One San Diego firefighter was paid $210,500 in overtime alone in 2014, according to newly released figures about local government payrolls.
That‘s more than the annual salary of the FBI director, at $178,700, and the U.S. Attorney General, at $199,000. Kyle Kutzke, 34, who’s listed as a firefighter 2 for San Diego, was paid that amount on top of $26,700 in base pay, according to data the city comptroller submitted to the open government group Transparent California and the State Controller’s Office. - PUB DATE: 1/11/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the san diego union-tribune
PHOTO - A firefighter was reprimanded and two superiors reassigned after a depiction of a Jacksonville firefighter as a terrorist was posted on a fire station computer and left there for a week.
The image, though described as a joke between two firefighters, was deemed offensive and insensitive and should never have been posted, let alone left for a week in December, said Fire Chief Kurtis Wilson. - PUB DATE: 1/11/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the Florida times-union
A Detroit firefighter is in stable but serious condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital after he was overcome by smoke while responding to a commercial building fire on the west side Saturday night.
Firefighters were called to the three-alarm fire at the building on Michigan Avenue and Martin Street just before 7:30 p. - PUB DATE: 1/11/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXYZ-TV ABC Detroit
A municipal court judge ordered a Margate firefighter to surrender his public employment following his conviction last month for shoplifting $7.98 in items, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday. The prosecutor's office handled the conviction of Ashton Funk, 34, and was also pushing for the forfeiture of his job as a firefighter and as a lifeguard, also for the city of Margate. - PUB DATE: 1/11/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Newark Star-Ledger/NJ.com
A mother who went back into a burning Philadelphia home to save her young child died in the fire, along with the toddler.
The mother was pregnant, family members told NBC10. The fire started about 3:45 a.m. Friday inside a home in the 2800 block of N. 4th Street near Cambria Street.
Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said a family member initially tried to fight the fire alone. - PUB DATE: 1/8/2016 8:14:43 AM - SOURCE: WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia
An organization representing African-American firefighters and paramedics on Thursday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to expand its probe of the Chicago Police Department to include the Fire Department, saying hiring and disciplinary practices there are unfair. The African-American Firefighters & Paramedics League of Chicago also demanded that Mayor Rahm Emanuel dismiss Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago, alleging that Santiago has failed to investigate claims that minority firefighters are disciplined and demoted unjustly. - PUB DATE: 1/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: chicago tribune
The specter of a lawsuit led the city on Wednesday to withdraw conditional offers of employment to three future city firefighters who were expected to start training at the state fire academy next month.
Mayor Michael Passero said Risk Manager Paul Gills initially had raised concerns about the way the firefighter candidates were chosen. - PUB DATE: 1/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse
Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium is one month away. And a number of Bay Area police officers and firefighters are commemorating the event with special badges on their uniforms.
But first responders in one local department are not being allowed to wear, or even buy, them. The Santa Clara Police Department has a major role ensuring the game goes off without a hitch. - PUB DATE: 1/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU-TV Oakland, San Francisco, Bay Area
Memphis mayor Jim Strickland is paying some of his top aides big six figure salaries.
While city council members debated giving these raises, one retired firefighter is looking at his check.
After paying for insurance, his mortgage and other deductions, his take home check every two weeks is exactly $7. - PUB DATE: 1/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Myeyewitnessnews
VIDEO - A sprawling Victorian home overlooking the Kennebec River was destroyed Wednesday by a fast-moving fire that took crews several hours to douse.
Nobody was hurt in the fire at 37 Riverview Drive, though a firefighter walking near the ridgepole on the roof narrowly escaped when the roofing beneath him gave way, causing a ball of flames to erupt around him. - PUB DATE: 1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Central Maine
The Buffalo Fire Department has lost it second deputy commissioner in two months with the resignation of Kevin D. Peterson, who is dropping back into the union ranks as he prepares to retire from the department.
Peterson, 49, confirmed on Wednesday he is no longer a deputy and that he voluntarily reverted to his civil service rank of battalion chief. - PUB DATE: 1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: buffalo news
Mayor Toni N. Harp has named retired Assistant Fire Chief Ralph Black to serve as acting fire chief as Fire Chief Allyn Wright retired Monday, according to a release.
Black will take the role effective Jan. 11. Assistant Chief of Operations Matt Marcarelli is in command until then.
Harp has said the city will conduct a national search for a new fire chief. - PUB DATE: 1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new haven register
I was riding my bicycle to town the other day past a familiar church signboard, and another message caught my attention. It said: "Those who shine from within do not need a spotlight."
I started thinking about those who always seek attention for themselves — why they do it, what effect this behavior has on the larger group, and how this applies to the fire service. - PUB DATE: 1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1
The warehouse where firefighter Daniel Capuano suffered a fatal fall Dec. 14 will be demolished, attorneys for the building owner and the city told a judge Wednesday at a court hearing. And now the city wants the adjacent building torn down after inspectors said they uncovered safety problems next door. - PUB DATE: 1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: chicago tribune
Three Saugus firefighters overcome by smoke and heat while fighting a futile battle to save a home on Essex Street issued a mayday call from inside the inferno and were safely rescued, Fire Chief Michael Newbury said.
The fierce flames were reported at 5 a.m., Newbury said, and are still raging in full view of the morning commute on Route 1, where the sun rose to reveal traffic at a standstill and plumes of smoke billowing over the highway. - PUB DATE: 1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: boston herald
A man suffering a heart attack died Sunday hours after District firefighters stopped at the wrong location and returned to their station in Northeast Washington, delaying treatment of the man by at least 20 minutes, according to relatives and a fire department spokesman.
Albert Jackson, 67, was pronounced dead at a Prince George’s County hospital shortly after he arrived by a D. - PUB DATE: 1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the washington post
A Texas fire chief said training and relationships helped emergency crews respond to a tornado that damaged over 1,000 structures in his community the day after Christmas.
The deadly EF4 tornado ripped through Garland before moving northwest to Rowlett. It was on the ground for more than three miles with about half-mile wide path through the southwest quadrant of Rowlett, damaging over 1,100 homes and 30 businesses. - PUB DATE: 1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse
Disciplinary action will be taken against a firefighter who was behind the wheel of a paramedic truck that collided with a fire truck last August, injuring 12 people near Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami Department of Fire-Rescue officials said Tuesday. Firefighter Gustavo Alzate, who has worked for the city for 2 years and 4 months, will be suspended in the next couple of days, Assistant Fire Chief Adrian Plasencia said. - PUB DATE: 1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPLG-TV ABC Local10.com - Miami & Fort Lauderdale
VIDEO - Bessemer city leaders are denying allegations of racism within the city’s fire department.
Over the weekend someone spray painted graffiti on the Bessemer Fire Department Administration Building. A police investigation is underway to see who committed a criminal act spraypainting a public building. - PUB DATE: 1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSFA-TV NBC 12 Montgomery
The house fire that killed Hamilton firefighter Patrick Wolterman has been ruled an arson, police announced today. Because of that, the firefighter’s death is being investigated as a homicide. Police are offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with information on the case. Wolterman, 28, died Monday, Dec. - PUB DATE: 1/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: journal-news
