In a tradition as old as the service, firefighters from Lynden and around Whatcom County are standing vigil over the body of Lynden interim Fire Chief Robert Spinner, who died Friday of an apparent heart attack while on duty.
It is the first line of duty death in the Lynden Fire Department’s 107-year history, according to a statement issued late Sunday, and the second on-duty firefighter death in Whatcom County – the other line of duty firefighter death was in March 1950, when Whatcom County Fire District 7’s Chief Clyde Eaton suffered fatal burns as a barrel of fuel exploded at a fire. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the PulsePoint Foundation (PulsePoint) today announced a strategic partnership to reinforce the use of mobile phones and apps to connect nearby CPR-trained citizens and off-duty professional rescuers with people in cardiac arrest. The collaboration also endeavors to develop strategies for utilizing public safety data in new and innovative ways. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs
Mayor Michael Becker says that his city has complied with an FBI subpoena asking for information on Margate city employees and prescription plans and that he is concerned about the possible disruption that may result from a wide-ranging grand jury investigation.
In nearby Ventnor, meanwhile, Mayor Beth Holtzman said Monday her city is also cooperating, though she declined to say whether there had been any subpoena issued. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philly.com
President Donald Trump jumped behind the wheel of an aerial ladder that was parked on the front lawn of the White House Monday morning during an event showing products made in America.
"Where's the fire," Trump said gripping the wheel of the aerial made by Pierce MFG. "Where's the fire? We'll put it out fast," he quipped. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
"Houstonians deserve a strong fire department." A Houston firefighters group delivered a strong message Monday in front of city hall as they continue to fight for equal pay among firefighters.
The Houston Professional Firefighters Association turned in a petition with more than 32,000 validated signatures to ask the City of Houston to put the equal pay ballot initiative on the November 2017 ballot. - PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 13 Houston
Three people are confirmed dead in a massive fire in the Marco Polo building on Kapiolani Boulevard.
The initial alarm came in at around 2:15 p.m. By 3 p.m., four alarms had been called. By 4:30 p.m., the fifth alarm was called.
Officials say the fire initially started on the 26th floor, and that’s where three bodies were found. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHON2.com
In what an expert calls a “huge failure,” hundreds of residential and commercial buildings across Oakland were never inspected after firefighters flagged fire dangers and referred them for followup, including more than 200 apartment buildings housing thousands of residents, an investigation by the Bay Area News Group has found. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times
A sport utility vehicle collided with an Akron firetruck Friday afternoon, killing two people inside the SUV, including a 16-year-old girl, and injuring three firefighters.
Fire Engine No. 3 was southbound on Rhodes Avenue about 3:45 p.m. when witnesses say a burgundy Chevrolet Trailblazer westbound on West Exchange Street drove through a red light and struck the firetruck, Akron Police Capt. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com
Terrifying images from London remain fresh in many minds: Flames rapidly consuming the exterior of the 24-story Grenfell Tower while trapped residents frantically cried out for help from the upper floors, and firefighters physically and emotionally exhausted from the intense battle and loss of life they confronted. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
About 100 firefighters are killed in the line of duty every year. A robot being developed at Pensacola's groundbreaking Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) might one day save lives.
Researchers at IHMC are specifically working on a robot that could fight fires on ships.
Research Associate John Carff said, "When you're on a ship, there's a good chance if you're a firefighter in there fighting a fire you could get a hatch closed behind you and you're going to be stuck in a ship that's sinking. - PUB DATE: 7/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEAR-TV ABC 3 Pensacola
Mayor Marian Orr has named a Florida fireman to be Cheyenne’s new fire chief.
Greg Hoggatt, a Boynton Beach Fire and Rescue deputy chief, will take the helm Sept. 1, pending City Council approval. Interim Chief Tom Schingle has led the department since former Chief James Martin retired in February.
Hoggatt brings nearly three decades of experience to the top job at Cheyenne Fire and Rescue. - PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wyoming Tribune Eagle
The chief of the Burbank-Paradise Fire District was fired Wednesday night following a unanimous vote by the district’s board.
Mike Hillar, 55, who had been with the district for 26 years and chief for seven, had been on unpaid leave since June 23.
In March, Scotty Douglass, the executive director of Stanislaus Regional 911, which dispatches for the district, sent Hillar a memo regarding “deprecating tone and language” he used with a dispatcher on a call the week before. - PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Modesto Bee
Now that Gov. Rick Snyder has signed major changes to retirement benefits for new teachers into law, another contentious battle is on the horizon for the fall when legislators hope to extend those changes to other public employees.
Those affected would include police officers and firefighters, as well as other municipal employees. - PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press
Court documents in a lawsuit filed against the city of Conway and Conway Fire Department reflect one man’s struggle to be promoted in the fire service after a former co-worker, who now serves as chief, mentioned he was “defiant” in the past.
That description cost him a promotion, Larry Carter says in a second lawsuit against his former employer that alleges the department breached a settlement agreement that required he get a “neutral employment reference. - PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MyrtleBeachOnline.com
PHOTO - In a scene straight out of your nightmares, a truck full of "slime eels" lost its load Thursday on U.S. 101, causing a five-car crash, dousing sedans with goo and sending sea creatures slithering across vehicles and the highway.
Technically, the fish were not eels, but hagfish, which have a skull but no jaw or spine and they secrete slime when distressed, earning them the nickname "slime eels. - PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com
Brandon Visyak used a stolen state firefighter badge in a ploy to rob a woman the first time he got caught impersonating a public safety officer.
Two years later, he again claimed to be a Cal Fire firefighter while he tried to get out of a traffic arrest.
Both incidents led to criminal convictions on charges that he illegally impersonated a California public safety officer. - PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse
A St. Louis fire captain who sustained injuries while fighting a fire during the Fourth of July holiday has died.
Capt. John Kemper, 59, died Wednesday after he was injured while battling a structural fire in the 3600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue early the morning of July 5, the department said.
Kemper didn’t suffer any burns. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Houston firefighters are in search of higher pay.
It's part of a "firefighter pay initiative" launched by the firefighters' union. As we first told you last week, Houston firefighters want pay parity with the city's police.
They're circulating petitions to try to get the parity issue on the November ballot so voters can decide. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston
Fire Chief John Sinclair, IAFC president and chairman of the board, testified today before a Congressional panel that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, including the Fire Prevention and Safety grant, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs provide valued assistance to local fire departments across the country and help them protect their communities. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs
A city firefighter has been fired following an internal investigation into alleged workers' compensation fraud, Hartford's fire chief said Tuesday. Lt. John Moree, a 21-year veteran of the department who city records show has been unable to perform firefighting duties since July 2015, was seen on surveillance video loading building materials onto a vehicle at a home improvement store, according to sources familiar with the investigation. - PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant
