Just a week before a deployment plan goes into effect, the eight soon-to-be demoted captains have been told what their roles will be with the city’s fire department.
Daniel Daugherty, president of the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191, confirmed that the captains will be renamed as “unit leaders” but will basically handle the same responsibilities they do now while on calls. - PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: watertown daily times
Another former Providence fire chief is returning to his old department.
Michael J. Dillon, who served in the fire department for 39 years before retiring as acting chief in 2013, is being hired to oversee day-to-day operations following the retirement of asst. Chief Scott Mello.
Dillon’s official title will be operations chief and he’ll be paid on a per diem basis, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare. - PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12
When Brian Cresto and his fellow firefighters fly toward a wildfire at just a few hundred feet off the ground, he's scouting for the best spot for them to land when they parachute down.
Lately, he's also been keeping an eye out for hobby drones that could take out their twin-engine propeller craft before it climbs to 1,500 feet, where the eight smokejumpers exit. - PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: abc news
After months of waiting, a Ralston firefighter passed a major hurdle this week. He's one step closer to getting a double lung transplant. Ralston Firefighter Mike Bramhall was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 4 months old; the reality that one day his lungs wouldn't be able to keep up with the disease is something he's always known would happen. - PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: nbc nebraska
When Lt. Davis Odell Jr. walked out of Fire Station No. 5 to observe the scene of an emergency call at the Pulse nightclub just two doors down, he knew this emergency was different than the countless others he'd seen in his 35-year career. "I could see people just running like crazy and screaming across the street," Odell said. - PUB DATE: 6/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: orlando sentinel
A Salt Lake City Fire captain has filed a notice of claim at City Hall alleging fraud, state fire code violations, cover-ups and retaliation by top brass in the department.
Martha Ellis, a 21-year veteran and former battalion chief and fire marshal, says in her June 6 notice she was demoted recently after raising concerns, including allegations aimed at members of the department's executive team engaging in personal activities on city time, payroll fraud, a lack of smoke detectors at Fire Station 2 that caught fire and installation of bicycle lanes on 300 South that yielded a roadway narrower than required by the state and city fire code. - PUB DATE: 6/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: salt lake tribune
Two dozen firefighters and ten fire instructors will join researchers at the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) beginning Saturday to continue studying the effects of fire, exposure and contamination on firefighters.
“This year’s study builds on last year’s efforts to better understand firefighters’ exposures to contaminants, heat stress and cardiovascular strain. - PUB DATE: 6/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse
The City Council Tuesday voted 12-1 to approve paying $14,000 to an Agawam woman for injuries she said she suffered in a vehicle accident after a former fire chief had dispatched a truck to a fake emergency to teach a few firefighters a lesson.
Marilyn Garcia had filed a lawsuit against the city June 10, 2014 in Hampden County Superior Court in Springfield that named former provisional fire chief William P. - PUB DATE: 6/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Springfield Union-News & Sunday Republican
The International Association of Fire Chiefs is urging all members of the fire service to take a short survey created by the Firefighter Safety Through Advanced Research (FSTAR) Health to gather information on the medical monitoring and care of firefighters. The survey is open until June 30, 2016.”
Research indicates that firefighters are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, musculoskeletal injuries, behavioral health issues, lung disease, sleep disorders and infectious diseases. - PUB DATE: 6/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs
A Pulaski County homeowner charged in the fatal shooting of a firefighter during a medical response earlier this year pleaded innocent Monday in circuit court.
Mark Pruitt, 48, is charged with manslaughter in the death of Ronald Jason Adams, 29, a volunteer with the East Pulaski Fire Department, Arkansas Online previously reported. - PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: arkansas online
A Portland Fire & Rescue inspector had forgotten his food in a taxi and was chasing after it in a city van when he crashed last month, court records show.
James R. Morelli, 54, had taken the taxi home after drinking at a bar, then realized he left his food inside after the cab drove off, according to a search warrant. - PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: oregonian
It pays to be a Los Angeles firefighter — who can earn up to $300,000 a year in overtime — according to study released Tuesday of public employee compensation across California.
The top 20 overtime earners by public workers across the state were firefighters for the city of Los Angeles — where overtime payouts rose 18 percent from last year, according to a Nevada-based survey of 246,000 public employees in California. - PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: los angeles daily news
Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) Fire Chief Otto Drozd said his department seeks to hire people who serve the community with compassion and that is what led the department to honor one of the victims killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.
OCFR named Cory Connell an honorary firefighter at his funeral on Saturday. - PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse
Some Memphis City Council members hope to add a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot that would require new city employees to live in the city limits, as Mayor Jim Strickland warned that tightening residency requirements could hurt public safety.
Council member Martavius Jones, who is new to the council and is sponsoring the ordinance, said his research showed that about 60 percent of hires lived outside Memphis after a 2010 referendum allowed them to live anywhere in Shelby County. - PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the commercial appeal
Rafael Comas remembers every detail down to the second while he was responding to the chaotic scene of the Pulse nightclub. Comas is a paramedic for Rural Metro Ambulance and was working the night of the shooting that left 49 dead and more than 50 injured on June 12.
"It was very traumatic and very stressful but we train for that," said Comas, who has been a medic for nearly 20 years. - PUB DATE: 6/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: orlando sentinel
Columbus has agreed to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit for $1.2 million after two fire division paramedics failed to properly treat a woman in cardiac arrest, including spending time discussing the pot roast they had left cooking back at the firehouse.
The settlement is among the largest payouts in city history and comes after a nearly four-year court battle over the death of Sonia Bray. - PUB DATE: 6/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the columbus dispatch
“Inherently discriminatory.”
That’s how the city of Charlotte described a Facebook post from former fire investigator Crystal Eschert, who was fired in the fall of 2014. In the post, she described someone as a “thug,” “worthless” and a “waste.” A year later, at least six other Fire Department employees faced accusations that they were posting racist memes and other offensive comments to social media. - PUB DATE: 6/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: charlotte observer
A deputy fire chief was temporarily placed on administrative leave after citing broken air conditioning as a safety threat to firefighters on-duty.
Chief Rick Rasmussen said that for the last seven years the air conditioning frequently doesn’t work, making the station too hot to sleep in.
“When you have sleep deprivation you can’t think well, your motor skills are having problems,” Rasmussen said. - PUB DATE: 6/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firechief.com
A former city firefighter convicted of attempted bribery has been approved for a disability pension of $36,405 a year from the city.
The pension for Aaron Brantley, 36, was recently approved by vote of the trustees of the New Haven Police & Fire Retirement Fund Board.
Because the powers of his official position as a city firefighter were not used in the crime for which he was convicted, the state’s pension revocation statute does not apply to Brantley, according to a spokeswoman for the state Office of the Attorney General. - PUB DATE: 6/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new haven register
A firefighter who was hospitalized in critical condition after a rescue exercise off Diamond Head Tuesday has died.
The Honolulu Fire Department confirmed Clifford Rigsbee, 63, died from his injuries Thursday night.
The department says Rigsbee lost his life in the line of duty from injuries sustained during rescue watercraft training near the surf spot known as “Suicides. - PUB DATE: 6/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHON-TV FOX 2
