Ingham Township Fire Chief Tim Whipple, who died Saturday at 55, is being remembered as a dedicated community servant and a leader who inspired his fellow firefighters. “These guys would follow him to the ends of the Earth because of the amount of trust they had for him,” said Delhi Township Fire Chief Brian Ball, who knew Whipple for 20 years.
- PUB DATE: 7/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: lansing state journal

City officials are mourning the loss of city firefighter Joseph DeMarinis, a Marine Corps veteran who died at age 32 last week. DeMarinis died Thursday of a "cardiac event" surrounded by his immediate relatives and members of his Clermont Fire Department family, according to the city. DeMarinis had been with the Clermont department since August 2014 and was assigned to Station 3.
- PUB DATE: 7/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: orlando sentinel

Arlington’s Fire Station 8 has stood along Lee Highway for nearly a century, founded by African American volunteers who feared that white emergency crews would not protect them or their homes. The county wants to replace the cramped, outdated facility with a modern one farther north, where response times lag well behind the county standard.
- PUB DATE: 7/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Washington Post - metered site

Two construction workers had to jump to safety after a welding blanket caught fire on a scissor lift basket at the new Simplot headquarters in downtown Boise. Boise Fire says the construction workers were treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, but were released on scene. "They were on the lift and it was a long ways for them to be able to make it over to the side of the building to jump off," Boise Fire safety spokesman Jason Lewis said.
- PUB DATE: 7/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KBCI-TV 2 Boise

Buffalo firefighters are being urged by their union and the New York State Professional Fire Fighters Association (NYSPFFA) to be cautious, after the state association found threatening comments against firefighters on social media. The NYSPFFA says the threats come from a subject claiming to be from an extremist group, but the group has not been named.
- PUB DATE: 7/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKBW-TV ABC 7 Buffalo

Flames appeared out the front of Guerneville’s downtown medical clinic as the first fire engine arrived. Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman, in his pickup, pulled up just behind the Guerneville engine and as the highest-ranking fireman, took control. He sent firefighters inside and up ladders to the roof while others tried to salvage medical supplies.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the press democrat

Loyalist Fire has confirmed that one of their firefighters is dead after battling a fire at an Amherstview apartment building early Saturday evening. Patrick Pidgeon, 45, succumbed to injuries sustained while battling the working structure fire at 339 Amherst Drive. "Patrick was a decorated and honoured Canadian Forces veteran who served in many overseas conflicts including two tours in Afghanistan," said Loyalist Fire Chief Fred Stephenson.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: kingstonregion.com

The Providence City Council has hired one of the state’s most prominent attorneys to be its eyes and ears when it comes the ongoing dispute between the Elorza administration and the city’s firefighters. Max Wistow, who is currently representing the state of Rhode Island in its high-profile lawsuit against former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and other key players from the failed 38 Studios deal, will earn $250 per hour to advise the council on how settlement negotiations between the city and firefighters’ union are progressing, according to Council President Luis Aponte.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12

A Rostraver man refused to leave his burning home Thursday and fought with firefighters, tossing one of their helmets from a second-floor balcony and pulling the oxygen masks off others, according to police. A township police officer had to go inside the burning Indian Hill Road home and arrest homeowner Donald Panepinto Jr.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Troubling allegations of hazing and even racist abuse at the San Francisco Fire Academy have emerged as the city is shelling out $100,000 a day in overtime to account for a significant shortage of firefighters, NBC Bay Area has learned. Currently, some 54 firefighter recruits are undergoing training at the Division of Training to join the ranks of 1,500 firefighters in the city – 250 firefighters short of the department’s authorized strength.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV-TV NBC 11 Bay Area

Residents and town officials in East Granby are mourning the loss of Fire Chief Peter Ahlstrin, who died in a crash along Route 20 in Windsor Thursday night. At approximately 10:40 p.m. Thursday, State Police responded to Route 20 near the Hamilton Road South exit on a report of a crash. Upon arrival, troopers discovered that a vehicle being driven by 28-year-old Ahlstrin, had struck a wire rope guard rail on the right shoulder of the roadway, then rolled down an embankment.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTNH-TV ABC 8 New Haven

The Temple Hills homeowner who prosecutors say shot and killed a Prince George’s County firefighter and injured a second in April will not face a murder charge, state’s attorney Angela Alsobrooks announced Thursday. Instead, Darrell Lumpkin, 61, has been indicted on six counts related to illegal possession of firearms.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTOP-AM 1500 Washington

The federal government sued a homeowner for nearly $25 million on Thursday, contending his negligence sparked a 2013 fire in the mountains east of Los Angeles that forced 5,000 people from their homes. The lawsuit says that a short in a poorly maintained electrical junction box sparked a blaze in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs that charred more than 27,500 acres of brush and timber — about 43 square miles — and at one point threatened the town of Idyllwild.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCAL-TV Los Angeles

The 1980’s cartoon series “G.I. Joe” ended each episode with an often corny and sometimes salient lesson, always following roughly the same script: A few adolescents get an oafish idea, like jumping their bikes over a downed sparking electrical wire, when a prominent member of the Joe squad materializes to explain their error in judgment.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NFPA Journal

Let me get this fact out of the way: I love sports. In fact, there aren't many sports that I don't follow. And, when there is a chance of a record being broken or a milestone achieved, it certainly has my attention. Why is it that we cheer on horses who have a chance to win the Triple Crown? Why is it we enjoy a pitcher throwing a perfect game, a hockey player completing the hat trick or a golfer winning all four majors? It's because there are levels of excellence that spectators and fans like to see people and teams accomplish.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

Freeport Rural Fire Department Lt. Eric Kohlbauer died Tuesday after an apparent medical emergency arose while he prepared to train with pumper and tank equipment, Fire Chief Mike Wichman said. Stephenson County Coroner Tom Leamon said an autopsy performed this morning confirmed Kohlbauer died of a heart-related medical problem.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rockford Register Star

Two months before an alligator killed a toddler at Walt Disney World, firefighters were warned to stop feeding the reptiles at one of the resort's fire stations.The admonitions were in emails from employees at Reedy Creek Emergency Services. Reedy Creek is the Disney-controlled taxing district that provides government services to the theme parks and surrounding areas.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sun-sentinel

An Ocean City firefighter who may lose his job for being a registered medical marijuana patient cannot proceed with a lawsuit against the city until he undergoes a departmental hearing, a state judge has ruled. If the case makes its way to court, it would likely to be the first of its kind in the state involving the legality of a pubic safety employee's use of medical marijuana.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Newark Star-Ledger

Utah authorities likely will be among the first in the nation to be allowed to disable and crash drones for flying too close to wildfires after lawmakers approved legislation Wednesday. The governor is expected to sign the measure in the coming days. Lawmakers voted during a special session after at least one unmanned aircraft has plagued firefighters recently in the southern part of the state.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSL-TV NBC 5

VIDEO- A new primary care clinic focused on treating Seattle firefighters is set to open this week. The clinic will be run by Qliance, a Seattle-based membership-based company, and will be located above Seattle’s Fire Station 2 in Belltown. The International Association of Fire Fighters cites studies showing firefighters face a high risk for heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, hepatitis and stress.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Cable News