Kevin Leago, the trailblazing Houston firefighter with cancer who fought City Hall to provide workers compensation benefits for his illness — and won — died Thursday. He was 40. Leago's victory in court over city lawyers who argued his illness was unrelated to on-the-job carcinogen exposure set a precedent for dozens of current and retired Houston firefighters stricken with cancer, Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association President Marty Lancton said.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

VIDEO: A new public service announcement from the Honolulu Fire Department that began airing recently features a wake up call on the dangers of house fires. The PSA shows a boy, his father and pet dog asleep while actually succumbing to the impacts of smoke ? without even knowing it. “This boy is dying.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hawaii News Now

Every firefighter knows a call can come at any time. But the Rev. Dave Driesch and the Rev. Tim McGill serve a God as well as their community — meaning their pagers go off while they're praying or leading a service. Driesch, a veteran firefighter and Catholic priest who is prior of Daylesford Abbey, is helping newbie firefighter and Southern Baptist minister McGill, pastor of Paoli Community Church, balance both worlds.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Philadelphia Inquirer - Metered Site

The union representing Chicago firefighters wants a Cook County judge to halt the promotion of more than a dozen department members to battalion chief. The Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 filed a motion for an injunction in Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday that seeks to stop the promotions — set to take effect Dec.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun Times

Unable to find a candidate willing to take on the role as their new fire chief, the city of Falcon Heights voted Wednesday to have Rose­ville's fire department assume the chief's responsibilities for one year. The unanimous vote by Falcon Heights' City Council comes several weeks after Roseville's council agreed to the $40,000 contract, in which they would take responsibility for all administrative and command services, as well as a department-wide audit.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Twin Cities Pioneer Press

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Wednesday announced that the city would provide firefighters an average raise of nearly 20 percent. The raises will go into effect this January.Fire Chief Randall B. Slaughter called the raises historic. “This pay raise represents the single largest pay enhancement to firefighters in this city in my 29 year career,” Slaughter said.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal Constitution

Phoenix Fire Department Chief Kara Kalkbrenner announced in a message to the department Wednesday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Kalkbrenner, who was sworn in as the first woman to lead the department in December 2014, said in the message she will undergo a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery this Friday.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AZ Central

Never far from the busy engines of Los Angeles's Fire Station 9 on Skid Row is a man known by everyone in the area as 'Mango.' Even though he can often be found wearing an LAFD cap and jacket designating him as the “Fire Traffic Officer,” he is not an official member of L.A. City Fire. But when the calls fire off at Station 9, Mango springs into action, just like the crews.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spectrum News

Chattanooga Fire Department Capt. Skyler Phillips fought back tears Tuesday as he told City Council members the story of a nearly blind woman with broken glasses who used to regularly call 911 seeking help after tripping and falling. This fall, the department launched a new program, CFD Connect, that seeks to connect frequent non-emergency 911 callers with social services that proactively address their problems before they turn to calling for emergency help.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chattanooga Times Free Press

Local first responders are talking about ongoing issues they face when responding to 911 calls. Fire and EMS providers now rely on GPS systems that sometimes take them far from where they need to go. Fire Chief Jerry Hanson says it's an issue for East Prospect Fire Company about once a month. “There was a fire last month on Otter Street, which is literally two miles from here, but the way it came up on mapping, it wanted me to go to Columbia,” Hanson said.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHTM-TV ABC 27 News

A City of Newburgh Fire Department union leader is denouncing what he described as a new structure for the impending layoffs of first responders on Dec. 31, but City Manager Joe Donat contends this method is the fair and right way to do business. The 2020 city budget calls for 14 firefighters to lose their jobs at the end of the year.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Herald Record - Metered Site

Easton's Fire Department is going gender-neutral, at least in the ordinance that governs operations. Easton City Council's Public Safety Committee reviewed ordinance changes Tuesday that include converting "men" in the ordinance to "firefighters," and "he" will become "the Fire Chief." For example, the current language, "When answering an alarm of fire, he shall be in complete charge of all officers, men and apparatus'' will be "When answering an alarm of fire, the Fire Chief will have complete charge of all officers, firefighters ….
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFMZ-TV 69 News

