The Orlando Fire Department is beginning to train its crews to take bulletproof vests with them to dangerous calls. Officials said firefighters and paramedics could be equipped with the vests as early as next month.
This move is following a trend across America. Firefighters in Denver started wearing protective vests in July and other cities like St. - PUB DATE: 9/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WESH-TV NBC 2 Orlando
The San Francisco fire chief has ordered a command shakeup following what an internal probe found was a six-month long harassment campaign against a female firefighter stationed in Chinatown.
Mindy Talmadge, a department spokeswoman, would not comment about the specifics. But in documents obtained by NBC Bay Area, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White described the abuse as “egregious” and cited “deficiencies in leadership” at Fire Station No. - PUB DATE: 9/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV-TV NBC 11 Bay Area
A firefighter contends that he was fired because of his advocacy for the "two-hatter" law, which allows full-time firefighters to work part-time at other departments.
Discipline reports tell another story.
Thomas Saladino lied and disregarded orders, and faced a criminal investigation, which did not result in charges, for submitting time slips suggesting he worked for different agencies at the same time, according to reports obtained by The Grand Rapids Press and MLive under a Freedom of Information request. - PUB DATE: 9/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mlive.com
The FDNY is firing up a controversial “cadet” program aimed at giving minorities a fast track to becoming firefighters, The Post has learned.
The department plans to recruit up to 100 men and women ages 20 to 27 citywide. The cadets would work in paid internships up to 20 hours a week while getting fitness training, taking educational courses, and learning from mentors. - PUB DATE: 9/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
A firefighter has died after a training event Thursday, officials have confirmed.
Fire Marshal Chris Barkalow said Friday that Chief Engineer Daniel McCann III of Wall "fell ill after training last night while at home and was unable to be revived."
McCann was a 27-year veteran who served with Manasquan Hook & Ladder Company 1. - PUB DATE: 9/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Asbury Park Press
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
