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National Fire News

NY, NJ bombings: Suspect in custody after shootout with police, sources say

Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man suspected in bombings in New York and New Jersey, is now in custody after a shootout with police, sources said. The shootout happened Monday in Linden, New Jersey, a local and federal law enforcement official said. Rahami was taken to an ambulance in a stretcher with his right shoulder bloodied and bandaged.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

Report: Florida firefighters union 'saved up' complaints against chiefs

A report released Thursday calls into question complaints lodged against Ocean City-Wright Fire Chief Billy Lord and Deputy Chief Scott Funchess. It states there is evidence that firefighter union members “saved up” allegations “in order to present a more damaging case,” against the two men. The complaints were at the root of the fire district’s commissioners’ decision Wednesday to suspend Lord for 45 days without pay and suspend Funchess for 30 days without pay.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ft. Walton Beach: Northwest Florida News

California columnist: Firefighters’ cushy work schedules get even easier

Several years ago I wrote a column entitled, “Why I want to be a firefighter.” The reasons were obvious – good pay and health and dental benefits, time-and-a-half for overtime, lots of vacation days and holidays — and the perk of sleeping on the job. Retirement pay includes lifetime health insurance for the firefighter and spouse and almost equals the working salary.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News

NFPA receives Assistance to Firefighters Grant for new National Fire Data System

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has been awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) to begin the development of a National Fire Data System (NFDS). The goal of NFDS is to address the priority needs of the U.S. fire service and generate quality local and national data for both operational and community risk reduction decision-making.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Fire Protection Association

Canadian firefighters attending Fallen Firefighters Memorial have $10,000 of equipment stolen

More than $10,000 worth of equipment has been stolen from Canadian firefighters who are here to honor fallen firefighters. They stored their large tents, tables and other things needed for the annual memorial in Colorado Springs, but it wasn't until this week when they found out it was all missing. Their equipment was supposed to be set up in Memorial Park next to the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial this weekend.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOAA-TV NBC 5 & 30 Colorado Springs

Parents of fallen New York firefighter sue owner of home where he succumbed

The parents of fallen Mount Marion Fire Department Capt. Jack Rose have filed a lawsuit alleging negligence on the part of the owner of the home where Rose succumbed while fighting a fire in December 2015. Joe O’Connor, the lawyer representing Gary and Linda Rose, said an addendum to the suit is likely to be filed within a month and “may include other entities.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Freeman

Off-Duty West Virginia Firefighter Dies Assisting at Crash Scene

Fellowsville volunteer firefighter Justin Zink was remembered for having a heart of gold and would always pitch in to help. According to his obituary, Zink died Sept. 15 in Braxton County while stopping to assist at the scene of an automobile accident on Interstate 79. He was 28 years old. He worked as a truck driver for Fed-Ex in Bridgeport and loved hunting, fishing and being with his family.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Morgantown Dominion Post

Canadian firefighters attending Fallen Firefighters Memorial have $10,000 of equipment sold

More than $10,000 worth of equipment has been stolen from Canadian firefighters who are here to honor fallen firefighters. They stored their large tents, tables and other things needed for the annual memorial in Colorado Springs, but it wasn't until this week when they found out it was all missing. Their equipment was supposed to be set up in Memorial Park next to the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial this weekend.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOAA-TV NBC 5 & 30 Colorado Springs

Infant dies at hospital after being transported in Georgia fire truck

A 4-month-old girl was pronounced dead at Midtown Medical Center late Wednesday afternoon after first responders rushed her to the hospital in a Columbus Fire and EMS fire truck because an ambulance was not immediately available. The 911 call for help came from an apartment on Forest Avenue at 5:13 p.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ledger-Enquirer

Attorney says officials conspired against New Jersey firefighter

Former Trenton firefighter Jesse Diaz set up fellow firefighters in surreptitious tapes so he could “gain more juice” for a lawsuit he planned to file against the city fire department over perceived mistreatment for reporting a colleague for using a racial slur, a city attorney said. Michael Sullivan, the attorney representing the city in Diaz’s civil case, zeroed in on secretly recorded conversations the now-retired driver and war veteran had with Capt.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Trentonian