In 2016, Denton (Texas) Fire/Rescue (DFR) Department Firefighter Gary Weiland had knee surgery, and for two years, everything seemed fine. Then, in 2018, while playing football in the yard with his family and friends on Thanksgiving Day, his entire life changed without warning. “I was literally running around the field, throwing a ball, and my knee started to swell up,” Weiland said.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman asks “why does an All-Electric Fire Engine make sense for a municipal Fire Agency like ours?” Some answers: Typically, Fire Engines only travel short distances before returning to their home base, or Fire Station, so electric motors make perfect sense. Most emergencies only last 30 minutes or less and this Engine can be shut down once it arrives at the incident, so an electric motor is very practical, efficient and environmentally responsible.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: In Menlo

The financial future of the family of a 51-year-old Buffalo Grove firefighter who died of colon cancer will soon be decided by a trio of appellate court judges who on Tuesday began considering a decision to award his widow and their four children her late husband's full pension benefits. The case involves the village of Buffalo Grove's appeal to the Second District Appellate Court to overturn a 100% line of duty death pension benefit award to the family of late firefighter Kevin Hauber.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune - Metered Site

The City Council supported city firefighters Monday night and voted to roll back unpopular work shift changes the mayor imposed last weekend. Council members passed — by an 8-1 vote on first reading — an ordinance that would return firefighters to a work schedule of 24 hours on duty and 48 hours off.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Times

The city's third memorial sculpture for a firefighter who died in the line of duty was unveiled Monday evening at the Webster Square Fire Station. Dignitaries, fellow firefighters and family members stood for an hour in the cold rain to honor Firefighter Christopher J. Roy of Shrewsbury, 36, who died a year ago, after he was pulled from a burning apartment at 7 Lowell St.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram

Three firefighters were terminated Monday after an investigation found they verbally and physically abused a part-time firefighter. The allegations came to light in September; today the Orange Township trustees voted to accept the recommendations of investigators who said a firefighter, a lieutenant, and a captain should lose their jobs.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSYX-TV ABC 6

On Monday Montgomery County Police released new information on what led a 911 dispatcher to send firefighters to the wrong house in the wrong city during a fire. The trouble happened on Friday night when a fire began at 2005 Prichard Road in Wheaton. Police say the 911 dispatcher misunderstood the person who called and sent firefighters to 2005 Piccard Drive in Rockville – 10 miles away from the actual fire.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJLA-TV ABC 7

Richard Wilson was sitting in a hotel hot tub with his two young sons when he heard the scream. It was the kind of scream that any parent knows, he said, and he leapt into action. Leaving his kids with his wife, he ran to the edge of the Huntington Beach pool where a mother had just spotted her 4-year-old son, Hudson, motionless on the bottom.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Union

Faced with an unprecedented string of wildfires across California, overtime costs for firefighters have surged by 65% in the last decade, pushing annual wages to nearly $5 billion, according to a Times analysis of state payroll records. The overtime spending is further evidence of a statewide toll: Wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes, killed scores of residents and disrupted power supplies across large swaths of the state — and, increasingly, they are chewing through government budgets.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times - Metered Site

Summit Fire & EMS firefighter Ken Jones, 46, died after falling about 60 feet from the roof of a Copper Mountain condo building early Saturday, when crews were working to battle a fire at that location, according to Summit Fire & EMS officials. The fire at Bridge End — 860 Copper Road, near the base of Copper Mountain Resort — was first reported by a call to 911 at 1:51 a.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Summit Daily

Five minutes ago, Kassie Scott was driving the ambulance down Main Street with lights on and siren blaring, but now she and paramedic Steve Smith are parked in front of the response address, sitting in silence, waiting for the police to arrive. The caller said the person was violent. Scott and Smith are trained and equipped to save lives, not defend their own.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

The firefighter and EMT union president in Washington D.C. is disputing recent claims by the East Chicago city administration as it justified controversial new shifts for city firefighters. Mayor Anthony Copeland and Fire Chief Anthony Serna recently told The Times the firefighters shifts were being changed to save taxpayer dollars, a move they claimed was successful in Washington, D.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Times

One person was hit and injured by a vehicle in Arroyo Grande on Friday morning — and the incident happened right in front of a Five Cities Fire Authority station. Five Cities Fire Authority Chief Steve Lieberman told The Tribune a woman was crossing the street where there was no marked crosswalk in Arroyo Grande outside of the Village when she appears to have been hit by a car.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Tribune

