Rural fire departments have more than 140 additional firefighters one year after legislation became law that eliminated the age limit for new volunteers.
House Bill 2005, authored by Rep. Mike Sanders, took effect Nov. 1, 2015. The law eliminated the 45-year-old age limit for new firefighters by giving them the option of joining the system without the requirement that they be added to the state’s pension plan. - PUB DATE: 11/2/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Norman Transcript
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Four firefighters and one civilian were injured today when a fire truck collided with a car in the Back Bay causing a domino effect that damaged eight other cars, fire officials said.
The civilian and firefighters, including one captain, all were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where they were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn said. - PUB DATE: 11/1/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Boston Herald
A 25-year veteran of Cleveland's fire department sued the city and several employees Monday claiming he was subject to retaliation based on an erroneous belief that he had leaked damaging information about a former fire chief.
Sean DeCrane, who retired in September as Third Battalion chief, contends he warned city officials in January 2013 that former fire division Chief Daryl McGinnis lacked required continuing training and certification needed to hold his position. - PUB DATE: 11/1/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland Plain Dealer & Cleveland.com
Six people were killed and 10 more injured Tuesday morning when a school bus veered into oncoming traffic in Southwest Baltimore and ripped through the side of an MTA bus, police said. Officials described a "horrific" scene in the 3800 block of Frederick Avenue, where the two buses remained jack-knifed into each other hours after the morning commute had concluded. - PUB DATE: 11/1/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun
A New Orleans judge has sided with the city over one point of a deal hashed last year over firefighters' pay and pensions, approving a less generous interpretation of how quickly firefighters will accrue retirement benefits.
At the same time, Civil District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso sided with the firefighters on a separate point, saying that the city can’t take back disability benefits from firefighters who already have received them. - PUB DATE: 11/1/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Orleans Advocate
Three years ago, Chicago spent nearly $2 million — and $1.7 million more in legal fees — to compensate dozens of women denied firefighter jobs because of a discriminatory test of upper body strength that City Hall has now scrapped. Now, a dozen women who wanted desperately to become paramedics are accusing the Chicago Fire Department of devising two new physical agility tests that are equally biased against women. - PUB DATE: 11/1/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times
Fire departments from across the Birmingham area responded to a gas line explosion in Shelby County that killed one person and severely injured several people Monday afternoon.
Earlier reports indicated that seven had been severely burned and many of them transported to UAB.
However, at 10:45 p.m. - PUB DATE: 11/1/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AL.com
The Cimarron Hills Fire Department announced the sudden passing of one of their own Sunday.
Officials say 31-year-old Jermaine Frye was found in cardiac arrest at his home early Saturday afternoon. Lifesaving efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Frye’s cause of death has yet to be determined. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday. - PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FOX21News.com
The St. Paul Fire Department is struggling to respond to fires and medical emergencies quickly, and the fire chief said they do not have the money to add enough staff to keep up with an increased demand for services.
Meanwhile, fire district and deputy chiefs are among the highest paid employees in the city. - PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
As a firefighter prepared to enter a burning home in Modesto's airport neighborhood, flames burst through the window he stood next to. A flash of white fire hit him and embers whirled around his face.
The firefighter didn't know at the time what caused the surge, but when he returned, uninjured, to the station after the incident, he reviewed the video from his helmet camera. - PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
When Paul Pokorski was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008, his wife couldn’t help but wonder if the 34 years he spent working as a firefighter might have led to it.
“I’m a nurse and I kind of knew it was a possibility,” Ann Pokorski said. “But even the oncologists were iffy as to whether it had anything to do with it. - PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Virginian-Pilot
A former Cleveland, Tenn., firefighter who was unlawfully fired can't collect on lost pay because he didn't try hard enough to find another job, a Bradley County chancellor says.
"This court is left with this case in a strange posture," Chancellor Jerri Bryant wrote in her Oct. 11 ruling against Joshua Keller. - PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Free Press
Firefighters Thursday rescued a delivery truck driver who fell into an excavation about two feet in diameter and 50 feet deep at a construction site in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles.
The accident was reported about 8:40 a.m. in the 1600 block of San Ysidro Drive, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTTV-TV MyFox 11 Los Angeles
Would you dial 911 for a cut finger, menstrual cramps, a cough or shampoo in your eyes? One South Florida municipality has had enough.
The city of Hollywood is now charging people who call for an ambulance and are treated but not taken to a hospital. Hollywood residents will be charged $160, while non-residents will be charged $200. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPLG-TV ABC Local10.com - Miami & Fort Lauderdale
Ron Coleman can tell you the instant he became a believer in home fire sprinklers.
It was the early 1970s, and Coleman was a battalion chief with the Costa Mesa, California, Fire Department. Responding to a call, he arrived at the scene of an already contained home fire and approached his weary-looking captain, Ray Gallagher, in the driveway. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NFPA Journal
The Contra Costa firefighters union Wednesday apologized for the weekend arrest of two off-duty firefighters following its charity ball that left two police officers injured.
Around 5 a.m., just hours after the Second Annual Firefighters Ball at the Marriott Walnut Creek hotel had ended, Walnut Creek police responded to hotel security’s request to remove four drunk people, police said. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times
A firefighter and his wife decided to reveal the gender of their baby in the most firefighter-esque way possible — by using a fire hose.
Firefighter Jimmy Cologgi, with the Brighton (N.Y.) Fire Department, and his wife Laura found out their baby’s gender with friends, family and fellow firefighters. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1
A labor of love that qualifies as hazardous duty.
Three firefighters were hurt Tuesday, including a volunteer fire chief, related to a fire and explosion in LaGrange County.
A 50-foot silo full of sawdust was the source of the trouble.
It turned into a dangerous situation for firefighters and at least one worker in harm's way. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC 21alive.com
A new procedure went into effect last week that’s designed to make sure the fire department has adequate supervision during fires and other serious incidents.
Fire Chief Dale C. Herman said that battalion chiefs now have the ability to “elevate” firefighters to the role of captains on an as-needed basis. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times
VIDEO - For the first time, we’re seeing video of the daring and emotional rescue of two children from a house fire in Mount Hope. The fire was so intense the children suffered critical burns and their older brother perished.
Video captured by a GoPro on one firefighter’s helmet shows just what fire crews were up against that early Monday morning last November. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNSD-TV NBC San Diego
