A federal judge has found that the town of Sandwich was within the law when it terminated former firefighter Andrew Davison, but has left open the question of whether his immediate superiors intended to restrict his free speech when reprimanding him for other misconduct.
Davison alleges the town fired him in April 2014 in retaliation for a sign he posted on his Quaker Meetinghouse Road property objecting to a proposal for a public safety complex. - PUB DATE: 5/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
The Houston Fire Department has resorted to shuttling firefighters to emergencies in SUVs because reliable fire trucks are increasingly becoming a rarity.
The fire department internal memo, describing the policy, was first released in 2013, but highlights a growing problem that poses a threat to public safety: not enough reliable equipment to outfit the city's fire department. - PUB DATE: 5/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston
An effort by the union representing Fairfax County firefighters to reassure the community that bullying and workplace harassment aren’t commonplace struck a painful nerve for Steve Mittendorff — the husband of a former county firefighter who was the victim of online bullying and who died by suicide last year. - PUB DATE: 5/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTOP-AM 1500 Washington
An East Liverpool patrolman was recently rushed to the hospital after becoming exposed to fentanyl and carfentanil.
Chris Greene was obtaining evidence during a traffic stop when fentanyl attached to his shirt. Police say driver Justin Buckle and passenger Cortez Collins had tried to get rid of evidence in the car. - PUB DATE: 5/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ToledoNewsNow
For years, Tucson-area fire departments have been working with a local health-care program to create a comprehensive medical plan that addresses stress and mental health in first responders.
April was a difficult month for the Tucson Fire Department, with a murder-suicide perpetrated by one of its own taking place days before the sentencing of a former captain for three murders. - PUB DATE: 5/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tucson Arizona Daily Star
The former city manager wanted to fire Charlotte Fire Department Chief Jon Hannan last year, but the City Council blocked the move, according to a deposition from this week’s whistleblower trial that ended with a $1.5 million verdict against the city.
Ron Carlee wanted to fire Hannan because of the chief’s “lying” to him over leaking part of a personnel file to retaliate against a firefighter union leader, according to his deposition. - PUB DATE: 5/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Charlotte Observer
A volunteer fireman is facing driving under the influence charges in connection with an incident that ended with a damaged fire truck, a crash into a telephone pole and a small geyser of water from a fire hydrant.
At 11:51 a.m. Saturday, Sharon police officers M. Paul Lehman and Adam Zazado were dispatched to South Dock and Budd streets in response to a call regarding a disabled West Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department fire truck. - PUB DATE: 5/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sharon Herald
Five weeks after Ohio made it easier for Ohio firefighters diagnosed with cancer to qualify for workers’ compensation and pension benefits, House Republicans are proposing more restrictions.
Firefighters, trial attorneys and Democrats oppose the amendment added this week to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation budget bill. - PUB DATE: 5/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Columbus Dispatch
Competitive tension between volunteer and career firefighters, which boiled over at the scene of a fire and landed inside a Prince George’s County courtroom, has been resolved.
Two Maryland firefighters charged with attacking two colleagues at a house fire in 2015 have been acquitted by a jury of all charges. - PUB DATE: 5/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTOP-AM 1500 Washington
Utica fire Chief Russell Brooks says he was “blindsided” when he was placed on paid, indeterminate, nondisciplinary leave by the city of Utica Friday morning.
Brooks, who has been chief for 13 out of the 41 years he has been with the Utica Fire Department, said he was told of the decision during a meeting with Mayor Robert Palmeri and two city legal representatives. - PUB DATE: 5/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch
In an embarrassing verdict for the city of Charlotte, a jury Thursday found the Fire Department retaliated against former fire investigator Crystal Eschert for raising questions about the safety of construction work at a new office building, awarding her $1.5 million.
The jury rejected Charlotte’s claims that Eschert’s firing wasn’t retaliation. - PUB DATE: 5/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Charlotte Observer
Three children died as multiple homes burned in Montgomery County early Friday, fire officials say.
Another child, a 10 year old, was critically hurt along with other family members.
The fire appeared to start at the back of one home before spreading to another. Search and rescue efforts were underway along Tamina Road at Johnson Road before 4 a. - PUB DATE: 5/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHOU-TV CBS 11 Houston
A heated legal battle is still simmering between two high-ranking city firefighters.
The lawsuit, filed by Plainfield Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Courtney, is claiming that Chief Frank Tidwell racially discriminated against him because he is white. The lawsuit also names the City of Plainfield and the Plainfield Fire Department as defendants. - PUB DATE: 5/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MyCentralJersey.com
Kevin Brame (DHS-FEMA-USFA-NFA) contacted the Daily Dispatch and wanted to make the following correction and clarification to Thursday's 'Key the Mic' column on the NFA Leadership in Supervision Class: "In my position, I serve as the Training Specialist-Curriculum Manager for the Leadership and Executive Development Curriculum. - PUB DATE: 5/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Dispatch
On the surface, it may not look like a 12-year-old boy and a firefighter would have much in common.
But this heartwarming video showed Logan, a 12-year-old boy from Gilbert, and Mase Mattingly, a Gilbert firefighter, bonding over their shared prosthetic legs.
Candy Carson, Logan’s mom, said in the video that five years ago, Logan had strep throat, which sent him into septic shock. - PUB DATE: 5/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTAR 620 - Newsradio
A Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge ordered today that a man convicted of setting a fire that killed two Toledo firefighters spend a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The defendant’s plea, conviction, and sentencing came just after Judge Stacy Cook declared a mistrial in the case because jurors heard testimony that was considered incriminating toward the suspect. - PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade
Alameda County supervisors extended their ambulance contract with Paramedics Plus by three years despite fierce criticism by firefighters complaining the process wasn’t open for competitive bids and changes in service delivery were not included.
Supervisors voted in favor 3 to 1, with one recusal, extending the contract until June 1, 2020. - PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times
A fire in Brooklyn Criminal Court injured eight state court officers and five firefighters and forced an early recess Wednesday afternoon.
The 4:04 p.m. blaze on the sixth floor generated heavy smoke that led to the evacuation of the 10-story building in downtown Brooklyn.
"There was a lot of smoke in the hallway," said one court staffer who declined to give his name. - PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
VIDEO - A Fort Madison fire engine rolled into a slough along the Mississippi River on Wednesday night while responding to an accident.
Thursday morning Fort Madison Fire Chief Joey Herren said that he was planning to get a crane to move the truck and the road will be closed until further notice.
Chief Herren says the truck was headed down 35th Street when it slid off the edge of the gravel road. - PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGEM-TV Quincy
Burton Fire District Capt. Ralph Neiderhiser celebrated his 80th birthday Tuesday. Sixty five of those years have been spent in fire service.
“If you do what you enjoy, it ain’t (like) going to work,” he said Wednesday.
Neiderhiser began his career as a volunteer with his father in Pennsylvania when he was 16, he said. - PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Island Packet