Two hundred fire fighters have now reportedly died from illnesses related to the September 11th attacks, according to a charitable organization that assists 9/11 first responders with medical needs not covered by insurance. The Ray Pfeifer Foundation confirmed on Twitter Wednesday that two more New York City fire fighters have died due to "9/11 illness," marking the 199th, and 200th FDNY deaths related to the World Trade Center attacks.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS News

After voters rejected a city charter amendment Nov. 5 that would have allowed 2 additional mills for public safety, the council is considering options as funds in the annual public safety budget are exhausted halfway into the second quarter of the fiscal year. The rising number of medical runs the Davison-Richfield Fire Department is being dispatched for is considered to blame for the city's public safety budget being $80,000 in the red last year.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Davison Index

Belgrade residents will face the question of whether they want to create their own fire department in the spring. City officials say it'll be costly -- roughly $3.3 million -- so they have another option on the table. If residents vote to create their own department, taxes will have to be raised, but if they vote to annex themselves to the Central Valley Fire District, city officials say there won't be much of a fiscal change.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KECI-TV NBC 13 Missoula

A recently released CalFire report reveals how one fire captain narrowly escaped death and banded together with two civilians to save themselves by using a fire shelter — a last resort meant to protect from a blaze burning all around — during the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County. Around 3:45 p.m. on Oct.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Red Bluff Daily News - Metered Site

In the aftermath of several public sexual harassment cases, Austin EMS and the police and fire departments are updating their sexual harassment policies to create consistency across city emergency services. The action comes in the wake of Austin Fire Department Lt. James Baker's guilty plea to hiding a camera and filming firefighter Kelly Gall in the fire station restroom.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin Monitor

Dave Rowell's shirt says it all: “Euclid Fire: Nobody Fights Alone.” When I meet Rowell, a captain in the Euclid Fire Department, we pull beat-up chairs across from each other in the duty office of Station 1, a functional-looking brick building on a strip of East 222nd Street. Outside the office, the bay doors are open.
- PUB DATE: 12/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland Magazine

VIDEO: Crews worked to clean up an oil spill Wednesday morning in Elliott Bay near the Seattle Waterfront. At about 8 a.m., crews at Fire Station 5 found a small leak of waste oil from Fireboat Leschi, Seattle fire officials said. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, several gallons were spilled. Crews immediately secured the leak and several agencies responded.
- PUB DATE: 12/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

The city's Department of Buildings will begin enforcing a commercial sprinkler law passed in 2004 requiring all New York City landlords to install the fire prevention equipment. Despite the 15-year window for property owners to get up to code, it was revealed at a November City Council committee hearing that about 1,100 buildings were still not in compliance with the Local Law 26 — and 86 building owners have completely ignored city notifications.
- PUB DATE: 12/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AM New York

On Oct. 23, firefighters from multiple Norwich departments were called to a massive house fire on Bentley Avenue, a scene of controlled chaos with mutual aid back-up staged just down the road from the blaze as city trucks sprayed the multi-family residence with streams of water. Norwich Fire Department Acting Chief Keith Wucik, as incident commander, had a lot of balls in the air that afternoon between directing the main firefighting effort to keeping track of how many members had arrived on scene from the city's volunteer departments.
- PUB DATE: 12/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Norwich Bulletin

Village trustees passed a resolution on Monday night urging the Racine County Communications Center to adopt a practice of dispatching the nearest available emergency medical unit, and requesting that all county communities west of Interstate 94 pass similar resolutions. The move to closest-unit dispatch would mean when an emergency call comes in, dispatchers would send the closest available first responders, regardless of municipal borders.
- PUB DATE: 12/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times - Metered Site

The FirstNet public safety communications platform – built with AT&T* in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) – is growing in a big way. More than 10,000 public safety agencies and organizations across the country have subscribed. And over 1 million FirstNet connections are in service, bringing first responders and those that support them the reliability, capability and accountability they trust to carry out their mission.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AT&T

Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, and Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker are locked in a battle over whether the city should sign on to a new mutual aid agreement with emergency services districts in both Travis and Williamson counties and several small cities. While Baker appears to have the winning hand, he says he has worked hard to compromise with the union, giving it nearly everything it was seeking.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin Monitor

