A group of black Tacoma firefighters said they won’t allow department leadership to blame minority applicants and the city’s hiring policy for what happened with Ramsey Mueller, the son of a deputy chief and a probationary firefighter who died of a heroin overdose days after showing up late to work and nearly hitting another vehicle while driving a firetruck. - PUB DATE: 4/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The News Tribune
The FDNY has beefed up its preparedness for mass casualty incidents by creating special EMS units equipped to enter “hot zones” and triage victims on the spot — even if police haven’t yet secured the area, the Daily News has learned.
The 25-member task force units came about as a result of the Nov. 13, 2015 atrocities in Paris, the Fire Department said. - PUB DATE: 4/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
Town of Wilson fire chief called it quits Tuesday and was followed out the door by several firefighters.
The now former fire chief's tenure with the department has been a point of contention since the fire department switched from a private corporation to a municipal fire department on Jan. 1 of this year. - PUB DATE: 4/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press
This iconic call at the conclusion of the 1980 U.S. hockey team’s “Miracle on Ice” victory against a heavily favored Soviet squad—one that some consider to be the sport’s best team of all time—continues to resonate today, even for those who were not yet born when the game was played.
Personally, Al Michaels’ words from that moment have been ringing in my ears for weeks. - PUB DATE: 4/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Urgent Communications
Four members of the Billerica Fire Department have been placed on leave while the town conducts an investigation into “sexual misconduct,” officials said.
“There is a great concern that alleged activities of certain employees within the fire department may compromise the town’s ability to deliver the highest and best level of public safety service to the town and its residents,” Town Manager John Curran said. - PUB DATE: 4/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Boston Herald
Let's say you think you're having a stroke and you call 911 for an ambulance.
In a lot of cities across the country there's a good chance that a firetruck — with a full fire crew including a paramedic — will race to your door.
But that doesn't mean they can deliver the emergency care you might need. - PUB DATE: 4/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NPR.org
A St. Louis police union official has issued a clarification after an editorial in a union newspaper angered city firefighters.
Jeff Roorda, St. Louis Police Officers Association business manager, penned a front-page editorial in the April edition of the union paper Gendarme lauding officers for their promptness and bravery, but criticizing city firefighters for the lack thereof. - PUB DATE: 4/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A projected $624,000 budget deficit has the South Tucson City Council considering the possibility of having to lay off all of its firefighters or its police officers.
Officials said they would look to contract with another agency or agencies to handle court services, patrol city streets and handle other emergency services in the one-square-mile city. - PUB DATE: 4/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tucson Arizona Daily Star
It's rare that Sharon Johnson misses church on Sunday mornings. But last Sunday was a painful exception.
"My whole face was swollen, and I needed to go to the hospital," the 58-year-old from Fort Worth said.
A nasty toothache had her calling MedStar for help. But instead of sending an ambulance, they sent something else. - PUB DATE: 4/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFAA ABC Dallas-Fort Worth
San Luis Obispo fire Chief Garret Olson and City Manager Katie Lichtig received a written reprimand and were fined for their participation in a spoof video played at the city’s Chamber of Commerce annual dinner on Jan. 21, the city announced Monday.
Complaints alleged that they violated city workplace-related policies. - PUB DATE: 4/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Luis Obispo County Tribune
Today, Natasha Rivera honored her father, firefighter Manny Rivera, at a Trenton City Hall ceremony for those who died in the line of duty.
Tomorrow, she takes the oath of office as a Trenton firefighter.
"It's a lot right now," Rivera said of the two days of emotion her family is experiencing. "A lot of it is because of him. - PUB DATE: 4/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Trenton Times
A group of city leaders led by Mayor Jeff Williams has banded together to oppose a voter proposition seeking to establish a civil service system for firefighters, warning that it could lead to reduced response times and cuts in city services.
In recent days, pamphlets from a political action committee called Safety First Arlington PAC have landed in Arlington mailboxes, contending that adopting Proposition 2 would put the city’s firefighters “under labor union control” and add costs that could prompt cuts to the police force and street repairs. - PUB DATE: 4/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Three off-duty Georgia firefighters were injured, one of them fatally, when the car in which they were traveling was struck by a suspected DUI driver Monday evening in Venice, authorities have confirmed.
The three-vehicle crash took place about 10 p.m. at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Washington Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. - PUB DATE: 4/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles
VIDEO - A witty parody video by the New Gloucester Fire Rescue has gone viral. The video about recruitment called “I Got Hose,” inspired by the song “Area Codes” by Ludacris and Nate Dogg, was posted Friday on the fire department’s page on Facebook. The video has been viewed over 311,000 times and has almost 5,000 shares. - PUB DATE: 4/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGME.com
The Layton Volunteer Fire Department, with more than a half-century of history in the tiny Long Key community around mile marker 68.5, will soon become history.
“We’re just running out of people, especially younger people,” said Philip “Skip” Haring, Layton city administrator and lieutenant of the volunteer department that formed in the late 1950s. - PUB DATE: 4/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FL Keys News
Cincinnati firefighers are making a plea to the city council to get new bulletproof vests.
"It makes sense to me," Councilmember Christopher Smitherman said. "It's unfortunate that it's the new reality."
Last October, the city made the first step, buying more than 180 bullet vests for firefighters in anticipation of the Ray Tensing trial. - PUB DATE: 4/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCPO-TV ABC 9 Cincinnati
Tragedy has struck Montgomery County's firefighting community this weekend.
Fire and rescue officials confirmed that Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Fighter Charles Gentilcore passed away suddenly yesterday while on-duty at his fire house.
CPR was performed on the 52 year old and he was rushed to Holy Cross Hospital where he was pronounced dead. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHAG-TV NBC 25 Hagerstown
The one thing he’s not going to miss is his pager.
For the past 42 years, whether it was a scanner or pager, it was either on or close by to Rochester Fire Chief Norm Sanborn Jr., unless he was on vacation. Whether it was in the middle of a cold winter night or a warm summer holiday, the unpredictable life of the firefighter was always just a tone away. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seacoast Online
Kinloch firefighters say they won’t show up for work until the district board is overhauled.
Assistant Fire Chief Tim Rhodus said 19 volunteer firefighters went on strike Saturday because they say they have been disregarded by board leadership.
“The entire district, all of its members, have just taken a leave of absence today as a strike against the administration and their blatant disregard, lack of respect and racial discrimination for the firefighters. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A city firefighter was met with gunfire after stopping to help a driver who crashed Saturday afternoon in South Baltimore, police said. The fire department commander was not hit, and the driver — a 38-year-old whom police said stole the car — ran away. He was arrested by police after a short foot chase. - PUB DATE: 4/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun
