said Monday under the deal - which the Board of Selectmen ratified last week - volunteer firefighters who do not respond to at least 50 percent of calls each month can have their stipend withheld. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wicked Local Hopedale
Cody Meredith mounted a U.S. flag — black and white, with a single red stripe — on his pickup to send a message of his respect for fallen firefighters.
But when he drove to work Monday, his supervisors at Crete Area Medical Center gave him a message of their own, his wife said: Take the flag off the truck, or take the truck off hospital property. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lincoln Journal Star
A Long Island beach where people gathered and watched in horror as the distant World Trade Center towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001 is the site of the latest memorial to victims of the terror attacks and among a growing number that honor people who died of illnesses years after participating in the rescue and recovery effort. - PUB DATE: 9/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
A veteran San Francisco firefighter died Sunday after returning from an early morning fire alarm call, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
Battalion Chief Terry Smerdel, a 26-year veteran of the department, was found unresponsive by coworkers in his office, Chief Joanne Hayes-White said in a news release. - PUB DATE: 9/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV-TV NBC 11 Bay Area
When the winds kicked up as Hurricane Irma made its way up Florida's west coast, rescue workers watched helplessly as the 911 calls piled up on a computer screen.
They weren't allowed to respond. Winds were so high that emergency services in many areas were suspended to protect the rescuers.
"It just stinks. - PUB DATE: 9/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN
A union rep who tried to help a fellow EMT cited for hanging a noose in an ambulance was rewarded with a racist letter calling her the N-word and threatening her life.
Paramedic Keisha Brockington, 41, was stunned and sickened on Aug. 29 after finding the hate-filled missive in her locker at the FDNY EMS Station 22 on Staten Island. - PUB DATE: 9/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
At 87, retired Lexington Fire Major Orville Cook leafed through a scrapbook of newspaper clippings Sunday, reminiscing about his work on dramatic fires and rescues and when the city’s Station 6 “was at the center of everything.”
The fire station at 501 South Limestone Street had its centennial celebration Sunday. - PUB DATE: 9/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lexington Herald-Leader
Kate Rodeman sat among friends and family as the letter she wrote to the man who killed her husband was read to a courtroom full of people.
"When you killed my husband, you turned my life into pure chaos," said Justin Conklin, the Lansing firefighter who read the letter on her behalf. "His death did not only break my heart, it broke all of me and more. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Five children died Thursday morning in a mobile home fire in the Butte community near Palmer.
The fire also left two adults homeless.
Alaska State Troopers said the remains of the children — all girls, between the ages of 3 and 12 — were recovered by 10:30 a.m. The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire while the state medical examiner is conducting autopsies on the victims. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Alaska Dispatch News
A group of first responders exposed to smoke from a Crosby, Tex., chemical plant fire after Hurricane Harvey are suing the owner of the plant for more than $1 million, saying that they vomited and gasped for air in the middle of the road in a scene the suit describes as “nothing less than chaos.”
The responders allege that the plant owner, Arkema, minimized the dangers of exposure to the fire and failed to warn the responders manning the perimeter of the mandatory 1. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Washington Post
Intense wildfires plaguing much of the West have rekindled controversy over logging restrictions and fire management practices that critics say have created explosive fire seasons.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, took to the floor of the Senate on Thursday to describe the toll the fires have taken. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report
If you are the fire chief commanding volunteers and you feel you have to make every emergency response because you believe that you are the best suited to take care of the public’s emergency service needs – there is something wrong with that picture. If you don't have the confidence in your people that they can perform the task you assign them and you expect them to perform, you may be the problem. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1
Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi is retiring after 32 years of service, including the last five as the city’s top firefighter.
His last day on the job will be Nov. 11.
In his resignation letter, Berardi expressed great pride in being able to serve as chief and thanked City Manager Troy Schulte, the City Council, Kansas City residents and his staff for their support. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCTV-TV CBS 5 Kansas City