Los Angeles County firefighters on Tuesday won approval to ask voters for more money to help their sprawling department tackle increasingly destructive wildfires and a growing volume of medical calls. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to place a proposed parcel tax on the March ballot. The tax would apply to residents in the department's coverage area, which spans 58 cities and the county's unincorporated areas.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV WB 5 Los Angeles

The union representing Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters says reduced staffing at one of the city's 31 fire stations is putting public safety at risk. According to Isaac McLennan, vice president of the Portland Firefighters Association Local 43, only two on-duty firefighters are currently regularly staffed around-the-clock at Station 23, located on Southeast 13th Place.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPTV FOX 12 Portland

There are too many medical calls in the city of Albuquerque and not nearly enough paramedics or trucks to handle them. Now, Albuquerque Fire Rescue is asking the state public regulation commission to change the rules so they can help patients. “We've had a significant increase in calls in 5 years, last year ran 90,000 medical calls 110 total calls system here in the City of Albuquerque… it's just really busy right now,” said Deputy Chief Emily Jaramillo with AFR Emergency Services.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRQE-TV CBS/FOX 13 Albuquerque

A crowd of people lined up on one end of Worcester's Union Station one recent Sunday morning. They were there to see a special exhibit commemorating the Worcester Six. "I guess 20 years is the time to break all this stuff out again and show the people. And the people still support us,” said Angelo Bongovio, a Worcester firefighter from 1983 to 2011.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBUR 90.9 FM

In the Fall of 2017, a member of the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department (DFR) died by suicide. Earlier that year, the firefighter had been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) and as a result faced disciplinary action. When the department learned of a second alcohol-related issue later the same year, and pending the outcome of the investigation, additional disciplinary action led to the firefighter being placed on administrative leave.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Community groups threatened demonstrations and legal action against a newly signed controversial Monroe County law to protect emergency responders from threats and harassment. "We will certainly challenge it in court,” Rev. Lewis Stewart, president of the United Christian Leadership Ministry, said. “That's a fact.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHEC-TV NBC 10 Rochester

Emergency dispatch centers in Lake County are studying ways to consolidate or share the same equipment, personnel and policies to provide better service and increase efficiencies for residents and visitors. Since 2013, Lake County, through the Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board, has studied whether consolidating more than a dozen independent primary and secondary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) or dispatch centers in Lake County could enhance 911 service, according to Jim Hawkins, a deputy county administrator who also serves as 911 consolidation planning project manager.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune - Metered Site

The city of Lansing cannot unilaterally withdraw from Leavenworth County Fire District No. 1 by terminating an interlocal agreement. That is according to a ruling issued last week by Leavenworth County District Judge David King. The judge also ruled that a termination of an interlocal agreement cannot be used to require the apportionment of all of a fire district's property.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Leavenworth Times

A group of retired White Plains firefighters are urging the city to uphold a promise made to them that their health benefits would be covered through retirement. For over a year, former Deputy Fire Chief Ed Lobermann, 85, has made presentations and met with city officials regarding the issue. Lobermann represents around 100 retired firefighters who pay 15% of their premium, when they were told in the 1970's it would be paid for them.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News (Lohud.com)

Elected officials from the Village and Town of Waterford and the Village of Rochester agree: A joint fire and emergency medical services district would benefit all three municipalities. But at least 22 years after a consolidated department was first proposed, the chance of a district for these western Racine County communities appears further off than ever.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times - Metered Site

The Scottsdale Fire Department is facing a period of heavy retirements in the next five years, but Northwest Valley fire services are on a firm footing with staff. Scottsdale is a fairly new city department, having been creating July 1, 2005 after purchasing that portion of Rural Metro, including infrastructure and staff.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun City West Independent

A new real time wildfire mapping system was used on the Cave Fire near Santa Barbara, California this week. In September the Orange County Fire Authority began a 150-day pilot program to use and evaluate the Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System (FIRIS). The program got off the ground thanks to funding secured in the 2019-2020 California state budget by Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach).
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wildfire Today

City officials say opening the Rockford Fire Department vehicle repair shop on Falcon Drive to other fire departments is paying dividends by covering the cost of an extra mechanic and producing a modest profit for the department. Not only does the program raise revenue, but it also gives the department an extra set of hands to repair and return Rockford fire equipment to service quickly after a breakdown, Fire Chief Derek Bergsten said.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rockford Register Star - Metered Site