Suit against Pennsylvania fire department over surveillance camera settled

A long-running feud between the Wilkes-Barre Township Volunteer Fire Department and a resident over the direction of a surveillance camera has been settled, according to court documents. U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo on Thursday dismissed the complaint Joseph Naperkowski filed a few years back, writing in a brief order that the matter has been settled for an unspecified amount.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice

Annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Colorado Springs to immortalize 123 on Saturday

The names and stories of 123 firefighters who died in the line of duty will be immortalized during the annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Colorado Springs on Saturday. Held at Memorial Park, the ceremony starts at 11 a.m. The event, which annually attracts thousands of firefighters, paramedics and their grieving families, lands one week after the 15th anniversary of the Sept.
- PUB DATE: 9/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Gazette

Woman brandishes fake shotgun at Washington firefighters

A 68-year-old Thurston County woman was arrested Wednesday after she allegedly brandished a replica shotgun at firefighters who had responded to a medical alarm at her mobile home. Neither the woman nor the firefighters was injured, and the woman will be booked into the Thurston County jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, said Chief Deputy Brad Watkins of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
- PUB DATE: 9/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Olympian

Florida fire district suspends two chiefs for alleged inappropriate behavior

Ocean City Wright Fire Control District commissioners voted 4-1 Wednesday night to suspend Fire Chief Billy Lord for 45 days and Assistant Fire Chief Scott Funchess for 30 days without pay following an investigation of their alleged inappropriate behavior. Tallahassee labor law attorney Mark Bonfanti, who conducted the investigation, presented his summary of the findings during an almost three-hour meeting at the fire district’s headquarters on Racetrack Road.
- PUB DATE: 9/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ft. Walton Beach: Northwest Florida News

Texas fire chief details reasons behind dismissal of 6 cadets

Because of swirling rumors and misinformation, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood is detailing the reasons why he dismissed six cadets last month. Hood detailed the much-ballyhooed case in a memo obtained by the San Antonio Express-News dated Sept. 12 and sent to fire personnel Tuesday. In early August, six cadets were caught for drinking on the job and subsequently dismissed.
- PUB DATE: 9/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My San Antonio.com

Former firefighter pleads guilty to manslaughter, arson in 2013 California wildfire

A former firefighter from Happy Valley pleaded guilty Tuesday to 22 "strike" counts in connection with the deadly 2013 Clover Fire and other arson-caused fires. Zane Wallace Peterson, 31, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a series of arson charges, entered his pleas on the day in which he was set to begin standing trial.
- PUB DATE: 9/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Redding Record Searchlight

California firefighter awarded Medal of Valor

A firefighter received the state’s Medal of Valor Monday for intervening in an assault on a colleague. Alex Wallbrett came to the aid of coworker Ben Vernon June 24, 2015. The crew was treating a sick and drunk man in downtown San Diego, when a bystander began to stab Vernon repeatedly. The wounds left Vernon with a punctured lung and other injuries.
- PUB DATE: 9/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Why your stubbed toe soon won't be as important to Dallas Fire-Rescue

Dallas Fire-Rescue officials are sick of ever-increasing ambulance runs. But they say they have two remedies coming: a new dispatch system and an expansion of a program in which the department's paramedics make house calls. Fire officials told members of the City Council's Public Safety Committee on Monday that they are nearly ready to buy new dispatch software that will help separate true emergencies such as heart attacks from routine medical issues such as stubbed toes.
- PUB DATE: 9/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dallas Morning News

It's 14 months and counting for a new fire chief in Rhode Island city

A headhunter hired by the city to help find a new fire chief has referred more than 12 candidates, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Pare. But 14 months after the departure of Fire Chief Clarence A. Cunha, the search continues. “The process of identifying and recruiting the right fire chief is still underway,” Pare said.
- PUB DATE: 9/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal

Gender bias at Washington fire department under investigation

The city of Vancouver hired an outside investigator earlier this year to look into issues of gender-based discrimination within the Vancouver Fire Department. That inquiry is ongoing now. Emails obtained by The Columbian raise questions about how female firefighters are treated in Vancouver. In April, a firefighter was using the women’s restroom at Station 10 when her male boss walked in on her.
- PUB DATE: 9/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Columbian

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