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National Fire News

Blaze leaves Alaska fire chief homeless

Fire severely damaged the Meadow Lakes home of Houston Fire Chief Tom Hood Friday, leaving him and his family seeking temporarily shelter from the Red Cross. Mat-Su Borough emergency responders were dispatched to the fire at about 2:30 p.m., and by about 3:45 p.m., the main body of the fire was extinguished, leaving only spot fires inside the structure to be extinguished, according to incident commander and West Lakes Fire Chief John Fairchild.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wasilla Frontiersman

Orlando mass shooting: Timeline of events

Brandon Wolf didn't really want to go out Saturday night, but a friend convinced him. So he showed up at the Pulse Orlando nightclub on South Orange Avenue with three friends, hoping to have a fun night. It was Latin Night, and the club was full of couples and friends who were dancing and talking. Closing time neared, and Wolf and one of his friends were in the bathroom.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ORLANDO SENTINEL

Texas mayor's actions cause firefighters to quit in protest

Maud, Texas is in a frenzy after a city council meeting led to the firing of the Fire Chief and then the volunteer fire crew quit in protest. "It's hard to say we had to resign but we had no chance" said James Butler, former fire captain. Wiping tears from his eyes, Butler explained he feels he's standing up for what he believes is justice.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: arklatexhomepage.com

Washington state firefighters want oil trains halted, ask governor for help

The president of a Washington state association of firefighters unions is urging Gov. Jay Inslee to halt oil transport through the state by rail until an investigation into last week’s fiery oil-train derailment in Mosier, Ore., is done. In a letter to the governor, Dennis Lawson, president of the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters, cited the looming fire season and what he describes as unsafe transportation methods as reasons for the U.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: seattle times

New York town auctions off ambulances despite union grievance over elimination of service

Almost two years after the city stopped its ambulance service, Lockport’s two ambulances were auctioned off last week – even though a grievance over the elimination of the service has yet to be resolved. The ambulances were among a long list of surplus city equipment offered for sale in an online sale through Auctions International.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: buffalo news

North Carolina fire department struggles to diversify workforce

The Fayetteville Fire Department is ramping up efforts to recruit minorities as it struggles, like many other fire agencies, to diversify its workforce. Only 3.2 percent of Fayetteville firefighters are black - a figure that trails state and national averages. Put another way, nine in every 10 Fayetteville firefighters is white in a city where about 42 percent of the residents are black.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: fayetteville observer

FDNY chief killed on 9/11 finally getting funeral he deserves

Nearly 15 years after he was killed on 9/11, a fire chief will get the department funeral his family has been waiting for all that time. The remains of Chief Lawrence Stack of Safety Battalion 1 were never recovered after he died when World Trade Center’s North Tower collapsed, which is why the full honors funeral was never held, FDNY sources said.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york post

Report: Massive fires show need for more command staff, firefighters in Rhode Island city

Senior members of the Providence Fire Department have issued a report recommending the city move back to a four-platoon system and increase staffing, but Public Safety Commission Steven Pare is accusing the fire union of playing politics. The report, prepared by Battalion Chief Kenneth Rainone, acting Battalion Chief Stephen Capricotta and acting Battalion Chief Kevin Jutras, focuses on two large fires – one on Eaton Street and the other on Laurel Hill Avenue – on March 31 that left 26 firefighters injured, some with cyanide poisoning.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12

New Mexico fire chief under investigation for making traffic stop

Valencia County Fire Chief Steven Gonzales is being investigated by Los Lunas police after he pulled over a driver on I-25. It happened on Saturday afternoon near Exit 203 off of northbound I-25 in Los Lunas. On recorded dispatch audio obtained by KRQE News 13, you can hear Gonzales’ radio in what would normally be a routine call.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: krqe news 13 Albuquerque

NFPA’s Firefighter Fatalities report shows 68 on-duty firefighter deaths in 2015

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released its annual U.S. Firefighter Fatalities report, which showed that a total of 68 firefighters died while on duty in the United States in 2015. This represents the fourth time in the past five years that the total number of deaths has been below 70.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Fire Protection Association

Update: Promotion of Connecticut firefighter under review after union chief raises questions