Easton is closing in on $1 million in overtime in 2019 for its fire department, increasing the likelihood that it will bring in part-time personnel in 2020. Despite adding three new full-timers earlier this year, the city has already eclipsed the $850,000 in overtime pay it expended in 2018, Finance Director Mark Lysynecky said during the city council meeting Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Morning Call - Metered Site

The Portland City Council took what might look like a baby step last week toward more efficient handling of non-emergency 911 calls. In a break from current practice, in which uniformed, armed police officers in squad cars or a truckload of firefighters respond, commissioners approved a pilot project in which a new "third branch" of the first-responder system, staffed by a specially trained firefighter and a contracted crisis worker, would respond to some non-emergency situations.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Willamette Week

Sarah Mackin runs a cotton swab around the inside of a tiny plastic baggie that appears to be empty. She spreads whatever residue the swab picked up onto a test strip that resembles a Band-Aid, then slides the strip into a buzzing machine about the size of a boxed, take-home pie. Then she waits, hoping for information that she can share with Boston's community of opioid users.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBUR-FM 90.9

You rely on their rapid "first response" to an emergency medical call to 9-1-1. You rely on their training, knowledge, and experience in first aid and ability to stabilize a patient -- possibly a love one -- to rush them to a hospital for more precise care. But how much do paramedics make? Paramedics' salaries vary depending on their state, their training, employer, and a host of other factors.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Street Inc.

Even though Boston's Cocoanut Grove fire happened long before she was born, Michele Shapiro learned all about the disaster when she was a girl. Her grandfather, Frank Shapiro, was at a nearby theater with his wife the night of Nov. 28, 1942, when a blaze tore through the swanky Cocoanut Grove nightclub, killing 492 people.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report

Making 911 as "smart" as your cellphone. That's the goal of first responders meeting Monday to learn more about Next Gen 911. This new system is already online in parts of three counties, Kittitas, Snohomish and King counties. It's called RAADAR, Real time Agency Activity Display and Reporting. What that means is from right here, NORCOM can see what police and fire are doing in those three counties.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

The Greenwood City Council is considering a new food and beverage tax to bolster staffing levels at city departments, specifically the police and fire departments. The plan for a 1% food and beverage tax was made possible earlier this year when state lawmakers passed a bill that authorizes Greenwood and several other communities to impose such a tax.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIN-TV FOX 59 Indianapolis

The Brighton Fire District in the Town of Tonawanda is being called out by the state Comptroller's Office, for improper use of taxpayer money. A new audit says money was wrongly used on trips for members of the fire company and spouses. The Brighton Fire District protects roughly 7 square miles within the Town of Tonawanda and charges a fire tax on residents who live within the district.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGRZ-TV NBC 2 Buffalo

The story begins in 1736, when Benjamin Franklin founded the Union Fire company. By 1871, a Union Fire Company was launched in Centreville, Illinois with 32 members. This is where the story gets a bit confusing, because the town 10 miles south of Centreville also named themselves Centreville. Incredibly, this went on for about 50 years before the southern Centreville realized they had a problem, so in 1890 they changed their name to Millstadt, and the Centreville Fire Department eventually evolved into the Millstadt Union Fire Company.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMOV-TV CBS 4 St. Louis

The Eureka Fire Protection District is testing technology designed to keep drivers and emergency responders safe. Division Chief Scott Barthelmass said his department sees dangerous driving nearly every time they respond to a call. “A vehicle approaching at 60-70 miles per hour when there's an emergency ahead is dangerous,” he said.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVI-TV FOX 2 St. Louis

The FDNY-Uniformed Firefighter Association is criticizing the decision to shut down streets around Rockefeller Center for pedestrians during the holidays. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the city would expand pedestrian space in the area and close streets to traffic, saying the increasing number of people in the area is “creating a real safety issue.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLNY-TV 55 Riverhead

In view of the Nov. 13 house fire that claimed the life of 39-year-old Lt. Jason Menard, the department's second line-of-duty death in less than a year, City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. Friday announced his intention to name a task force to look at firefighter safety. The task force will do its work alongside the typically yearlong federal review the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health conducts as a matter of course after a firefighter dies on duty.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram & Gazette

