Trenton's firefighters will soon begin wearing bulletproof vests to protect themselves on the job when they double as medics. The vests were approved as part of the fire union's new contract. The Trenton Emergency Medical Services have been wearing vests for years, but the firefighters have been the only first responders without them — even though they're often the first to arrive on the scene of a medical call, union president Wayne Wolk said.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: nj.com

KIMA spoke with the firefighter who found an abandoned baby outside a Yakima fire station for the first time since it happened on Christmas Eve. It's now become a case the Yakima Police Department is trying to solve. Joanna Albrecht says it was hard to ignore her snooze button on Christmas Eve for an early morning work-out, but that she's very lucky she did.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIMA TV

On December 28, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 27, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 26, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A coalition of fire chiefs, responding to an increase in repeated drug overdoses by the same people, is seeking state money to hire drug counselors who can train first responders in how to better direct victims toward treatment and recovery services. Emergency responders this year have administered nearly 3,000 doses of the opioid antidote naloxone, known by its brand name Narcan.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMUR ABC

(VIDEO) What volunteer Fire Chief Nate Tracey did Monday morning was what any trained rescue worker would have done, he said. He just happened to be the first one there. The call came in as a crash with unknown injuries. It was in the first block of Indian Rock Dam Road in York Township and Tracey's department, Goodwill Fire Company, was the first one assigned to the incident.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Evening Sun

A San Diego firefighter remains employed after getting drunk at a department-sponsored training event — conduct he defended in court, saying there was no city rule against it. The November 2012 training class took place at the union hall, while firefighters were off-duty. The city paid for the training, which was required for certain career advancement, and firefighters were given considerations such as excuses from mandatory overtime while they were at the training.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Tribune

Two of Boynton Beach’s five fire stations are closed while the city is investigating health concerns in the buildings, Mayor Jerry Taylor told The Palm Beach Post on Monday. And, there are air-quality monitors at City Hall. While Taylor said the closings are because of either mold or mildew in the two fire buildings, Vice Mayor Joe Casello said he was told it was the former.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Palm Beach Post

Chicago firefighters were responding to a routine drill in a Loop high-rise hotel Saturday when a West Side man allegedly took advantage of their distraction and stole a Chicago Fire Department SUV from the scene, authorities said Monday. Joseph Gunn, 43, of the 4200 block of West Cermak Road, allegedly made off with the department-issued SUV of the first battalion chief that was left running outside the Hilton Chicago at 720 S.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

On December 27, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 26, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 25, 11 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 24, 2 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A Hamilton firefighter was killed while battling a house fire Monday morning. Multiple fire departments responded to the fire in the 1300 block of Pater Avenue around 1:11 a.m., according to Butler County dispatch. Heavy smoke was visible when fire crews arrived at the scene, according to a release from the Hamilton Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cincinnati.com

A woman who six times failed the physical test to become an FDNY firefighter is being given another chance — and this time, critics say, the fix is in. “She’ll graduate, no question,” said an FDNY member. “The department does­n’t want another black eye.” Wendy Tapia was allowed to conditionally graduate from the Fire Academy on May 17, 2013, even though she had failed the running test.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

An armed woman commandeered a Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service unit this morning, firing three shots inside the truck. No one was seriously injured, and the rescue was recovered in the Smithfield community a short time later after a brief police chase. It all began about 10:40 a.m. when rescue workers were dispatched to the airport on a report of a woman feeling dizzy, said Birmingham Fire and Rescue Chief Charles Gordon.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Al.com

The call came into the Thompsonville Fire Department at a change of shift on a Monday evening in November — an unresponsive 52-year-old male on Russell Street. Firefighters arrived at the home, and said there was some initial confusion. Then, firefighter Tom O'Brien saw a familiar person standing in the driveway — fellow Thompsonville firefighter Ernie Bouthiette's 16-year-old son.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant

An appeals court once again ruled against the San Bernardino City Professional Firefighters and in favor of the city Tuesday, affirming U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury’s conclusion that nothing in the city charter or state law prevents the city from outsourcing its Fire Department. In the same ruling, Otis D.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sun

On December 23, 8 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.