The state attorney general's office has determined that selectmen did not violate the Open Meeting Law in their selection of a fire chief last spring. However, the attorney general's office said that minutes from an open session May 16, when the board interviewed candidates for fire chief, lacked sufficient detail and that the minutes show the board wrongly kept secret how they determined the top candidate.
- PUB DATE: 11/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram & Gazette

With more questions than answers surrounding a Trump presidency, these seven items are likely to be front of mind for fire and EMS providers. I have closely followed the presidential campaign over the past 18 months. Today as I review the results, read the analysis and scroll through the cries of despair and boasts of triumph on Facebook, I am reminded of the EMS adage, "Don't treat the monitor, treat the patient.
- PUB DATE: 11/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Brookston Fire Chief Michael Payne raced to the scene of a vehicle fire early Tuesday, helped extinguish the fire then collapsed from an apparent heart attack. "We were out on a fire run. A semi was on fire on an exit ramp," Brookston Assistant Fire Chief Karl Stokes said, noting that the department was dispatched to the scene at 11:58 p.
- PUB DATE: 11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lafayette Journal and Courier

One of the city's two deputy fire chiefs has chosen to retire instead of heed what he believes are improper and unethical orders from Fire Director Qareeb Bashir, a fire union president said Tuesday. Deputy Chief Robert Tharp was promoted earlier this year at a City Hall ceremony and in just over six months as a department leader has made measurable improvements to the department, firefighters' union president Wayne Wolk said.
- PUB DATE: 11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

A Sedona fire captain badly burned in a fire station fire continues to make progress and has been moved to an acute care unit at burn center. According to a news release from the Sedona Fire Department, Fire Capt. Matt Fleece suffered burns when a bbq grill he had been using near the rear of the station apparently caught fire and exploded.
- PUB DATE: 11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

A new study by the Fire Protection Research Foundation highlights positive opinions of home fire sprinklers by homeowners and most government officials in U.S. states required to fire sprinkler new homes. The new report, “Stakeholder Perceptions of Home Fire Sprinklers,” analyzes the opinions of three groups—government officials, homeowners, and water purveyors—following the passage of statewide requirements for home fire sprinklers.
- PUB DATE: 11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Fire Protection Association

Firefighters and one other person trapped in a mountain fire in Church Hill Tuesday night were reported to be in a safe location. According to Church Hill dispatch, the call about the fire between Mountain View Road and Laurel Run Park Road came in around 7 p.m. Firefighters with Carters Valley and Goshen Valley fire departments were trapped in the fire and two officers were called to the scene.
- PUB DATE: 11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVLT Local 8 Now

A 23-year-old man picked the wrong Stockton house to break into Monday morning. Jamal Davis, who told authorities he was living under a downtown freeway bridge, allegedly chose one of the busiest firehouses in the city to burglarize. After he was discovered inside Station 2 shortly after 4 a.m., firefighters chased him outside and secured his location for police, who responded quickly.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Record

The Disney-controlled Reedy Creek Improvement District has rejected a special magistrate's ruling siding with firefighters in a union dispute. Reedy Creek issued a 16-page letter rejecting the magistrate's decision to the Public Employees Relations Commission on Friday. The government agency said the magistrate, James Stokes, issued his decision four months after the deadline.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel

A proposed plea deal in the case of five volunteer firefighters accused of sexually assaulting a colleague in an Ellis County firehouse last year would result in one of them pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault count and charges being dropped against the others. Eight people were arrested after the January 2015 attack captured in a cellphone video that was allegedly shared with people through a group text.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dallas Morning News

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today released A Healthcare Provider’s Guide to Firefighter Physicals to assist healthcare providers in the evaluation and treatment of the health and wellness of firefighters. The guide serves as an important new tool for firefighters to manage their own healthcare.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

A 23-year-old man picked the wrong Stockton house to break into Monday morning. Jamal Davis, who told authorities he was living under a downtown freeway bridge, allegedly chose one of the busiest firehouses in the city to burglarize. After he was discovered inside Station 2 shortly after 4 a.m., firefighters chased him outside and secured his location for police, who responded quickly.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Record

One of the primary responsibilities of every fire department is to understand and best serve the community that supports it. This mission is one of the primary reasons for promoting diversity among department members — to better represent and understand the needs of those served. But there is one demographic that, with rare exception, will never be included among active firefighters, despite a disproportionate involvement with emergency services agencies.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

PHOTO - The cute quotient of local fire departments increased significantly Monday with the appointment of four adorable third-grade girls as chiefs. And even it was just for a day, it was groundbreaking. “To my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had four girls win the contest,” said Erik Duran, a spokesman for the Pueblo Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pueblo Chieftain

A volunteer firefighter died Sunday after becoming entangled in a fallen ladder. USFA reported that Alfred A. Stewart, 79, with the West Milford Volunteer Fire Company #6, reported to the station for a company drill. He stayed at the station to perform maintenance duties while other members attended the drill.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

It's a follow up to a story FOX10 News told you Thursday night about the controversial and confusing shut down of fire stations in Semmes. Mayor Judy Hale has broken her silence. At a news conference Friday afternoon, Hale blamed the Semmes City Council for what she's calling a "bad move." She explained that now, the city fire department and the volunteer fire department will be separate.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSFA-TV NBC 12 Montgomery

A retrial of a man accused in state charges of setting a 1995 fire that killed three Pittsburgh firefighters could be moving to federal court now that a grand jury has indicted Gregory Brown Jr. The federal grand jury indictment, returned Nov. 1 and unsealed Friday, charged Brown, 39, with malicious destruction of property by fire resulting in death.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

With less than a week before final votes are cast in what is the most bizarre election I remember, I was pretty sure I'd seen and heard it all. There were certainly no surprises left. Then along came this gem out of Wiscasset, Maine. On Nov. 8, those voters will decide a referendum issue on whether or not to allow their volunteer firefighters to continue to wash their personal vehicles at the fire station.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireChief.com

James Williams, the 2016 Safety Officer of the Year, believes the role of safety officers is not just about keeping firefighters safe on the fireground, but includes improving firefighters’ physical and mental health and being proactive in cancer prevention and hearing conservation. “Think ‘big picture’,” said Williams.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Volunteer firefighters in Semmes are worried about protecting the community after they say the city locked them out of their stations without warning. They say they now don’t have access to the millions of dollars’ worth of equipment inside. Former Volunteer Fire Chief Mickey Dearmon, along with several volunteer firefighters and council members, gathered outside the volunteer station on Wulff Rd.
- PUB DATE: 11/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAFB.com