When buildings and vehicles are set ablaze, toxic chemicals are released into the air. Those chemicals can last by hanging on to firefighters' gear, even taken back to the station after fires are put out -- causing troubling consequences for health and safety to those in duty. According to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study, firefighters are twice as likely to get skin and testicular cancer and mesothelioma.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV CBS 9

Fast food chain In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 grass fire in rural Arroyo Grande, a lawsuit filed by Cal Fire in San Luis Obispo Superior Court alleges. According to the lawsuit, a wildfire sparked Sept. 20, 2017 on a property owned by In-N-Out at 9815 Huasna Road in Arroyo Grande. The fire was caused by a tractor mowing grass on the property, Cal Fire says in the suit — noting that the property was covered in “dry annual grasses and scattered brush, which created a receptive bed of flammable vegetation.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Tribune - Metered Site

Use an ambulance, don't pay the bill and face criminal charges. That is what's happening in one Westmoreland County community. EMS companies all over the area are facing huge debts. Rescue 14 in Adamsburg in Westmoreland County is no different. But the district attorney has signed off on its new groundbreaking method of bill collecting.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPXI-TV NBC 11 Pittsburgh

The Newburgh City Council on Thursday night approved its 2020 financial plan that includes steep layoffs to public safety and a tax increase for non-homestead payers after an emotionally-charged meeting at the Activity Center. The $46.8 million budget plan calls for the elimination of 35 public-safety positions, six of which are funded-vacancies; meaning 15 uniformed police positions and 14 uniformed firefighters will be cut.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Record Online

Local firefighters and first responders participated in special training on Wednesday aimed at learning how to identify someone with dementia. Carmel and Noblesville fire departments are working to become the first departments in the state to require the training. With an increasing regularity, firefighters are responding to patients suffering some form of dementia.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISH-TV News 8

A hot oiler truck and a frack tank offloading product were the cause of an explosion Thursday on Fairgrounds Road in southeast Midland. Chief Charles Blumenauer of the Midland Fire Department said a fire engine responding to the scene also caught fire after the initial incident. A hose disconnected from the hot oiler and spilled fluid, causing a rolling fire under MFD Engine 3, he said.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Midland Reporter-Telegram

A prestigious firefighter training event is coming to Tulsa for the first time. The Oklahoma Smoke Diver Program will be held at the Tulsa Fire Training Center next March and is expected to have a $200,000 economic impact on the community.The program is only available in a handful of states. Oklahoma firefighters began work on bringing it to the state about five years ago.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox 23 News

Three men were killed when flames tore through an abandoned home overnight in Queens. Police sources told CBS2 the cause is believed to be suspicious. Firefighters were called shortly after midnight to Farmers Boulevard near 111th Avenue in the St. Albans section. When crews arrived, they found the men – believed to be squatters – already dead inside the house.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York CBS Local

It's a slice of small-town America that's disappearing across the country. Just like the mom-and-pop hardware store, the volunteer fire department is being replaced with big-city professional departments. In the Florida Keys, only two all-volunteer departments have managed to hang on, along with volunteers serving on paid departments.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Miami Herald

Two former city firefighters, both African Americans, have filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming they were the victims of racial discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment, especially under the leadership of retired Fire Chief Joseph Dooley. The 15-page lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Superior Court in Union County, charges that Joseph Braxton and Mark Bullock were subjected to "racial comments and jokes" daily.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Central Jersey

Kansas City's interim fire chief, Donna Maize, will become the first woman to lead the department, the city announced in a press release Wednesday. Maize, who was serving in City Manager Troy Schulte's office, took the helm as interim chief in September when Gary Reese stepped down. Schulte on Wednesday appointed her to the permanent position, which she had indicated previously that she didn't plan on pursuing.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Kansas City Star

Lloyd Musick was driving south on Route 309 in Lynn Township on Tuesday night when he came upon an overturned truck that had just been in a crash. He stopped his vehicle and joined two others to help out the victims in the wreck, authorities said. Musick didn't know the people involved in the 5:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Morning Call

