West Haven Fire Department Deputy Chief Scott Schwartz has been out of work for more than a month, placed on paid administrative leave after a series of clashes involving him and a rank-and-file firefighter, according to several sources. Schwartz, who also is the city’s emergency management director, has not been suspended from that job.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Haven Register

Three days before a candle likely ignited a Oakland apartment house blaze that killed four people, inspectors ordered a dangerous extension cord removed from the same room where the fire started. The news, revealed in an interview Tuesday with Oakland Assistant Fire Marshal Maria Sabatini, raises the possibility that a resident of the second-floor room was using a candle because electricity was no longer available.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

Government inspections of railroads that haul volatile crude oil across the United States have uncovered almost 24,000 safety defects, including problems similar to those blamed in derailments that triggered massive fires or oil spills in Oregon, Virginia, Montana and elsewhere, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

In the operational command structure of the fire service, the ability for firefighters to contribute good ideas is difficult if not wholly impossible. Accused of jumping over the chain of authority, displaying bad behavior or simply being a poor follower, good firefighters are acutely aware of the lack of opportunity for input.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Intense heat and strain appear to put firefighters at a greater risk of heart attack, a new study finds. The physical demands of firefighting may trigger the formation of blood clots and impair blood vessel function -- two factors associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke, researchers in Scotland report.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: HealthDay News

Questions loom about why a fire chief with a squeaky clean record was forced out of office last week. Action News Jax went through all 381 pages of now-former Nassau County Fire Chief Matthew Graves’ personnel record on Monday. Graves abruptly retired under pressure from county leaders on Friday. His letter of retirement said he’s had a “rewarding” career.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTEV-TV 47

A city councilman wants voters to approve a city charter change that would allow council to make major changes to the police and fire departments — or abolish them altogether. Mathew Davoli has proposed legislation that, if approved on the November ballot, would give council the power to scrap police and fire departments or contract with other agencies to provide those services.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade

A former Champaign-area paramedic who was set to become a fire chief in Alaska is facing criminal charges after prosecutors say he drugged and sexually assaulted a man who attended his going-away party. David J. Dunn, 43, of Savoy, was arraigned in the Champaign County Courthouse Monday for felony criminal sexual assault, according to the Champaign County state’s attorney office.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

Mayor Toni Harp said Monday there will be “ramifications” for her chief administrative officer after an outburst last week during a meeting with union representatives, but termination is not being considered. During her weekly radio appearance on WNHH Monday, Harp told radio host Paul Bass that there will be “ramifications” for City Administrative Officer Michael Carter following his verbal exchange last week with Local 3144 Vice President Harold Brooks.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Haven Register

First responders would have to complete a one-week class to carry guns on school property during emergencies under a bill in the South Carolina House of Representatives. The legislation also calls for school responders to foot the $593 bill for the course, which would include shoot/don't shoot training, as well as instruction on school safety protection, diffusing volatile situations and communicating with law enforcement.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Independent Mail

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says he cannot support a bill intended to rescue the failing Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund because in its current form it amounts to a massive taxpayer bailout. He announced his opposition one day before the bill was slated to be considered in front of the committee headed by State Rep.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFAA-TV ABC 8 Dallas - Fort Worth

You’re 39 and you’ve got a big-shot job in public service with the clout, good salary, and benefits that go with it. Best of all, you’re next in line for a fat promotion. So what do you do? If you’re Linda Long, you take a hefty pay cut and start a new career at grunt level. And you ignore critics who think you're demented for letting go of a sure thing.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philadelphia Daily News

The community of Spearfish awoke to tragedy Saturday morning, when an early morning house fire claimed the lives of five children, ages 6-11. The fire was reported at 4:23 a.m. at a multifamily residence at 1135 Ames St., on the corner of Ames and Oliver streets. Neighbors and authorities describe the structure as a two-story house, with an apartment attached at the back, where multiple families lived.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rapid City Journal

A Spokane Valley firefighter trying to get his job back since he was fired in 2012 will argue his case against the Spokane Valley Fire Department before the Washington State Supreme Court later this year. Capt. Jon Sprague said he’s not surprised that the Supreme Court decided to review his case. “I’ve known all along that we’ve had a solid case,” he said.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spokesman-Review

Embarrassed by a series of shocking hazing complaints — including one in which a rookie claimed he was sexually abused — the FDNY has quietly overhauled its anti-hazing policy, The Post has learned. Without any public announcement, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro on March 21 issued a new five-page policy.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

A firefighter from the Riverview Fire Protection District was shot in Ferguson Thursday evening. Shots rang out in the 1500 block of Norlakes Drive in Ferguson around 7:30 p.m., firefighters said. The fire crews had just put out an electrical fire at the Norlake Apartment Complex when a firefighter said it felt like his head was burning.
- PUB DATE: 3/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMOV-TV CBS 4 St. Louis

After pleading guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a volunteer firefighter who was coming to his assistance, a North Little Rock man apologized to the victim's family. Mark Eugene Pruitt, 49, pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims’ courtroom Thursday morning.
- PUB DATE: 3/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette & Arkansas Online

A massive fireball collapsed a portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta, sending motorists driving through billowing black smoke before the city shut down that section of the highway indefinitely. The fire started underneath part of the highway on Thursday evening. At about 7 p.m., an elevated section of the northbound interstate collapsed, forcing frantic motorists to seek alternative routes.
- PUB DATE: 3/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

The United States on Thursday awarded a contract to AT&T Inc to build a nationwide wireless broadband network to better equip first responders, years after a federal commission recommended setting up such a system following the 9/11 attacks. FirstNet, an independent arm of the Department of Commerce, will provide No.
- PUB DATE: 3/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Reuters

Three members of the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department have been arrested after allegedly covering up a vehicle accident. According to information gathered by Deputy Brian Hawkins with the Marion County Sheriff's Department and filed in a criminal complaint, events began at 1:18 a.m. Saturday at 4405 Crossroads Rd.
- PUB DATE: 3/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Time West Virginia