With every intercepted pipe bomb, fear spread from New York to Washington, Florida, Delaware and California. The devices stashed in manila envelopes and mailed nationwide targeted top Democrats two weeks before the midterm elections. The bombs found this week were intended for at least seven officials, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Democratic Rep. - PUB DATE: 10/25/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN
For Houston firefighters it is hallowed ground, the scene of the catastrophic Southwest Inn inferno -- a blaze which killed five of their comrades and injured a dozen others.
Five years later, amid a contentious political fight for higher wages, a sign opposing pay parity for firefighters was placed on the chain link fence, roughly 25 yards beyond the barren concrete slab bearing crosses for the fallen. - PUB DATE: 10/25/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRIV-TV Houston MyFox 26
On a Saturday morning in September, a controlled explosion sent the very last remnants of the old eastern span on the Bay Bridge under the water and forever out of sight.
For those who drive over its replacement, memories of the old, massive steel structure fade with each passing trip.
Although, for San Francisco Fire Department Firefighter and Paramedic Chris Posey, there is one memory that will never disappear. - PUB DATE: 10/25/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV-TV NBC 11 Bay Area
When you drive past the Kansasville Fire and Rescue station on Highway 11, the electronic sign often reads “Firefighters and EMTs needed. Apply Now!” Similar advertisements are seen nationwide, as full-time and volunteer fire departments alike struggle to fill their rosters.
The National Volunteer Firefighter Council found that, from 1984-2015, the number of volunteer firefighters in the U. - PUB DATE: 10/25/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times
Ogunquit residents have started the process to recall three Select Board members who voted earlier this month to uphold the termination of the town’s fire chief.
The residents, upset with the board members’ support of Town Manager Patricia Finnigan and her decision to fire Fire Chief Mark O’Brien, want to remove Madeline Mooney, Charles Waite III and Robert Winn from office. - PUB DATE: 10/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Press Herald
Four firefighter/paramedics in Naperville started working eight-hour shifts this week as part of a staffing plan designed to get more people on duty when they're needed most.
The typical firefighter's hours are 24 hours on the job, 48 hours off, and that's not changing at the large Naperville department, which operates 10 stations with a daily minimum of 42 firefighter/paramedics on the job. - PUB DATE: 10/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Herald
VIDEO - Three people were injured in an accident involving an FDNY ambulance in the Bronx that was on the way to a call. That ambulance then slammed into an optical store.
An FDNY official said it happened around 7:30 a.m. on East Fordham Road at Elm Place. The ambulance collided with a Honda Civic before careening into the store. - PUB DATE: 10/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7
More Than 3,600 Public Safety Agencies SubscribedMore than 3,600 public safety agencies across the country have now joined FirstNet. That’s a nearly 50% increase in the number of agencies subscribing to the nationwide public safety communications platform in less than 2 months.
With more than 250,000 connections on FirstNet, first responders from federal, state, local and tribal public safety agencies continue to turn to FirstNet for the communications capabilities they need, especially during emergencies and large events. - PUB DATE: 10/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FirstNet.gov
As a career firefighter in Washington, D.C., and a 32-year volunteer with the Independent Hose Co. in Frederick, Jeff Scire has run into his fair share of burning buildings.
He usually has close to 50 pounds of safety and breathing equipment to protect him, but none of it was available Monday afternoon as Scire found himself facing a smoke-filled basement less than a mile from his home on Indian Springs Road. - PUB DATE: 10/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Frederick News-Post
San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, the first woman ever to lead the department and the longest-serving big-city fire chief in the country, told her department on Monday she’s retiring.
She has agreed to stay on the job until spring to give Mayor London Breed time to find her replacement. Her ideal retirement date, she said, is May 5, 2019, a “small tribute” to the late Mayor Ed Lee, who would have turned 67 that day. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle
The first firefighters to arrive on scene of a house fire in Springfield where they were ambushed by a gunman are on leave while a Peer Support Team helps them and the department heal from the trauma.
Battalion Chief Mike Caven with the Eugene Springfield Fire Department is praising those five firefighters for their efforts, calling them heroes. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KEZI-TV ABC 9
Citing the “extensive nature” of the request, the City of Scranton needs 30 days to decide if it will provide the employment application of the city fire chief’s son.
The Times-Tribune requested a copy of Jacob DeSarno’s employment application earlier this month through the Right To Know Law, after the applicant’s father, Fire Chief Patrick DeSarno, directed the paper to do so. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
A firefighter claims his dreams of being on an elite FDNY rescue squad were crushed when his co-workers began suspecting he is gay.
Jason Johnson, 40, a former National Guardsman, says in his Manhattan federal lawsuit filed Monday that he made it to a Special Operations Command unit in 2016, only to be kicked off the team several months later following a bizarre crotch-grabbing incident while riding a firetruck, which resulted in Johnson being branded as “gay. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
Toledo firefighters worry they might have to temporarily close a firehouse if one more back-up fire engine winds up in the repair shop, but councilmen hope a slight budget reconfiguration will help alleviate those fears.
Fire Chief Brian Byrd this month told council that crews have been consistently using rigs meant to be in reserve as their front-line equipment when they respond to fires. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade
The firefighter who died while responding to a combine fire has been identified.
According to Shelby County Emergency Management officials, 58-year-old Tom Henrich died Saturday afternoon after he fell ill while on a call. He was the Earling Fire and Rescue Department chief. KJAN Radio reported the fire was near Highway 37 and Hazel Road around 2:40 p. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KETV
Overtime costs at the Los Angeles County Fire Department surged 36% in the last five years, placing some firefighters among the highest-compensated workers in local government.
The increase comes as the department grapples with staffing shortages and several seasons of extreme wildfires. Yet some county officials and outside experts question whether fire commanders are properly managing their $1-billion payroll. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
There wasn’t a dry eye in Sunday's "Shark Tank."
Kaley, Christian and Keira Young may have wowed the sharks with their late father’s invention, but it’s the Young family’s story that broke their hearts.
“It was his dream to pitch it on 'Shark Tank,' ” Kaley said of the Cup Board Pro, a chopping board with a detachable bowl for easy cleanup. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today
Florida Gov. Rick Scott issued another rebuke of Verizon, telling the cell provider in a terse press release that he expects the company to give him a plan today to restore service to the areas hit by Hurricane Michael, and that all cell providers should waive bills for October.
The press release was addressed to all cell phone providers, but it singled out Verizon, which has struggled to restore service in Bay County, where Michael made landfall. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times
A top FDNY official in charge of assessing aspiring firefighters has been hosed out of that role, The Post has learned.
Margaret “Peg” Quinn-Puppa, deputy director of the FDNY’s candidate investigation division, “is assuming other duties in human resources,” said department spokesman Jim Long.
Those duties are “outside” of candidate investigation, Long added without further comment. - PUB DATE: 10/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
Gulf County Fire Coordinator Brad Price, firefighter and paramedic, was helping to clear some of the debris Hurricane Michael left behind Thursday when a tree fell on his tractor.
"We are heartbroken to announce the loss of one of our own," the Gulf County Sheriff's Office announced on social media, hours after colleagues found the 49-year-old father of two and youth softball coach from Wewahitchka dead. - PUB DATE: 10/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Local10news.com
