A dedicated wireless communications network for first responders answering the call on a large-scale incident is something most citizens might assume is already in place across the country.
The unfortunate truth is that they would be wrong, but efforts are ongoing to present all 50 states with plans and options surrounding The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), which was designed to help public safety agencies coordinate their efforts amid emergencies and major events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods or terror attacks, to name just a few scenarios. - PUB DATE: 8/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com
An upper-management union for the Orange County Fire Authority planned to tell the agency’s board of directors that “current tensions” in the department were created by Chief Jeff Bowman, who resigned last week, according to a letter written by the union and sent to the board on Sunday, Aug. 20.
The letter also said the union – the Chief Officers Association, which represents battalion and division chiefs – met with Bowman a day before he stepped down and recommended he resign before it submitted a position paper, out of respect for him and “to save the organization further embarrassment. - PUB DATE: 8/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Register
A plea deal means a term of slightly less than six years for the driver of a Michigan firetruck that crashed last summer on Interstate 35W in Blaine, killing two fellow firefighters.
Michael A. Johnson, 29, of the Upper Peninsula city of Baraga, pleaded guilty in Hennepin County District Court to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation in connection with the crash on Aug. - PUB DATE: 8/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Salem Fire Department followed suit with its fellow first responders Monday, requesting the Board of Selectmen consider increasing the previously set staffing plans and potentially renegotiate the Tuscan Village development agreement.
Both the police and fire departments have experienced decades of stagnant staffing, which department leaders say have caused longer emergency response times in Salem and more cases in which the fire department has to ask for assistance from neighboring towns. - PUB DATE: 8/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Eagle-Tribune
A Menlo Park Fire Captain sustained moderate burns in a house fire after the roof he was standing on gave out as the attic burned beneath him, late Friday.
The Fire Captain, a seasoned veteran with the Fire District, had just guided a Probationary Firefighter as he cut a square ventilation hole in the roof of the residence, located on Nassau Drive near the Menlo Park-Atherton border. - PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU-TV Oakland, San Francisco, Bay Area
The number of years was 63 that father and son, Louis “Butch” Chagnon and Michael Chagnon served on the Somerset Fire Department.
It included a decade they served together answering the call on fires and medical emergencies, it was announced during a brief recognition by the Board of Selectmen for the retiring son. - PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Herald News
It's been nearly five years since Bay City's fire and police departments merged into a public safety agency.
Now, a City Commissioner is proposing to increase the number of full-time firefighters, a move that would drastically change the course of the combined department.
Commissioner Ed Clements, 8th Ward, has authored a resolution calling for the Bay City Department of Public Safety to staff no fewer than 22 full-time firefighters, instead of having a staff made up entirely of public safety officers who can fight fires and perform law enforcement tasks. - PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MLive.com
Police have cited York Township's assistant fire chief, alleging he improperly used the emergency lights on his duty vehicle to pull over a driver.
If found guilty, Assistant Fire Chief Scotty Bowman, 32, who lives in the township, could face a substantial fine, plus about $150 in court costs and fees. - PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: York Dispatch
A former Atlantic City firefighter pleaded guilty Friday to health care fraud in connection with a large-scale prescription-drug fraud ring.
It was the fifth guilty plea in the past two days and the first to involve a public employee. Federal authorities have been investigating health-benefits fraud in three Absecon Island municipalities, including Atlantic City, over the past few months. - PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Press of Atlantic City
Researchers found that a household product can effectively clean fentanyl spills.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Bowling Green State University President Mary Ellen Mazey announced that OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover has been proven effective in cleaning up fentanyl spills. Sodium percarbonate is an ingredient in the product, which has been shown to break down fentanyl. - PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1
Two off-duty Oakland firefighters were shot, one fatally, in San Jose's Japantown on Thursday night, and one person has been detained in connection with the crime, police say.
The shooting was reported at 9:37 p.m. near 8th and Taylor streets, across the street from Gordon Biersch Brewery, according to police. - PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Bay Area
A rule requiring fire sprinkler systems be put in new apartment buildings has been deemed unenforceable by the state. This comes just six months after the Department of Safety and Professional Services decided to keep the rule.
It said new apartment buildings with three to 20 units have to have fire sprinkler systems installed. - PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Channel3000.com
The city put embattled Fire Chief Thomas Ronalter on leave Thursday and appointed an acting leader for the department, but Ronalter publicly declared he won't quit over accusations of mismanagement and racial insensitivity.
"I detest racism and all of the harm it causes. While I have made mistakes, I have never treated people — firefighters or otherwise — differently based on the color of their skin," Ronalter said in a statement emailed to reporters Thursday afternoon. - PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant
U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth met with local fire service members Wednesday to discuss a bill aimed at tackling increased cancer rates among firefighters.
The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, co-sponsored by Indiana's 9th Congressional District representative, would provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the funding and capability to collect and analyze data related to cancer incidents within the profession. - PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News and Tribune
The Spokane Fire Department said Thursday that two people are alive thanks to a program called Automatic Aid.
On Wednesday afternoon, a mother and daughter were hit by a car in the North Spokane Costco parking lot. Officials said at one point, the mother was pinned under the car and crews had to lift the car to pull her out safely. - PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2
Firefighter Robert Alexander always followed in his father’s footsteps — even in death.
The 43-year-old — who worked on FDNY fire boats — died Monday of a brain tumor stemming from his time at Ground Zero.
For Alexander, succumbing to a 9/11 illness is a heartbreaking family affair — a year earlier, his father Lt. - PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
An independent investigator has determined that the fire department suffers from a fractured leadership team and perceptions of racism and favoritism that are worsened by the "racial insensitivity" of Chief Thomas Ronalter.
The monthslong review did not document racism in hiring or discipline, but concluded "it is not unreasonable that a minority firefighter could perceive the existence of racial bias. - PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant
After more than 30 hours, the massive air and sea search continues for five missing soldiers who were on board an Army chopper that crashed late Tuesday off Oahu. Rescuers are focusing their efforts on a debris field that's three to five miles offshore.
"This is still a search and rescue mission. We are here to bring our soldiers home," said Lt Col. - PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hawaii News Now
Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones chose someone many feel can unite the fire department which has been engulfed in controversy for years.
Deputy Chief Pete Key Key joined the Charlotte Fire Department as a firefighter in 1977 and now 40 years later, he’s in charge of its more than 1,200 employees and protecting more than 840,000 citizens. - PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: wsoctv.com
Firefighters at Engine Company 27 in Northeast D.C.'s Deanwood neighborhood are sounding the alarm about what they are calling dirty and deplorable conditions at their fire station.
In the District, fire personnel work in 24-hour shifts and then have 72 hours off. During their work shift, these firefighters live, eat and sleep at the firehouse, and these conditions are nothing new to them and have been going on for years, they say. - PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: foxdc.com
