The County Commission approved a proposed settlement agreement Tuesday in a two-year discrimination, then retaliation, lawsuit filed by a Marion County Fire Rescue employee against the county.
Marion County Fire Rescue Division Chief Shari Hall filed suit against the county in May 2016, claiming the county discriminated against her based on her gender when she was passed over in 2015 for the fire chief position, which was given to now-retired Paul Nevels. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ocala Star-Banner
Two Austin firefighters received four-hour suspensions after damaging department equipment during incidents in May and June.
The first happened on May 16 when fire specialist Chad Benestante closed a bay door on a fire engine while leaving a station to respond to a call, suspension paperwork said.
The second happened on June 10 when firefighter Dustin Mills was working with an aerial ladder. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman
Braden Varney was coming home, but not in the way anyone expected.
His body was going to be carried through his hometown in the back of a white SUV. Its destination: the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office.
The Varney family has lived in Mariposa for decades, longer than anyone could remember, although no one could say exactly how long. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SFGate.com
Emotional testimony capped the first day Monday in the arson and murder trial of a woman accused of setting the fire that killed Kansas City firefighters John Mesh and Larry Leggio.
Capt. Steve Davis remembers instructing firefighter Leggio to pull a fan out of a window facing the alley so they could throw more water at the fire within. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas City Star
Crews on Monday extracted the body of a firefighter from a steep ravine that his bulldozer had rolled into days ago as he fought a wildfire west of Yosemite.
The body of 36-year-old Braden Varney, a 10-year-veteran with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, remained in a mesh of mangled metal for three days in a site near El Portal that was too remote for bulldozers and too precarious to allow an immediate extraction. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SFGate.com
TargetSolutions, a Vector Solutions brand offering the leading operations and training management software for the fire service, and the International Association of Fire Chief’s (IAFC) Volunteer & Combination Officers Section (VCOS) are proud to announce Deputy Chief Josh Blum, of Loveland-Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department (LSFD), as the recipient of the 2018 VCOS Training Officer Recognition Award. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
Two former presidents of Falls Township Fire Company No. 1 were charged on July 16 with stealing more than $46,000 from the volunteer organization.
Christopher J. Carlin, 48, who served as president in 2017 and treasurer before that, is accused of taking $34,896.59.
His predecessor, Gary Margerum, 61, president from 2009-2016, is charged with stealing $11,198. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bucks Local News
A 52-year-old cleaning lady and four firefighters were hurt Monday after they were attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees, leaving the woman in critical condition.
CBSLA’s Stacey Butler reported Monday night that the woman’s son said that it appears she will survive her injuries from the bee attack. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCAL-TV Los Angeles
Officials say a firefighter killed while battling a wildfire near Yosemite National Park was driving a bulldozer and trying to prevent the fire from spreading. Braden Varney, 36, was a second generation firefighter, state fire officials told CBS Sacramento.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Chief Nancy Koerperich said Saturday that Varney was cutting a "fire break" with the vehicle to prevent the blaze from spreading when he was killed. - PUB DATE: 7/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS News
A firefighter battling cancer is being sued by Baytown's city government, which seeks to deny paying him insurance coverage for his treatment over the last 18 months.
Patrick Mahoney, a battalion chief for the Baytown Fire Department, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in December 2016, forcing him to have half of his thyroid removed and undergo continued treatment, including thyroid hormone supplements and regular blood work. - PUB DATE: 7/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
Two men have pleaded guilty to manslaughter in an explosion at a marrijuana grow house that killed a New York City fire battalion chief, prosecutors said.
"This is an extremely rare instance where someone is being held criminally responsible for conditions that caused the death of a firefighter in the line of duty in New York City," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said Friday in announcing that Garivaldi Castillo and Julio Salcedo had admitted to manslaughter and marijuana possession. - PUB DATE: 7/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV 7online.com
VIDEO - Two suspects are in custody after an hours-long chase of a Sacramento County fire truck stolen in Rio Linda ended Saturday near Oroville, authorities said.
Several agencies pursued the truck Saturday afternoon as it traveled nearly 100 miles across four counties and reportedly swerved into oncoming traffic. - PUB DATE: 7/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCRA-TV NBC Sacramento
Philadelphia firefighter Joyce Craig gave the ultimate sacrifice — her life — in helping save others from a house fire in West Oak Lane in December 2014, becoming the city’s first female firefighter to die in the line of duty.
That is why getting a headstone for her grave took 3½ years.
“We didn’t want to put just any headstone there,” said Lisa Forrest, a captain in the Fire Department and president of Club Valiants, an association for black firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians. - PUB DATE: 7/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philly.com
Andre Esposito, chairman of Utica’s Civil Service Commission, believes the board has a tough decision to make within the next few months.
The commission is considering a request from Mayor Robert Palmieri to authorize an open competitive exam to vet candidates for Utica’s next fire chief. This would open up the test to internal and external candidates for a fire department historically led by internal promotion. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch
Verizon Wireless and a Kansas-based construction company said Thursday that they were responsible, through an as-yet-unnamed subcontractor, for work being done at the site of a massive natural gas explosion Tuesday that rocked Sun Prairie’s downtown, killing a volunteer firefighter and critically injuring another. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Journal
A $156,360-a-year deputy district chief has been demoted –– and faces a lengthy suspension along with a paramedic-in-charge for their participation in, yet another timekeeping scam in the Chicago Fire Department.
Sources identified the demoted deputy district chief as Edgar Ignacio Silvestrini, who was in charge of the fire department’s Medical Administration Regulatory Compliance section. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times
An inferno that has burned from California into Oregon over the past week and is believed to have killed one person should be fully under control by Sunday, officials said.
The Klamathon Fire, which started July 5 in Siskiyou County, was 75 percent contained Thursday evening at 36,500 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SF Gate
A major upgrade called Smart 911 was launched Thursday to help improve Cincinnati’s 911 operations in the wake of a teenager's death.
“This will be able to save lives,” said Cincinnati Councilwoman Amy Murray. When someone calls 911 from a cellphone key information will now be displayed on the dispatcher’s screen about the caller if they've signed up for the program. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLWT-TV NBC 5 Cincinnati
City Councilor Bob Hamel is facing criticism for his remarks at a Monday night meeting during a prickly exchange with the head of the union that represents city firefighters.
It is the height of budget season in Laconia, which has a tax cap in place, and the council and fire department have clashed in recent weeks over the cost of overtime for firefighters. - PUB DATE: 7/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Manchester Union Leader
Fairfax County’s next fire chief will be a veteran firefighter who has led Howard County’s fire department for the past four years and served two combat tours as a Marine, the Board of Supervisors has announced.
John S. Butler is set to take over the 1,400-strong department in September, replacing Richard Bowers, who retired in April. - PUB DATE: 7/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Washington Post
