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National Fire News

FDNY Firefighter James Lee Jr. Named 2017 Courage and Valor Award Recipient

Firefighter James Lee Jr. of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) has been named the 2017 Ray Downey Courage and Valor Award recipient. The award will be presented on Wednesday during the Opening Ceremony of FDIC International 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Firefighter (FF) James Lee rescued an 81-year-old man from the top-floor rear window of a five-story Old Law tenement that had two railroad flats per floor.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fire Engineering

Texas fire chief punishes union president over records violation

Last summer, as the Austin fire union was preparing to represent one of its members at a disciplinary hearing, department officials permitted union president Bob Nicks to review confidential documents in the case under a provision of the city’s labor contract with firefighters. With a couple of clicks, Nicks secretly downloaded the information onto his personal laptop — but says he disclosed what he’d done a few days later to top department officials.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman

Washington fire department revises hiring policies after firefighter’s drug-related death

Tacoma Fire Department leaders have revised their hiring practices in the wake of a News Tribune story about a firefighter who died of a drug overdose in July 2016 after showing up for work impaired. Deeper scrutiny of criminal background check information and broader questions about illegal drug use are the key changes the next round of job applicants will face in April, when the department will begin filling 16 positions — 12 new positions authorized in the city’s latest budget and four existing slots to account for retirements.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tacoma News Tribune

Teaching Children to Play With Fire

At a Berlin day care center, a little boy lights a match and touches it to another, making a sudden flare. The girl sitting next to him shouts a word that is the same in German and English: “Cool!” The two children, both under 6, aren’t breaking any rules. They are taking part in a fire workshop designed by Kain Karawahn, an artist who, as part of a performance piece about freedom in 1987, once set a blaze at the Berlin Wall.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Times

D.C. Fire Response Times Improving, Fall Short for Critical Care

Nearly one year into the District’s use of a private ambulance service to improve 911 response times and the fire chief is acknowledging the department is "struggling" with the availability of advance life support medic units. Those are the ambulances staffed by paramedics who are supposed to respond to the most critical emergency calls like cardiac arrest.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: nbcwashington.com

Mississippi firefighters learn to be eyes and ears in catching sex traffickers

Interstate 20 is the corridor for sex trafficking from Dallas to Atlanta. The City of Clinton sits roughly in the middle. It now has more eyes being trained to look for victims who are trapped in the prostitution and labor system. The message to Clinton Firefighters and first responders is to take a second look at the scene and the people there, especially minors.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: msnewsnow.com

Power struggle at Delaware fire department prompts lawsuit

For 47 years, former Fire Chief Lynn Rogers was an active member of the Milton Fire Department but that legacy is gone, stripped away by the action of the fire company board. His photo still appears on the department's website but his record as a past chief, lifetime member, and chief emeritus is gone.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: delmarvanow.com

Woman is first in 10 years to pass firefighter test for Georgia county

Wearing 60 pounds of equipment, Jessica Vanegas on Tuesday became the first woman in 10 years to pass the physical agility test to become a Paulding County firefighter. She’s expected to graduate the fire academy in two weeks, Channel 2 Action News reported. And it’s a career the young woman told Channel 2 she’s wanted her whole life, while growing up in Paulding County.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ajc.com

New York firefighter who shot own hand won't face criminal charges

The on-duty city firefighter who accidentally shot himself in the hand Feb. 10 will not be criminally charged, city police said. "Our investigation determined that it was an accidental discharge and no crime had been committed," Albany police spokesman Officer Steve Smith said. The fire department is still conducting its own investigation and may take disciplinary action against the firefighter, Fire Chief Warren Abriel said.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Union

Wyoming fire chief dies at home after helping remove ice jams

A statewide fire group says the longtime chief of the Greybull Fire Department died Thursday. Worland Fire Chief Chris Kocher of the Wyoming Local State Assistance Team says Chief Paul Murdoch died at home on Thursday after he had spent the day helping to remove ice jams from the Big Horn River. Kocher says Murdoch, 53, was found unresponsive at his home.
- PUB DATE: 2/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Casper Star-Tribune

