A firefighter suffered head trauma after a woman drove over a fire hose while Palmyra Fire Department was dispatched to the scene of a reported fire last week, police said. The department was dispatched at 4 p.m. Jan. 9 to 1300 Park Drive in North Londonderry Township for a report of a fire, township police said.
- PUB DATE: 1/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lebanon Daily News

John R. Hawkins, who for 12 years was chief of the Cal Fire Riverside Unit and the Riverside County Fire Department, was suddenly removed from his post on Friday, a Cal Fire spokesman said Friday night. Daniel Talbot, a deputy chief, on Friday took over as interim county fire chief until a permanent replacement is found, said Mike Mohler, a Cal Fire spokesman.
- PUB DATE: 1/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Riverside Press-Enterprise

AN FDNY lieutenant immortalized in a photo at Ground Zero has filed a complaint against the head of the fraternal group representing black firefighters, sources told the Daily News. Lt. Daniel McWilliams, who is white, filed the equal employment opportunity complaint after he appeared as part of the ceremonial unit at a memorial service Nov.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has taken over the county’s helicopter rescue operations after talks disintegrated with the county fire authority in the turf war over who should conduct air rescues. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said this week that her department has not renewed an agreement that named the Orange County Fire Authority as the primary agency in handling air rescues in remote wilderness and park areas.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Register

Vending style machines are making an appearance at Chesapeake fire stations, but they are not there to supply the firefighters with chocolate bars and soda. The machines at three stations are part of a new, secure, web-based vending system for medical supplies. Chesapeake is the first fire department in Hampton Roads and just the fourth one in the commonwealth to adopt the supply dispensing system UCapIT.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Virginian Pilot

The City of East Liverpool is getting closer to having the area’s first public-private ambulance service. This comes after several incidents where no ambulance was available for emergencies — some of which ended in tragedy. East Liverpool’s fire crew is looking forward to the department’s new additions.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKBN.com

San Bernardino County Fire was welcomed this week to submit its second “best and final offer” to the city for handling services beyond June 30, when its contract officially expires. But elected officials were still proceeding with plans to reactivate a city-run department. Mayor Pro Tem Jim Cox was clear to temper Tuesday evening that an absolute decision had not been made, a suggestion that the Council still maintained a collective open mind to renewing a contract with County Fire.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Press

The deputy chief of the West Feliciana Fire Protection District was killed Wednesday morning north of St. Francisville while responding to a crash on U.S. 61, according to State Police and Fire Protection District No.1 of West Feliciana. Deputy Chief Russell Achord, 48, of St. Francisville, was responding to an 18-wheeler that had run off the side of U.
- PUB DATE: 1/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baton Rouge Advocate

In Phoenix, not every medical 911 call results in an ambulance ride to the hospital. Sometimes, the fire department calls for a taxi to take the person to the hospital instead. The number of taxi rides is growing — overwhelmingly so for people in poor neighborhoods — as fire officials wrestle with more calls and limited resources.
- PUB DATE: 1/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix

Firefighters and other responders working on some of the busiest stretches in Texas now have an added level of safety with apparatus that were recently placed in service. The Irving Fire Department has placed two “blocker” apparatus in service and the department will be adding three more blocker units in the coming months.
- PUB DATE: 1/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Many research studies have focused on firefighter mental health challenges due to a sinAcross the country, firefighters are responding to fewer fires but are increasingly called upon to provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS), perform search and rescue, and react to hazardous materials incidents and natural disasters.
- PUB DATE: 1/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. Fire Administration

The state Supreme Court refused Wednesday to reinstate a San Francisco jury’s $3.7 million damage award to 15 firefighters who claimed age discrimination in the city’s scoring of a 2008 exam on promotions to lieutenant. The Superior Court jury agreed with the firefighters in 2013 that the Fire Department’s exam unit had weighed some parts of the test more than others, and ranked the test-takers, in ways that were unrelated to fitness for the promotion, and that had an adverse effect on applicants older than 40.
- PUB DATE: 1/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SFGate.com

Break a leg on the job and workers compensation will pay the medical bills and cover lost wages. But suffer emotional or psychological trauma after a failed attempt to revive an infant or hours processing dead bodies in the wake of a mass shooting and you're out of luck. Families of first responders and a bi-partisan group of lawmakers are behind a proposal to include post traumatic stress disorder in workers comp coverage.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tallahassee Democrat & Tallahassee.com

A Houston Republican is starting to pay a hefty price as she runs for re-election for running afoul with police and firefighter unions in Texas. In the last to Legislature sessions, State Sen. Joan Huffman has sponsored legislation to make it harder for many public worker unions to collect membership dues.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

The bitter contract dispute between the city and the firefighters’ union could last much longer than the year deadline that City Council members hope. Syracuse attorney Nathaniel Lambright, who is representing the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191, warned on Tuesday that the labor dispute may not be resolved for another two to 2½ years while it continues through the lengthy appeal process.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

Hillsborough County officials fired a Fire Rescue medic Tuesday after an internal investigation concluded he had "unwavering loyalty" to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club — the state’s dominant biker gang. Clinton Neal Walker, 33, of Bradenton is the first Hillsborough County employee to be investigated for gang activity under a series of countywide ordinances sparked by Walker’s own arrest last September over starting a bar fight in Key West.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Bay.com

The Wichita Fire Department has completed an administrative investigation and concluded that no employee gave a rapper permission to use a fire truck in a music video posted to YouTube. In the video, rappers Blue Scrilla and Pj can be seen rapping both inside of and in front of a Station 15 Wichita Fire Department truck.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wichita Eagle & Kansas.com

Firefighters battling a house fire on the East Side Saturday night were forced to make a hasty retreat through the home's windows as the blaze got out of hand, almost trapping them inside, officials said. According to the San Antonio Fire Department, at least 12 units responded to the 900 block of Virginia Blvd around 7:55 p.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My San Antonio.com

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Chief Jeff Collins attempted to pull back his resignation Monday just three days after it was announced. Collins rescinded his resignation in a letter sent from his attorney to county officials, claiming he was coerced and intimidated into resigning his position during a meeting with County Administrator Verdenia Baker, Assistant County Administrator Nancy Bolton and Human Resources Director Wayne Condry.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel & SouthFlorida.com

Taking a look at the 93 on-duty firefighter fatalities in 2017 reveals similar trends from previous years, with cardiac and health-related issues marking a bulk of the fire service's losses. According to numbers provided by the U.S. Fire Administration, the overwhelming physical stress firefighting has on the body remains at the forefront of modern firefighter health and safety.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse