Fire Chief Ken March's "personal reasons" for resigning last week were illuminated in a letter submitted to the interim town manager. "I can no longer subject myself to the absence of integrity, morals and ethics that are an ingrained part of this department," March wrote after stating that the workplace "has manifested into an environment that is toxic as well as hostile.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Brattleboro Reformer

VIDEO - The way firefighters and paramedics undergo training is changing and now entering virtual reality. Instead of working with a dummy, students face a more realistic scenario as they are armed with a headset and a cursor. Robert Moore is the CEO of Virtual Education Systems, which has partnered with the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department to provide EMS assessments using virtual reality.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Miami

The Legislature is expected to take its final votes on Houston's pension reform legislation within days after a group of House and Senate lawmakers Sunday night hashed out the differences between their chambers' versions and produced a final bill. Stripped from the proposal that emerged Sunday evening were three amendments backed by firefighters and opposed by City Hall, said state Sen.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

Hundreds gathered Sunday at the opening of a memorial park at the site of a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island that killed 100 people. At least 500 people, including loved ones of the victims, local leaders and state officials walked into the Station Fire Memorial Park for the ceremony. The park was formally dedicated to the victims of The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report

One firefighter is dead after a massive 4-alarm fire at a Northwest Side shopping center Thursday night, the San Antonio Fire Department said. Fire crews responded to the blaze in the 6700 block of Ingram Road about 9:12 p.m. Due to the time of day and there being a gym in the shopping center, crews performed a search and rescue to make sure no one was inside.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAT-TV ABC 12 San Antonio

Oklahoma City Fire Chief G. Keith Bryant was named U.S. Fire Administrator Thursday. Bryant, who was named chief in 2005, was appointed to the the Department of Homeland Security by President Donald J. Trump. He will replace Dr. Denis Onieal, who has been acting U.S. Fire Administrator. Bryant started with the fire service as a U.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Breaking from tradition can be difficult in many situations, even if it is for the sake of improvement. But a new tool that has been extensively researched and recently employed by the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority is reducing the danger local firefighters face and improving their results with battling flames.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Longmont Times-Call

A Dallas fire truck was involved in a crash Thursday morning while responding to a call for help, officials say. Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said the fire truck was responding to a call about a structure fire at about 11 a.m. when the driver slowed down due to a red light. As the fire truck driver began to move through the intersection of Jim Miller Road and R.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAS-TV NBC 5 Dallas - Fort Worth

The city’s management of its vacant properties and communication between departments is under scrutiny after a fire battalion chief complained that little to nothing was done to secure an empty library building after a fire there in April and a second, larger blaze weeks later where a firefighter broke his ankle.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

The second time an Oakland fire crew rushed to a city-owned historic building to put out a blaze, Battalion Chief James Bowron nearly lost it. He and his fire crew had been at the site two weeks earlier, on April 8, to put out a fire on the first floor of the vacant building that squatters apparently had started.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

VIDEO - An alert Cleveland EMS crew discovered three garbage trucks on fire just after 2:30 a.m. Thursday. The fire was burning at Republic Services on Jones Road just north of the intersection of Broadway and Harvard Avenues when the EMS crew saw flame and smoke from Broadway Avenue. The three trucks were spewing thick black smoke and a few explosions were seen and heard in the area.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEWS-TV IBS 5 Cleveland

During a brief 10 minute meeting on May 16, the Mesquite City Council cast a split vote to terminate Fire Chief Kash Christopher “without cause.” Three councilmen, David Ballweg, George Rapson and Brian Wursten, voted in favor of the action. Councilman Rich Green voted no and Councilman Geno Withelder voted to abstain from the proposal.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mesquite Local News

Mandy Gould has spent nearly 13 years as a volunteer firefighter in Caledon, Ont. – a sprawling municipality northwest of Toronto – following her father into a vocation that she aspired to since high school. For the past 11 years, Ms. Gould has also been a full-time firefighter in nearby Brampton, a suburban city of more than half a million.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Globe and Mail

For most, a mid-life crisis consists of buying a sports car, or burying yourself in some expensive new hobby. For Jeffrey Williams, his involved a change of career into the fire service. And moving into the fire service presents some unique challenges for him, seeing as he was born with only one hand.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona City Independent

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., introduced legislation today that could help local fire departments promote part-time personnel with federal grant funding rather than being forced to hire new employees and train them. Peters introduced the legislation along with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, as a way to help save money and hire and promote first responders who have already been trained.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press

All 11 members of Newburgh’s volunteer fire department quit their jobs after the town selectmen refused to reinstate the former chief, officials said. The selectmen met Monday to vote whether to reinstate former Chief Glen Williamson, who officially resigned in August. He worked for the department for more than 20 years, the last 10 as chief earning $4,000 a year, he said.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bangor Daily News

In this, the second episode of After Action Video, we explore the Berkeley Fire’s mayday event on September 30th 2016. The event occurred at a commercial fire while crews were engaged in transitioning from offensive to defensive in their approach. This episode looks at the firefighters' mindset both before and during the event as well as highlighting the “chain” of events that contributed to the need for a mayday.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cahill Multimedia

A Seattle firefighter who says he was knocked out by the force of the Greenwood natural-gas explosion last year is suing Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and its contractor over the blast. In the lawsuit filed Friday, Jeff Markoff said he was about 90 feet from the epicenter of the alleyway explosion that leveled two buildings and damaged dozens more.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seattle Times

Jones County Volunteer Fire Department (JCVFD) battled a Mother's Day duplex fire Sunday, where the fire completely destroyed the building. During Sunday's call JCVFD requested back-up from Laurel city firefighters, but they did not get the response it needed. The fire happened on Redbud Drive off Highway 11 around 11 a.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Fox 23 Hattiesburg

Three years after Kansas City settled claims that it had failed to pay certain overtime wages, Fire Department medical staff are back in court saying the city is circumventing the court’s ruling. A lawsuit filed Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court on behalf of certain emergency medical technicians and paramedics says the city has lowered some pay scales — so that the plaintiffs continue to work overtime hours but haven’t seen higher wages.
- PUB DATE: 5/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas City Star