Phoenix fire captain dies after battling prolific injuries from 2009 on-duty crash

A Phoenix fire captain who suffered prolific injuries in an on-duty accident almost 8 years ago died Saturday after "amazing display of courage," fire officials say. "This is really a difficult day for us because it marks the end of a 7 or 8-year battle," says Phoenix Fire Capt. P.J. Dean. On Aug. 10, 2009, Crystal Rezzonico, who was aboard Engine 910 traveling near Interstate 17 and the Dunlap overpass, was ejected after a car slammed into the fire engine that was responding to an emergency call.
- PUB DATE: 2/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KASW-CW6 & KTVK-3TV

California Fire Truck Falls Off Edge of Crumbling Interstate

VIDEO - Repairing a section of the 15 Freeway that washed out in the Cajon Pass amid Friday's storm will cost about $3 million, officials said. The crumbling roadway caused first a big rig to go over the side of the freeway - and then a fire engine that was dispatched to assist the truck driver also tumbled down over the side.
- PUB DATE: 2/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles

Shots fired into Wisconsin fire station, forcing it to close

Gunfire struck a Milwaukee Fire Department fire station on the west side Friday afternoon, forcing the station to close, fire department officials said. Multiple shots were fired into Engine Co. 13 at 2901 N. 30th St. about 1 p.m., a news release from the department said. No department members were injured.
- PUB DATE: 2/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal Sentinel

Three Pennsylvania firefighters shocked at house fire

Three firefighters were hurt and a family of four displaced during a fire in Conewago Township Sunday afternoon. Emergency crews found a fully involved fire when they responded to a call at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on Buck Road in Conewago Township. Photos from the fire show a home completely engulfed in flames.
- PUB DATE: 2/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: York Dispatch

Update: St. Louis Fire Dept. Instructor Lied about Helping Boston Marthon Victims

St. Louis Fire Department instructor falsely claimed that he ran to the aid of victims at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Shawn Daniel, a paramedic training officer for the city's fire department, had said he was among the emergency workers who hurried to help the injured. A statement from the St.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com

Michigan firefighter facing additional charges in accident that killed 2 fellow firefighters

An Upper Peninsula firefighter who is being held responsible for the deaths of two of his fellow firefighters is now facing additional charges. Micheal Allen Johnson of Baraga is said to be the man behind the wheel on August 27th, 2016, when the Beartown Fire Department bus he was driving suddenly struck the median, killing Alan Schwartz, 25, and James Shelifoe Jr.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC 10 - Ishpeming, MI

Firefighters raced to battle Nov. Tennessee wildfire, only to find some hydrants were running dry

Firefighters from across Tennessee flocking to Gatlinburg to battle a growing firestorm couldn't be sure the fire hydrants they uncapped would provide any water. And within two hours of the mega wildfire reaching the city Nov. 28, the hydrants were running dry. "Water loss occurred in certain areas as early as 8:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

New report says there isn’t adequate warning, escape route outside Oroville Dam

Communities just downstream of California’s Lake Oroville dam would not receive adequate warning or time for evacuations if the 770-foot-tall dam itself — rather than its spillways — were to abruptly fail, the state water agency that operates the nation’s tallest dam repeatedly advised federal regulators a half-decade ago.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sun

New York fire chief's son files discrimination complaint over hair length

The son of Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks has filed a federal civil complaint against the City of Utica alleging the city violated federal and state anti-discrimination laws. On Dec. 2, John Brooks filed the federal civil complaint saying he was subjected to a hostile work environment at the Utica Fire Department — where he has been employed as a firefighter-paramedic since 2006 — because he requested an accommodation as a practicing Nazirite.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer Dispatch

Fire truck drivers: How not to get creamed at intersections

You’re driving your engine to the scene of reported structure fire as part of a multi-company response. You’re navigating traffic on a heavily traveled thoroughfare and you’re fast approaching a controlled intersection. What should you be prepared to do? Stop! That’s the first lesson I always imparted to firefighters when I was teaching them how to drive fire apparatus.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

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