"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!," shouted a firefighter last week on call in Roanoke County. It's a call you never want to hear. "Active mayday on the fire ground, a firefighter fallen through the floor," said another firefighter. But it happened to one Roanoke County firefighter last week. "I fell through the second floor, through the first floor, and ended up hanging upside down from the basement ceiling," said Firefighter and Paramedic Robert Mauck.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBDJ7 Roanoke News

Four children were killed when a Pensacola home caught fire early Thursday morning. The victims were two boys, 11 and 5, and two girls, 3 and 11 months. The mother of the children and her 14-year-old daughter were able to escape without injuries. The blaze was reported around 5:30 a.m. at a little wooden house on the corner of Baylen and Scott streets.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: pensacola news journal

A deal to put the woman suspected of starting the fire that severely injured Fresno Fire Capt. Pete Dern behind bars for seven years was derailed in Fresno County Superior Court on Wednesday, and the case now appears to be headed for trial. Judge Don Penner rejected the seven-year prison term previously agreed to by both the Fresno County District Attorney's Office and counsel for Julia Harper, 52.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: fresno bee

PHOTO - More than a dozen Columbus firefighters could face punishment for a farewell party at a closed fire station this past summer. Photos obtained by 10TV show what investigators call deliberate damage to the old Station 2 building. Firefighters say the pictures don't tell the whole story. The photos were taken inside Station 2 days after the now notorious ‘kegs and eggs’ party.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBNS-TV Columbus 10

The 2016 Official White House Christmas Ornament was unveiled last week featuring an antique fire truck to commemorate a fire that damaged the West Wing on Christmas Eve 1929. President Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was hosting a Christmas party for his staff and their children in the Entrance Hall of the East Wing when the fire was reported.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

On February 16, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

PHOTO - A new fire truck being delivered to a Long Island department crashed on Interstate 84 East in Hopewell Junction on Tuesday, state police confirmed. "It was a brand new fire truck being delivered" to the Islip Terrace Fire Department, said Melissa McMorris, a state police spokeswoman. The delivery driver was "transported to Danbury Hospital" in Connecticut.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: poughkeepsie journal

Augusta Fire Chief Chris James was rehired by the city Tuesday after losing a job offer in York County, S.C. James had accepted a position as the county’s deputy manager but lost the job offer, several Augusta Commission members confirmed. Commissioner Bill Lockett said York officials rescinded the offer after receiving “all this erroneous information” from the Augusta firefighters union.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

Firefighters say a state policy concerning a life-saving device for allergic reactions, EpiPens, put lives at risk. The WZZM 13 Watchdog team is looking into why some firefighters are not allowed to carry EpiPens, while some non-emergency workers can. EpiPens are available in schools, but not some fire departments.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WZZM-TV Grand Rapids 13

The D.C. fire department has chosen a private ambulance company with a nationwide reach to help augment its own fleet, which has been troubled by delays in responding to emergencies and unable to keep up with a surge in 911 calls from a growing population. Colorado-based American Medical Response, a subsidiary of Envision Healthcare, was the lead bidder for a temporary contract that begins in 30 days, reflecting the situation’s urgency.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: washington post

The Oak Lawn firefighter accused of making phone calls to sex lines while on duty has been fired. Firefighter/paramedic and former union officer Robert Lanz was terminated Monday for “violations of multiple departmental rules and regulations.” Oak Lawn Fire Chief George Sheets sent Lanz a letter on Feb.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: oak lawn patch

On February 15, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 14, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 12, 11 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 11, 10 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Yonkers firefighters tried desperately to save an off-duty police detective after the veteran cop's SUV crashed head-on into a ladder truck early Sunday, officials said Monday. Yonkers Police Det. Frank Fernandez was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 3 a.m. after a collision with Ladder 75, which was responding to a call to the Rosemarie Ann Siragusa School, or School 14, on Crescent Place.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News

Liberty Fire District Assistant Chief Tony Roy’s refusal to send a tanker truck to a burning home in another jurisdiction has sparked discussion in Walton County over local mutual aid agreements. At 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25, Walton County Fire Rescue requested that Liberty dispatch a truck to a house fire at 169 Lorenz Drive near DeFuniak Springs.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ft. Walton Beach: Northwest Florida News

As Augusta Fire Chief Chris James heads out the door to a new job, members of the local firefighters union issued a letter Friday criticizing him for a contract he negotiated to buy several fire trucks they claim require constant maintenance. The Augusta Professional Firefighters Association claims members warned James years ago about the purchase of eight KME “prototype” fire trucks costing $6 million that now require frequent maintenance.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: augusta chronicle

The International Association of Fire Chiefs Foundation (IAFCF) has received a $10,000 grant from Emergent BioSolutions to provide 12 scholarships for qualified hazmat response professionals to attend the International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference, June 16-19 in Baltimore. The scholarships will provide a full conference registration and a $250 travel/housing stipend for each recipient.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

The Elgin firefighters' union filed a labor complaint against the city after three of its members were told to cut their hair, which they had been growing to protest their 25-month lack of contract. International Association of Firefighters Local 439 President Vince Rychtanek said he, Vice President Edward Hanson and Shop Steward Joe Villella started letting their hair grow sometime after April 2015 to protest that firefighters have been working without a contract since January 2014.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: daily herald