The sign on the door at Firehouse 7 says it all: “THIS PROPERTY CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH.” Asbestos was detected on open surfaces inside the North Plymouth station, prompting the site to be locked down until further notice. Both the town manager and the Board of Health both issued declarations ordering Firehouse 7 closed.
- PUB DATE: 11/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Plymouth Wicked Local

No one knows how many firefighters have been diagnosed with cancer in the country, let alone the state or Dutchess County. In the past five years, officials from the state to firemen associations, have recognized the prevalence of the cancer risk that career and volunteer firefighters face. And different organizations are taking steps to quantify the problem.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Poughkeepsie Journal

The public safety sector—including fire service, law enforcement, EMS and corrections—has made significant gains in raising awareness around suicide among first responders. But did you know that sometimes the very messages used to promote awareness can cause harm and undermine suicide prevention efforts? Fortunately, there is a safe way to talk about suicide.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1.com

The Lewiston Fire Department's new Engine 3, a Pierce Ascendant with aerial ladder, is an impressive beast no matter how you look at it. But the rig cost the city nearly $1 million dollars and there are people who want to know how this truck is better than the old one, which lasted the city 22 years.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun Journal

All members of the Medical Control Board voted to start testing a pilot program that would allow Charlotte firefighters to leave the scene of a call if the patient is OK and MEDIC is already on its way. "You call 911 and you're going to get a red truck coming pretty fast in a short time frame,” said CFD Chief Reginald Johnson.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSOC-TV

No one was injured Monday night as Paterson firefighters battled a structure fire on Rosa Parks Boulevard that spread to an adjacent building. The fire was broadcast live on national television as part of a three-hour version of A&E's "Live Rescue." Paterson Fire Chief Brian McDermott told TV viewers, "We had a pretty advanced fire on arrival.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northjersey.com

It was the beginning of a hero's sendoff. Worcester fire officials promised Tina Menard and her three children a hero's sendoff for Lt. Jason Menard. It's a promise no fire department wants to fulfill, and one Worcester firefighters have had to deliver eight other times in the last 20 years. Firefighters, police officers and paramedics from across Massachusetts lined up outside Mercadante Funeral Home in Worcester on Sunday afternoon, paying their respects to Menard, who was killed in a four-alarm fire early Wednesday morning at 7 Stockholm St.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Masslive.com

The firehouse on Foulkrod and Darrah streets in Philadelphia's Frankford section has been without its engine for a decade, leaving some neighbors feeling vulnerable. "Because of all the families that are around here, all the people around here, they need the engine to save lives," said Sylvia Pickens, who lives across the street from the firehouse.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia

A recent report on the Durham Fire Department's response to the April 10 gas explosion downtown could bolster the department's request for 75 more firefighters. The Fire Department has about 385 people who fight fires. Having more would improve response times and on-scene efficiency, reducing injuries and property loss, according to a presentation the department gave the city in March, about a month before the explosion.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The News & Observer

Corporations can be held legally responsible for the state's costs in investigating and fighting fires that are carelessly started or spread by corporate employees, a state appeals court ruled Monday. There has been no dispute that corporations can be required to pay compensation for deaths, injuries and property damage from fires caused by their employees, the source of at least $18 billion of the debt that drove Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle - Metered Site

Capt. Shawn Campana needed an escape. The stress and pressures of working in Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were beginning to weigh on her. Enter Charlie, a 3-year-old Greyhound she adopted in 2015. “There's light again,” Campana said of Charlie, “and there hasn't been in some time. He was the only thing that made that happen.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Miami Herald

VIDEO: The Fairbanks International Airport Police and Fire Department is unique in that their employees are 'cross trained' -- meaning every police officer is a firefighter, and every firefighter is a police officer. "We are both a police and fire department, along as EMS as well. So we are a true public safety, kind of all hazards approach,” Chief Aaron Danielson said.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Webcenter 11

The City of Cleveland Fire Department has been charged with discrimination by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after an investigation uncovered evidence that it discriminated against black, Hispanic and female applicants, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The U.S. EEOC determined that since at least 2009, the Cleveland Fire Department has displayed a pattern of failing or refusing to hire and promote black, Hispanic and female applicants through the use of discriminatory hiring tests and procedures.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEWS-TV ABC 5 Cleveland

