VIDEO: The president of the largest flight attendant union wants the FAA to ban e-cigarettes from planes because their batteries could be a fire hazard. FAA data from 1991 through this August shows at least 48 e-cigarette related smoke or fire incidents at airports or on planes. That’s more incidents than laptops and tablets, cellphones, battery chargers or spare batteries.
- PUB DATE: 10/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFOR-TV CBS 4 Miami

Lexington’s 911 emergency center is struggling to keep up as fewer call takers and dispatchers attempt to answer a swelling number of calls and help an increasing number of police and firefighters, city officials said Tuesday. The Enhanced 911 Center answered 477,711 calls last year. Of those, more than 217,000 are 911 or emergency calls.
- PUB DATE: 10/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lexington Herald Leader

“The unicorn program.” That is how a recent student with the Bennington Rescue Squad described the organization’s year-long apprenticeship program. Bill Camarda, Deputy Executive Director, oversees the only EMS apprenticeship program registered with the state of Vermont. Bennington rescue launched its program in December 2018 and is in the process of interviewing applicants for its third cohort, said Camarda.
- PUB DATE: 10/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Vermont Biz

VIDEO: It’s been one year since a backyard bonfire changed Eli Beasley’s life. In a moment of carelessness, the professional firefighter tried to light a bonfire that had been doused in a gasoline mixture. He was instantly engulfed. Beasley was taken to University of Missouri Health Care’s Level 1 Trauma Center with burns over 75 percent of his body.
- PUB DATE: 10/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVO-TV ABC/CBS 3 Kirksville

The trees are really dense along a stretch of bumpy, narrow road outside Cle Elum in Kittitas County. After years of keeping fire off the landscape, the forest has grown close together. That means there’s more fuel when a wildfire does burn through this area. “The density of this, it’s just a wall.
- PUB DATE: 10/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Crosscut

Milwaukee firefighters honored fellow firefighters who died in the line of duty. Firefighters read the names of their 131 fallen colleagues. Advertisement Some of the names dated back to the 1800s. The fire chief said this annual tradition serves as a reminder to those who put the uniform on every day.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 3:41:38 PM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

The Oshkosh Fire Department is reminding the public of Fire Prevention Week. In recognition of National Fire Prevention Week, (October 6-12), the Oshkosh Fire Department will be canvassing a neighborhood on the south side of the city offering to check residences for working smoke detectors. The boundaries for this project are in the neighborhood bordered by 17th Avenue-20th Avenue (North-South) and Oregon Street-Ohio Street (East-West).
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 3:05:32 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

Firefighters and farmers, two groups of professionals who often work in hazardous environments, are teaming up in a program aimed at improving agricultural safety and health nationwide. The Rural Firefighters Delivering Agricultural Safety and Health (RF-DASH) project trains emergency responders to provide resources and consultation to farmers in their service areas.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Farmer

Two firefighters were stabbed Tuesday night in Jacksonville's Springfield neighborhood and rushed to a hospital for treatment, according to JFRD Union President Randy Wyse. The scene was on Boulevard Street near the intersection of West 10th Street. The fire department said they were responding to a medical call when they were attacked around 10 p.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJAX-TV CBS 47 Jacksonville

The Municipality of Anchorage has come up short on the operating budget for fire services through the remainder of 2019. The gap in question is about $4 million, and could result in dormant fire equipment at times. One of the major problems is paying for fill-in staff overtime pay when firefighters take leave.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTUU-TV ABC 2 Anchorage

Municipalities in and around our coverage area have received about $450,000 in state aid to go towards their local volunteer fire relief association, according to the auditor general's office. The Greater Shenandoah area, the borough and West Mahanoy Township, received a combined $29,590.33, an increase of $2,154.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Shenandoah Sentinel

Firefighters and farmers, two groups of professionals who often work in hazardous environments, are teaming up in a program aimed at improving agricultural safety and health nationwide. The Rural Firefighters Delivering Agricultural Safety and Health (RF-DASH) project trains emergency responders to provide resources and consultation to farmers in their service areas.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Farmer

No fires burned Tuesday, but with dry, windy conditions forecast for the next two days, Sonoma County fire officials spent the anniversary of the 2017 firestorm calling in an extraordinary amount of outside resources. “The latest forecast is mirroring our 2017 winds, if not worse. We’re doing everything possible to over-staff and provide safety measures.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Press Democrat - Metered Site

Tuesday the Rhinelander Fire Department taught local kids fire safety. Firefighters came to classrooms at Central Elementary school to give presentations on fire safety. Kids learned how to draw escape plans for their homes and received fire safety tips. A 5th-grade teacher at Central Elementary school, Sarah Lange said it was a great learning opportunity.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2019 5:10:32 PM - SOURCE: WJFW-TV NBC 12 Rhinelander-Wausau

Two people were injured in a crash on Londonderry Drive Monday around 11:50 p.m. According to a Madison Fire Department release, one of the cars was returning from the airport when another vehicle didn't stop at an intersection. The crash caused the vehicle to turn on its side. As the vehicle was resting on the driver's side, Engine 10 firefighters cut the windshield to access those in the cars and opened the moon roof.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2019 7:37:36 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

Several shops were destroyed by a major fire in downtown Ballard on the 2300 block of NW Market Street. The fire started around noon on Monday. Flames and heavy smoke poured out of the building. La Isla restaurant, Supercuts, Kitchen N Things and Octo Designs & Jewelers sustained heavy damage and are a total loss.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

Some people were stuck on the Skyliner at Walt Disney World for up to three hours on Saturday night. A union representative for the fire department that responded says they were prepared to rescue people off the Skyliner, but it never should have happened in the first place. “We were told that this would not happen, that this wouldn’t happen to the ride and within a week it happened to the ride,” said Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters Association Vice President Sean Pierce.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOFL-TV FOX 35 Orlando

VIDEO: The latest round in the long running Prop B pay battle between Houston firefighters and city hall has a $4,000 price tag for dozens of former firefighters. Months ago, in the midst of a mid-summer city council meeting, Mayor Sylvester Turner warned this day would come and now it's here. Retiring and resigning firefighters paying a big price to leave the department.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 13 Houston

In Episode 5, Chief Michael O'Brian, Brighton Fire Area Authority (Michigan), and Retired Deputy Chief Mike Cox, Henrico County (Virginia), discuss the elements and value of a comprehensive community risk reduction (CRR) program and the opportunities it can create. The issues and topics to be addressed are: Differences between CRR and traditional fire prevention; What's on the CRR horizon and how fire chiefs can prepare; Using GIS to align strategic resources and improve outcomes; Success stories of departments integrating GIS and risk reduction; and Low-cost analytic tools for departments with limited resources.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org

The safe drug disposal program in Indiana is expanding. Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke says it’s a partnership with the Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) Indiana and the Professional Firefighters Union of Indiana (PFFUI). The expansion will provide Indiana fire departments with an additional donation of 75,000 safe drug disposal pouches to help fire departments across the state in the fight against the opioid epidemic.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFIE-TV NBC 14 Evansville