The city’s chief administrative officer is looking into a recent Fire Department promotion after the head of the city’s firefighters union said the chief and a fire board did not follow proper procedures. “I can confirm the city’s Chief Administrative Officer and its Office of Corporation Counsel are reviewing the process that resulted in the promotion of Antonio Almodovar,” city Communications Director Laurence Grotheer confirmed in an email Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new haven register

Planning Plays Major Role in Handling Emergencies at AT&T Stadium

Hours before music fans set foot into AT&T Stadium—home of the Dallas Cowboys—dozens of fire and EMS personnel readied their equipment, inspected the facility and began patrolling the grounds. The June 4 concert with Miranda Lambert and Kenny Chesney was expected to have over 40,000 in attendance on the warm, muggy day.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

Video: Burned Maryland Firefighter Escapes Fire Through Window

A Prince George's County firefighter had to be helped to a ladder after being burned during a house fire in Landover Hills Wednesday. Firefighters were called to a vacant two-story home on Dorman Street around 12:45 p.m. and found smoke showing. The fire appeared to have started on the second floor, Prince George's County Fire Spokesman Mark Brady said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

Connecticut city's fire union president confronts chief at promotion ceremony

VIDEO - The head of the city firefighters union disrupted a promotional ceremony Wednesday, confronting the acting fire chief with an allegation that the promotion wasn’t in line with the city charter. The confrontation by fire union President Frank Ricci preceded a small ceremony, with city officials and Antonio Almodovar’s wife at the department’s headquarters on Grand Avenue, during which Almodovar was promoted from acting director of training to director of training.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new haven register

New York baby’s death reopens ALS ambulance controversy

The recent death of a baby girl has led Alderman Mark S. Devine to demand that the city restore the legal ability of firefighters to perform advanced life support techniques. Devine, a retired assistant fire chief, said at Wednesday’s Common Council work session that he wants a vote next week on applying to the state Health Department to restore that license.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: buffalo news

Rhode Island Supreme Court sends firefighter's pension bid back to Providence Retirement Board

The Rhode Island Supreme Court says the Providence Retirement Board erred when it denied a city firefighter's petition for an accidental disability pension. In quashing the board's denial of Michael Morse's 2012 petition, the court ruled that the board "misconstrued" a city ordinance when it based its decision on a "self-imposed unanimity rule.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: providence journal

Hundreds Evacuated as Wildfire Rages Near Arizona Town

Hundreds of people evacuated their homes as a wildfire raged near the Arizona town where a 2013 blaze killed 19 members of an elite firefighting crew. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Dolores Garcia said 250 to 300 people left their homes in the town. The fire grew to 600 acres, but crews expected it to ease somewhat during the overnight with cooler temperatures and higher humidity.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: abc news

Florida fire chief pursues fire safety 40 years after relatives killed in house blaze

July 4 marks the 40-year anniversary of the house fire that killed Pete DiMaria's mother, brother, sister and grandfather. DiMaria was just 11 years old when it happened at his house in Pompano Beach. The fire sparked overnight. He still doesn't know how it started. His grandfather tried rousing the family awake, but the smoke knocked them out.
- PUB DATE: 6/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: naples daily news

Los Angeles Fire Dept proposes program for alcoholics who overuse 911 system

They’re called “superusers,” and in 2015 alone, the top 40 superusers in Los Angeles accounted for about 2,000 emergency responses. “When ambulances are responding to these individuals — sometimes the same individual two times a day, taking the same patient to an ER twice in one day — that ambulance is not available to respond to the rest of the community,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Medical Director and physician Marc Eckstein.
- PUB DATE: 6/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPCC-FM

Virginia fire chief found dead in creek

Botetourt County Fire & EMS Chief Jeff Beckner died Friday morning at the age of 57. Beckner worked in fire and EMS for more than 30 years, and he was known for his strong leadership and hands-on style. He worked in Roanoke before becoming chief in Botetourt County in September 2014. “He’s the kind of fire chief that doesn’t come around very often,” Roanoke Fire-EMS Chief David Hoback said.
- PUB DATE: 6/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Roanoke Times

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