On the heels of the state’s worst wildfire season, Washington’s public-lands chief said Wednesday he is asking the Legislature for more money to beef up the state’s firefighting crews.
Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark wants more than $24 million next year to add firefighters, equipment and training next year. - PUB DATE: 10/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seattle Times
After a firefighter from the South Metro Fire District nearly died from a heart attack on duty, the department decided to change how it goes about keeping its firefighters healthy.
"They hooked me up to the heart monitor and and immediately saw that something wasn't right. And then at that time I went into arrest," firefighter Nick Gravina said, speaking openly about his massive heart attack. - PUB DATE: 10/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMGH-TV ABC 7 Denver
A recent UK study shows people under the influence of alcohol are causing issues for responders, who don't feel they are prepared to deal with them.
"Perhaps the most shocking finding of our survey was how widespread drunken physical, sexual and verbal abuse of emergency services staff is. Again, police and ambulance crews suffer the worst. - PUB DATE: 10/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com
As recently as the 1960s, a patient being rushed to the hospital with crushing chest pain would be treated en route only with sirens and sympathy.
Alarmed by high death rates and encouraged by new technology, a small group of pioneering physicians started equipping ambulances with defibrillators and paramedics who knew how to use them. - PUB DATE: 10/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
The head of the San Francisco Fire Department’s Arson Task Force who spoke out against staffing shortages and a backlog of open investigations, prompting disciplinary charges to be filed against him, is set to be reassigned.
Acting Capt. John Darmanin called his reassignment a “demotion” — retaliation for the comments he made at three Fire Commission meetings, and a pair of complaints he filed with the California Department of Justice and San Francisco Police Department. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SFExaminer.com
Glen Merkitch voluntarily resigned from the FDNY after a random drug test found cocaine in his system.
Now, more than two years later, Merkitch wants a second chance, and he reasons if redemption is good enough for the fire commissioner’s son, then it’s good enough for him.
Merkitch says he was in a dark place when he got high after receiving a visit from the son of his best friend who died on 9/11. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
A nail salon owner in Kansas City’s old Northeast deliberately started a fire in her shop earlier this month that killed two Kansas City firefighters battling the blaze, investigators alleged Tuesday.
Prosecutors charged Thu Hong Nguyen, 43, of Kansas City, with first-degree arson and two counts of second-degree murder, or felony murder because the deaths happened as a result of the arson. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Kansas City Star
Residents annoyed with Youngwood's emergency siren have been leaving anonymous threatening messages for the borough fire chief and other officials.
Fire Chief and Council President Lloyd Crago said he got a vulgar email about the siren on Oct. 5 at the fire department. A similar voicemail message was left at the department on Sunday. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Purdue Fire Department is working with Purdue’s Polytechnic Institute to test out what is best explained as a drone that doesn’t fly.
It’s an indestructible robot with a camera and a light that allows firefighters to examine a fire situation without ever entering the building.
If necessary, firefighters can throw the device through a window and manually control the robot to examine the room. - PUB DATE: 10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLFI-TV Channel 18
A fire chief’s alleged smacking of a female employee’s buttocks set back a South Jersey township $30,000, a newspaper reported Monday.
Medford Township settled a lawsuit in September that claimed Fire Chief Thomas Thorn sexually harassed former administrative assistant Lorie Cutts in front of two other firefighters in 2012, the Burlington County Times reported Monday. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: philly.com
The Spokane Fire Department is used to battling blazes and saving homes on a daily basis. It’s what they do. But mental health has often been an issue swept under the rug by first responders.
“People were ostracized,” Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer said. “We wanted to change things.”
Fire departments around the country are beginning to see a spike in cases of Post Traumatic Stress and even suicides within their departments. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: khq.com
Buffalo police are investigating how a firefighter was injured while training over the weekend. And the leader of the firefighter’s union is questioning whether someone took a shot at one of his men.
The rookie firefighter from Buffalo’s Ladder 13 was training Saturday evening on the roof of a house in the Riverside area when he felt a sharp pain in his left side. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: wivb.com
The day after Eric Jones was appointed Detroit Fire Commissioner, Detroit EMTs Alfredo Rojas and Kelly Adams were viciously attacked by a man with a box cutter.
Now, Jones is fast tracking safety training for Detroit medics
"The first thing I want to do is immediately get them some training as it relates to de-escalation and how to handle violent individuals or mental individuals at a scene," Jones said. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDIV-TV NBC 4 Detroit
Fire trade media is written and read to educate the fire service about strategy and tactics. They also spend considerable space focusing on firefighter safety, but again in the context of firehouse and fireground operations. Many reflect upon or review the facts and circumstances of firefighter injuries or deaths, but these reflections are primarily operational in focus. - PUB DATE: 10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com
A 14-year dispute concerning overtime pay for D.C. was resolved Saturday after Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Fire Fighters Association signed an agreement.
The agreement will result in $45 million to be paid to firefighters who worked more than 42 hours per week, dating back to Sept. 23, 2001. The mayor’s office said funds have already been allocated through surplus revenue in fiscal year 2015. - PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: nbcwashington,com
Firefighters used to have a good idea of what dangers they faced on a call.
It was going to be smoke or flames. But as society has changed, so have the risk factors.
Two firefighters taking care of a patient at a bus station are stabbed by a bystander this summer in San Diego.
The firefighters survived the attack. - PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: woodtv.com
Eleven people who worked in rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have died in the six weeks since the most recent anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Another Ground Zero worker, Roy McLaughlin, died Sept. 10, one day before the anniversary. McLaughlin, 38, was a Yonkers police officer when the World Trade Center was attacked. - PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ithaca Journal
After two high-profile mass shootings in Colorado in the last 10 years, Boulder County is working to change how firefighters respond to the scene of large-scale dangerous situations.
In July, the Longmont department of public safety participated in a regional training exercise, called Operation Buffalo Shield at University of Colorado to prepare police officers and firefighters for a mass shooting situation. - PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times-Call
Firefighters face immense pressure every day.
Being awakened in the middle of the night, rushing to trucks, suiting up, riding to the scene of a crash or fire, and then battling a blaze or helping get victims out of harm's way takes a lot of physical and mental strength. There's also a lot riding on the equipment they use to work right every time. - PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NewsHerald
VIDEO - Two firefighters were injured after an accident involving another fire department vehicle on Thursday.
The Atlanta Fire engine was responding to a warehouse fire when it was slammed head-on into an SUV on Lee Street SW at Van Buren Street SW. The SUV was also a fire department vehicle.
Quintin Barksdale said he heard an explosion on the fire truck right before it was engulfed in flames. - PUB DATE: 10/23/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIA-TV NBC 11 Atlanta
