Casey Peck had never prayed so hard.
His fire engine was trapped with dozens of cars and panicked people as an inferno roared through the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Paradise on Thursday, hot enough to peel the firetruck’s paint and melt its hoses, blowing relief valves designed to withstand 900 degrees and immolating nearby vehicles. - PUB DATE: 11/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Associated Press
The Seattle Fire Department has begun contingency planning in case critical private ambulance service is disrupted by a labor dispute.
The emergency medical technicians for American Medical Response are now voting on whether to accept the company's offer or authorize a strike. They are members of Teamsters Local 763. - PUB DATE: 11/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO 7 Seattle
A volunteer firefighter remains at Strong Memorial Hospital with serious injuries following a crash Monday night.
State Police say 27-year-old Jared Thompson was traveling eastbound on Route 31 in Murray around 5:40 p.m., responding to a call. Thompson is a member of the Fancher Hulberton Murray Fire Company and had his blue emergency lights activated, according to New York State Police. - PUB DATE: 11/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUHF Fox Rochester
A firefighter was injured Sunday while attempting to rescue a cat in Midtown Mobile. Mobile Fire-Rescue spokesperson Steven Millhouse said a crew went to a home on McPhillips Avenue after a resident asked for help when their cat got stuck behind a stove. Millhouse said the crew was under the impression that electricity to the kitchen had been turned off. - PUB DATE: 11/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WALA MyFox Gulf Coast
A series of fast-moving wildfires are racing up and down California early Friday, destroying thousands of structures in their paths and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate through flame-lined streets.
Fanned by high winds and low humidity, the fires spread rapidly Thursday and overnight Friday. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN
First responders who died of Ground Zero-related illnesses are eligible for a federal medal honoring Sept. 11 heroes under a new law signed by President Trump.
The law, introduced last year by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens), makes firefighters, cops and emergency service officers fatally sickened by the toxic debris pile eligible for the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
Fire ripped through a South Side house, causing a collapse and the need to rescue a trapped Chicago firefighter Friday morning.
The fire broke out in the 7800-block of South Sangamon Street and there was heavy fire coming from the north side of the building, the Chicago Fire Department said.
Firefighters went inside to rescue residents. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago
Not many people know that Central Pierce Fire & Rescue saves lives with what used to be a beer truck.
The vehicle is used as a makeshift rescue rig, carrying equipment for the fire department’s most technical emergency calls, including rescues involving structural collapse, trenches and confined spaces. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The News Tribune
The daughter of a fallen Tennessee firefighter sang him "Happy Birthday" while clutching a pillow with his photo on it - and the video will melt your heart.
Video shows 3-year-old Korbyn belting out her best birthday wishes to fallen hero Lawrenceburg firefighter Jason Dickey, singing, "Happy Birthday, Dada. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVC-TV ABC 9 Chattanooga
The assistant chief of the Van Wyck fire department in Lancaster County was killed Tuesday while directing traffic at a wreck scene, police and coroner officials said.
Dennis Straight, 59, of Lancaster died around 8 p.m. at Springs Memorial Hospital, said Lancaster County Deputy Coroner Jennifer Collins. - PUB DATE: 11/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The State
Twelve people including a police officer were killed by a gunman at a crowded bar in Thousand Oaks, California, late Wednesday, officials said.
Several hundred people were inside the venue, which was hosting a "college country night" for students, police said. Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean described the incident at the Borderline Bar and Grill as a "tragic, tragic situation. - PUB DATE: 11/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News
The president of Utica’s firefighters union is threatening legal action against the city as to how the Utica Fire Department’s assistant chief, once retired, was reinstated to his former job.
A few months after Asst. Chief George Clark retired in April, Mayor Robert Palmieri requested his reinstatement by the Utica Civil Service Commission as he named Scott Ingersoll — Clark’s successor — the department’s new fire chief. - PUB DATE: 11/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch
One day after Houston voters approved a sweeping pay raise for the city’s firefighters, union officials called for an end to “divisive politics” and a return to collective bargaining, even as Mayor Sylvester Turner said the ballot initiative’s passage would force him to downsize the Houston Fire Department, cause response times to rise and endanger public safety. - PUB DATE: 11/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
VIDEO - Picture everything in your building blowing sky high, the ceiling caving in, and everything landing in a jumbled pile. Now, imagine digging through that pile, perhaps multiple stories of debris, to find a gravely injured colleague.
Welcome to the world of collapse rescue, which firefighters and paramedics may face at a moment’s notice. - PUB DATE: 11/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Chicago
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday in favor of two Arizona firefighters who claimed they were fired because of their advanced age.
In the court's first opinion following oral argument of its new term, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the Age Discrimination Act covers state and local governments without regard to the number of workers they employ. - PUB DATE: 11/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today
Voters on Tuesday granted Houston firefighters the same pay as police of corresponding rank and seniority, giving a boost to firefighters who long have felt neglected by City Hall while dealing a blow to Mayor Sylvester Turner and the city budget he administers.
The passage of Proposition B sets up a potential court fight over the legality of the measure, and raises the possibility that Turner may swiftly implement his pledge to lay off more than 850 firefighters and scores of other city workers to accommodate what he repeatedly has called the measure's "unaffordable" cost. - PUB DATE: 11/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
More than 150 people came to Monday’s City Council meeting to offer a rebuttal to the city’s recent mailing about the Public Safety Officer program.
People in red shirts signifying opposition to PSO program filled City Hall. Council chambers could not hold the crowd, which overflowed into nearby rooms. - PUB DATE: 11/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
Proposition 11 has passed, the AP is predicting. The campaign largely funded by private ambulance companies had voters deciding what to do with employee breaks.
Emergency ambulance employees who work for private companies will be allowed to continue their current practice of having emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics stay on-duty during their meal and rest breaks in order to respond to 911 calls. - PUB DATE: 11/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOVR-TV CBS Sacramento
The Madison Fire Department is examining its health programs and policies as federal officials plan to investigate the death of one of the department’s members earlier this year after a stressful shift.
While it’s still unclear seven months later if a taxing 48-hour shift contributed to the sudden heart attack death of firefighter and paramedic Richard Garner, the fire department is looking at whether its wellness programs, fitness testing policies and shift scheduling could better prevent job-related health problems or deaths. - PUB DATE: 11/7/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Jounral
A jury sided with a former West Covina deputy fire marshal last week in his whistleblower-retaliation lawsuit against the city.
Jason Briley had worked for the West Covina Fire Department for nine years when he was fired in September 2015. The city claimed Briley had been fired for improper conduct and being difficult to work with, but he alleged the move was retaliation for him pointing out various city facilities — including City Hall, the Cortez Park Community & Senior Center and the Cameron Park Community Center — did not have proper fire alarm systems. - PUB DATE: 11/6/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Gabriel Valley Tribune
