State lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to give firefighters special insurance in case they get cancer from the job. Currently, firefighters who get sick may lose their jobs and health insurance. "When we run into these houses to try and put out the fire to save lives, we're being exposed to very toxic carcinogens," said Capt.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: wsbtv.com

A former Leander firefighter who refused to get a vaccination because of his religious beliefs has sued the city for firing him. The termination came in March 2016, after firefighter Brett Horvath refused to get the vaccination or wear a surgical mask for his entire 24-hour shift or transfer to a “less desirable” position, said his lawyer, Matt Bachop.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Statesman

A fast-acting paramedic dove into the frigid water of an Illinois lake where a SUV was submerged on Thursday and found an infant floating inside, then administered CPR on the hood and swam the child to shore, authorities said. The baby is expected to make a full recovery. The infant was one of seven siblings who survived a tragic chain of events that left one person dead in a house fire and second body recovered from the lake where the baby was found.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

Two Sumrall volunteer firefighters working a wreck scene in Lamar County are dead after allegedly being struck by a hit-and-run driver. Sheriff Danny Rigel said that the firefighters were directing traffic at a dump truck accident on Mississippi 589 at Oloh Road when they were hit by a driver who fled the scene.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hattiesburg American

When the Squad 8 rescue engine started having compartment frame issues, Harrisburg Fire Lt. Dennis DeVoe did what he always did: He went the extra mile. He researched the issues in detail and drove to Lancaster last month on his time off to talk directly with repair workers. When the department considered buying new vehicle rescue tools, sometimes known as the Jaws of Life, DeVoe researched the tools and crafted an intricate report weighing pluses and minuses for each one under consideration.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pennlive.com

Thousands of web searches for pornography were found on four Country Club Hills fire department computers, according to testimony from a forensic expert. Andrew Garrett — who performed the imaging Jan. 26 on behalf of Dena Lewis-Bystrzycki, a female firefighter involved in a lawsuit against Country Club Hills — testified last month to the presence of porn on the devices.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

"I love the Milton Fire Department. I love the fire service. I've done it all my life," said 63-year-old Lynn Rogers. He recently filed lawsuits against both the MFD, an organization of which he has been a member for 48 years, and secretary John Bushey. Rogers has been president of Rogers Sign Company in Milton for 45 years and has held leadership positions in a number of organizations throughout his life.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sussex Countian

In between calls for service, amid a dozen reminders of the tragedy that left Fire Capt. William "Iron Bill" Dowling mortally wounded, the firefighters and paramedics at Houston Fire Station 68 watched the two-hour funeral service Wednesday morning on a TV in the upstairs common area. On either side of the TV hung fire axes memorializing the two first responders from this station who died on May 31, 2013.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

A little more than three months after the deadly Ghost Ship fire and with the investigative report still pending, the city’s first African American female fire chief Teresa Deloach Reed filed retirement papers Tuesday, days after her city pension vested, the city administrator said. Reed, a 59-year-old Oakland resident, filed retirement paperwork Tuesday with an effective date of May 5, City Administrator Sabrina Landreth confirmed.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

The city of Lexington will pay firefighters $17.7 million for back overtime and pension. The payment stems from a 2005 lawsuit filed by Lexington firefighters alleging that the city owed them money for overtime worked. The details of the settlement are being worked out and must be approved, city and firefighter union officials said.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lexington Herald-Leader

To look around the Kingwood apartment of Robert Yarbrough is to know a man who found his calling. "If I could be back at the fire station, I'd be back tomorrow," he said. Yarbrough worked for the Houston Fire Department for 32 years, and he was there that fateful day in 2013 at the Southwest Inn on Rescue Truck 42.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHOU-TV CBS 11 Houston

A company officer repeatedly makes inappropriate postings to social media. Another gets into a physical altercation with a firefighter at the station. Yet another actively supports hazing of new firefighters. And another is arrested after getting into an argument with a police officer after a traffic stop.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

The Alaska House on Monday unanimously approved a bill to guarantee health coverage for family members of firefighters and law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. House Bill 23, sponsored by Anchorage Democratic Rep. Andy Josephson, is the latest attempt at passing such legislation, which died in the Senate during a special session last year.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Alaska Dispatch News

PHOTOS - A Prince George's County firetruck tipped over Monday morning because of a sidewalk collapse, causing minor injuries to two volunteers who were in the truck. Fire officials say the truck was "wetting down rekindle" from a house fire that had started Saturday night in the 4700 block of Oliver Street in Riverdale.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJLA-TV ABC 7 Washington

The hoverboard was plugged into an outlet by the front door next to an overstuffed chair, where a child sat. The child's father was nearby, relaxing on a couch. That's when both of them heard crackling noises and, saw smoke. Within moments, the hoverboard had "exploded fiercely," blocking their way out of the front door, said Fire Chief Brian Enterline.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: PennLive

VIDEO - One volunteer was suspended and five paid part-time firefighters with the Westfield Fire Department were fired Monday after a video surfaced on Snapchat and showed a firefighter strapped to a backboard and being doused with water and covered with several condiments. KPRC then showed the video to Westfield Fire Chief Stephen Whitehead, who said it appears the incident took place at the department’s main fire station on Lauder Road.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

The last three days had two Pike County EMS employees on pins and needles as they awaited answers regarding their suspension last week for helping a dog injured in a fatal wreck. Nick Farmer and Tyler Wessel were placed on paid administrative leave after taking a seriously injured dog to a Portsmouth animal clinic for treatment after a Wednesday crash.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Huber Heights Marion Star

Emmaus residents could pay 10 times more for firefighters' salaries if the latest court decision in a three-and-half-year legal battle proves to be the final word. The unique relationship between Emmaus and the borough's paid firefighters gives the latterthe ability to unionize under state law, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled Monday.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Morning Call

The firefighter struck by a driver charged with DUI on his way to Friday's deadly fire in Harrisburg has died. Chief Brian Enterline said Dennis DeVoe, a 21-year member of Harrisburg fire service, passed away this evening from injuries suffered Friday night while responding to the fire in the 2500 block of Lexington Street.
- PUB DATE: 3/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: PennLive

Portland Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Myers, responding to citizen complaints, has suspended operations of an emergency medical team deployed with police at protests since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Myers acted because of complaints that emergency medical technicians were dressed identically to Portland police riot officers with whom they were embedded - though the Fire Bureau employees were unarmed.
- PUB DATE: 3/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com