The city of San Antonio has lost the first round of its legal battles against the police and fire labor unions Monday when visiting Judge Martha Tanner rejected its arguments that a portion of its contracts with the unions are unconstitutional. In separate lawsuits, the city had argued that the so-called “evergreen clause” violated the Texas Constitution.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: mysanantonio.com

On December 7, 8 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 5, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of 34 New Jersey firefighters alleging they suffered permanent hearing injuries because of the noise emitted by sirens on fire vehicles has been moved from state Superior Court to federal court in Newark. The active and inactive firefighters named in the lawsuit include employees from departments in Ridgewood, West New York, Cranford, Kearny, Union Township, Bayonne, Linden and Elizabeth.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: North Jersey.com (Bergen County Record & Herald News)

An urgent message not to cross the dangerous currents on Brays Bayou, which quickly rose during the Memorial Day storms, may not have reached Houston firefighters whose boat capsized, killing three civilians, according to a city report. The report, released on Monday by the Houston Fire Department, details the rescue attempt, one of many made on May 26 that occurred in the immediate aftermath of an unusual stationary storm system that stranded thousands of Houstonians in their homes and vehicles.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: houston chronicle

One of my earliest fire service mentors told me, "If the fire service is ever going to get the credit its due from the public, sometimes it's going to have to blow its own horn." Recent events have proven this advice to be both very wise and very accurate. In the past weeks, there have been terrorist attacks of one form or another in several locations around the world.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firechief.com

A little girl in New York with burns over 75 percent of her body has only one wish for Christmas this year -- enough cards to fill her aunt's card tree. Two years ago, Safyre Terry's father and three younger siblings were killed in a fire caused by arson. She was found next to her father, who used his body to shield her from the flames.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPIX-TV PIX 11

Volunteer Fire Department is unable to cover calls after 12 members resigned Monday night. Clint Fichter, a consultant for the City of Neola, confirmed that the firefighters quit.“It caught us off guard,” he said. The department has four members currently, and the City Council is set to review eight applications, Fichter said.
- PUB DATE: 12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: omaha World-Herald

On December 7, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 6, 12 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

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

VIDEO - Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi responded Sunday night to an article published by The Kansas City Star. The article, headlined "Firefighters killed in alley shouldn’t have been there," touches on the Oct. 12 fatal fire that killed two Kansas City Fire Department firefighters. John Mesh, 39, and Larry Leggio, 43, were killed during a two-alarm fire response on Independence Boulevard.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSHB-TV NBC 41 Kansas City

Portland officials may take disciplinary action against employees after a homemade sign was posted last week in front of a Munjoy Hill fire station telling residents that it had been closed. The city had periodically taken the station’s ambulance out of service during the overnight hours, when call volumes are the lowest, to reduce spending on overtime, apparently prompting some rank-and-file members to place a sign in front of the Munjoy Station at 134 Congress St.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: portland press herald

Standing in the shadow of the towering rebuilt World Trade Center, scores of firefighters and police officers, led by Mayor Bill de Blasio and two United States senators from New York, rallied on Sunday to press Congress to extend a 9/11 health bill. The bill would pay for medical care for emergency medical workers and others, including police officers, firefighters and construction workers who risked their lives on Sept.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the new york times

While researchers were lauded for their work and clinicians were praised for their initiatives, the two gaining the most applause at a National Fallen Firefighters Foundation conference here last week were a son and a wife who shared their stories about losing a loved one to a heart attack. Organizers of the Heart to Heart seminar included brief case studies of young firefighters who suffered fatal heart attacks, but hearing the personal stories from survivors moved the audience to tears.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

The office of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, which recently won the conviction of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges, has taken over the inquiry into the Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department and its missing millions of dollars in taxpayer funds. Bharara’s involvement comes as The Journal News has learned of the extensive financial ties between Putnam County law enforcement and a company owned by Michael Klein, the department’s former treasurer, who resigned in late September as the investigation heated up.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News

On December 6, 9 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 5, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 4, 12 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A firefighter in south suburban Matteson died while performing CPR on a shopper at Wal-Mart. The firefighter, identified as 49-year-old Mark Zielinski, was called to the store at 21410 S. Cicero Avenue in Matteson Friday afternoon for a medical emergency. He had been with the Matteson Fire Department for 13 years, after spending many years working for the fire department in Harvey.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGN-TV 9 WB Chicago