An unauthorized billboard with a "Merry Christmas" message has led to the discipline of nearly one-third of the Lancaster Fire Department and exposed a long-simmering feud. Seventeen firefighters were reprimanded from Lancaster fire's Crew 3, and a retired fire captain was banned from city firehouses, after they posed for a billboard picture on a fire truck on city time during the holiday season.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lancaster Eagle-Gazette

A 38-year-old Cosumnes Fire Department firefighter suffered major injuries early Saturday when he was struck by a car as he was responding to a traffic collision on Interstate 5, the California Highway Patrol reported. The firefighter, Eric Oviedo, was responding to a 1:15 a.m. collision on the northbound side of I-5 about a quarter mile north of Lambert Road.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sacramento bee

A bride-to-be getting her hair done down the block from the Friday morning crane collapse was escorted through the chaos by an FDNY chaplain, who then married the woman and her groom on the spot. The impromptu wedding took place on the steps of the nearby Tweed Courthouse — the Department of Education headquarters — where Nesh Pillay, 25, and Aaron Vanderhoff, 27, had originally planned to take their wedding photos before tying the knot at City Hall at 10 a.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york post

Two D.C. emergency medical technician firefighters were reassigned for failing to diagnose a gunshot wound to a patient they had treated and transported to a hospital Saturday night, D.C. Fire and Emergency Services officials said. Timothy Wilson, an agency spokesman, confirmed that two employees were reassigned to duties away from patient care following a preliminary investigation into an incident this weekend.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: washington post

PHOTO - A 38-year-old man was killed and two more seriously injured when a construction crane toppled over and smashed into a busy Tribeca street Friday morning, officials said. The crane crashed into a row of parked cars when it toppled onto Worth St. near Church St. about 8:30 a.m. as heavy snow fell onto the city.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott came to Thursday’s State Personnel Board meeting to report reforms in his department’s slipshod hiring and promotion practices. He left with a stern challenge to transform his leadership. “There needs to be, in my opinion, a real tone at the top change,” board Vice President Lauri Shanahan said.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sacramento bee

A fire chief talked with hundreds of Firehouse World attendees Tuesday afternoon to help prevent future tragedies. “We lost four firefighters, but this was the last alarm for seven firefighters,” Houston Executive Assistant Chief Richard Mann said about the May 31, 2013 fire now known as “Houston’s Darkest Day.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

A fire truck heading to a call on Curry Ford Road crashed during rush hour. Three people are recovering from their injuries, WESH 2 News has learned. "I thought it was the end of my life. I thought my life was over," said Brenda Gauvey, crash victim. The Orlando fire truck ended up in the median. "I'm very upset," Gauvey said.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WESH-TV NBC 2 Orlando

A businessman linked to the warehouse where a Chicago firefighter plunged to his death has received a string of municipal violations and a series of fines for "dangerous and unsafe conditions" at other properties he has managed or owned. Jatin Patel has been fined thousands of dollars over the past decade for an array of code violations discovered by the city, according to court documents.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: chicago tribune

Skagit County Fire District 7 reported this week it has been the victim of a scam that has defrauded the district of about $75,000. The district had planned to use the money to buy a firetruck. According to a news release from the district, someone pretending to be the district’s secretary sent an email to the Skagit County Treasurer’s Office requesting $75,500 be wired from the district’s account to another account.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: skagit valley herald

A lively debate on fireground tactics erupted on the show floor as two experienced fire officers squared off in a moderated panel session at Firehouse World 2016 on Tuesday afternoon. The debate focused on whether the “hit it hard from the yard” tactic of fire suppression was effective or defective when it comes to saving life and property.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

When a fire broke out last year near a Utah mountain lake, firefighters encountered an object that proved a bigger problem than any of the flames: A drone buzzing nearby that forced them to halt their efforts until they could ensure it was gone. Fire crews can't risk the unmanned aerial devices colliding with their planes and helicopters, so they pull out until the drones are gone, said Jason Curry of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSL-TV NBC 5

New York’s Volunteer Firefighters not only save lives, they also save billions in tax dollars for the state. In fact, New Yorkers save more than $3 billion each year due to the services provided by the State’s volunteer fire service according to a financial impact study released today by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY).
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firefighternation

Austin Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr on Tuesday testified in front of a U.S. Senate committee about the changing nature of terrorism and how first responders’ must now be prepared for a variety of attacks. Kerr, the president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, spoke before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about how firefighters prepare themselves for large attacks since 9/11.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: austin statesman

VIDEO - An overnight crash of an SUV into a JEA truck filled with propane on Arlington Expressway killed a Jacksonville firefighter, sources told News4Jax. The crash occurred around 11 p.m. Tuesday night just west of the Cesery Boulevard overpass. All westbound lanes of Arlington Expressway are closed for hours while state troopers investigated.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJXT-TV CBS 4 Jacksonville

Nearly 100 first responders and other protesters showed up at Monday’s Beaufort County Commissioners meeting after a commissioner called firemen who provide on-scene medical services “bubbas.” The controversial comments were made by Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson during January’s meeting.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNCN-TV NBC 17

A 30-year-old man pleaded not guilty to attempted murder after shooting at first responders at a crash scene. Cache Valley Daily reported that Cade M. Austin, 30, was driving erratically before he crashed into a large natural gas regulating device on Dec. 15. He then brandished a handgun and exchanged gunfire with Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Hunt.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

The top two officials in the Pensacola Fire Department are out on administrative leave pending the results of an open investigation. Fire Chief Matt Schmitt and Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Glover were placed on paid leave Tuesday. Details of the investigation were scarce, with city spokesman Vernon Stewart only confirming it would be performed “by an outside organization.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pensacola news journal

A probationary firefighter was seriously burned when he plunged through the collapsing floor of a burning Staten Island house Monday. Firefighters managed to rescue the probie within moments, but he suffered second- and third-degree burns on 5% of his body, FDNY officials said. The three-alarm blaze broke out at 8:46 p.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york daily news

An agreement between the city and its firefighter union that ends more than $40 million worth of disputes is now final, with approval from both sides. The City Council voted 6-0 Monday to approve the settlement, one week after approving a tentative version of the plan in closed session. “Reaching equitable settlements are essential to exiting bankruptcy,” City Attorney Gary Saenz said in a written statement.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Bernardino Sun