VIDEO: The victim of a car fire punched two firefighters because he thought they were taking too long to put out the fire. The incident happened near the intersection of Shreve and Natural Bridge Friday evening. Firefighters said they were trying to put the fire out when the car's owner thought they were working too slowly, so he started punching two of them.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMOV-TV CBS 4 St. Louis

The local fire union wants to know why a multi-million dollar surplus, found by Metro government from last year's budget, can't be used to reverse cuts made this year. The city found an extra $4 million in an audit of the last fiscal year, which ended this past June. Now, it's up to Metro Council to decide where that money will go.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAV-TV NBC 3 Louisville

VIDEO: Roanoke's Fire Station 7 was recently demolished after nearly a century of serving Grandin Village, but people got to take a piece of its history home for free this weekend. Roanoke Fire EMS gave away more than 1,000 bricks salvaged from the historic structure, which had stood since 1922. The fire department tore down the firehouse to make way for a new, larger fire station on the same site.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSLS-TV NBC 10 Roanoke

Two city departments are trying to shake up their staffs. Asheville police and fire officials said they are lacking diversity. Both are actively working to recruit more diverse applicants. “We've not been able to keep up with our community,” Asheville Fire Battalion Chief Patrick Crudup said. Interim Police Chief Robert White said there are a number of reasons.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS-TV ABC 13 Asheville

On Wednesday, The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) and the American Heart Association unveiled a new hands-only CPR kiosk that has the ability to train and test travelers in bystander CPR in about five minutes. The kiosk, located in the Central Terminal, includes a touch screen display with video instruction and tutorials, followed by an interactive practice session and test.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

Californians who lost their home insurance because of the threat of wildfires will be able to buy comprehensive policies next year through a state-mandated plan under an order issued Thursday by the state insurance commissioner. Devastating wildfires have plagued the state in recent years, destroying thousands of homes.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV NBC 11 San Jose

At an age many Milwaukee Firefighters are retiring from the department Hernan Galarza just got sworn in as a Milwaukee Firefighter Thursday evening. At age 51, he is the oldest recruit to successfully make it through the program. “I have always wanted to serve. I always wanted to do something for the community,” said Galarza.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee

In 2017, Police Chief Michael Spellman said that it's not a matter of "if" an officer will come in contact with a citizen on the autism spectrum, but rather, a matter of "when." Indeed, one out of every 59 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, the Centers for Disease Control said in 2018.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Groton Patch

Jeffery and Daynese Stowe of Roxborough will be the first African-American father and daughter to actively serve as firefighters at the same time in the history of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Daynese was scheduled to graduate from the Philadelphia Fire Academy on Wednesday. The same day, Jeffery, who is the Deputy Chief Aide for the Philadelphia Fire Department, will celebrate his 30th anniversary of being a firefighter.
- PUB DATE: 11/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Philadelphia Tribune

Watertown officials say it's the end to the long drawn out battle between the city and its fire union over minimum staffing. City Manager Rick Finn says the rule that forced the fire department to sometimes work with fewer than 15 firefighters was rescinded last week. Watertown has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an unsuccessful attempt to get rid of a minimum staffing agreement between the city and its firefighters union.
- PUB DATE: 11/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWNY-TV CBS 7 Carthage

City Council is giving Winchester's Human Resources Department an extra month to address concerns raised by career firefighters and paramedics over proposed changes to the city's vacation and sick leave policies. “This is one of those issues ... that could be a game changer for us,” Winchester Fire and Rescue Chief William Garrett told council at its meeting Tuesday night.
- PUB DATE: 11/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Winchester Star - Metered Site

Tears welled in the eyes of Worcester Fire Chief Michael Lavoie Tuesday as he spoke about the approaching 20th anniversary of the blaze that claimed the lives of six firefighters. “It's still agonizing. It's still emotional. We have to be here. We can't forget,” Lavoie said. “We have to have these ceremonies.
- PUB DATE: 11/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Republican - MassLive

“I said, ‘I'm not going to die today.' I said, ‘Today is not my day,'” a young girl tells the camera just a few minutes into the Netflix documentary “Fire in Paradise.” She can't be over 10 years old, yet the way she articulates her experience escaping a raging wildfire makes her seem older. What she says is raw and heartbreaking, and the grit she shows continues for the rest of the documentary's approximately 40–minute run.
- PUB DATE: 11/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Ithacan