A Connecticut Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of a local firefighters union saying it effectively disaffiliated in 2016 from the Uniformed Professional Firefighters Association of Connecticut. The city firefighters’ union, Local 825, filed a four-count lawsuit in March alleging a breach of fiduciary duty against the UPFFA, which represents the state’s fire departments.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Greenwich Time

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today announced the participants accepted into the seventh-year of the prestigious Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI). FSEDI is a yearlong leadership-development program developed by the IAFC to provide new and aspiring chiefs with the tools they need to have successful and productive tenures.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

The Magical Butter Botanical Extractor is a mechanical device which looks similar to a coffee thermos and is marketed as a tool to infuse food with your favorite herbs. Sheriff's officials say a Hillsborough County firefighter used one to create homemade cannabis oil. Deputies were called Monday afternoon to Hillsborough Fire Station 26, a small public safety house at 5302 Thonotosassa Road, after someone found a Magical Butter machine in the workout room with marijuana in it.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Bay.com

California's increasingly deadly and destructive wildfires have become so unpredictable that government officials should consider banning home construction in vulnerable areas, the state's top firefighter says. Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott will leave his job Friday after 30 years with the agency.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Santa Rosa Press Democrat

VIDEO: Five people and two animals are safe after being rescued from the basement of their Ashwaubenon home after a passerby noticed the structure was on fire. That passerby, who just so happens to be the Chaplain for the Green Bay Fire Department, noticed smoke pouring from the garage of the home, and called authorities at around 8:45 a.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 11:15:56 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

VIDEO: A restaurant in Cambridge is at a total loss after a structure fire destroyed it overnight. Firefighters said they got to the scene shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday and stayed until about 5 a.m. Monday, battling the fire. The owner declined an interview on camera, but Rebecka Wake, the woman who called 9-1-1 after driving by and seeing the flames, said it was a scary sight to witness.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 7:56:20 AM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

On December 10, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

PHOTO: Firefighters were called to a home near Herman Street and Howard Avenue on Milwaukee’s south side. The call came in around 12 a.m. Tuesday morning, Dec. 11. According to police, no one was injured. The fire was accidental in nature and does not appear to be suspicious. Red Cross also responded to the fire to help those displaced.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 3:39:49 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

Firefighters across Minnesota are increasingly responding to 911 calls to lift elderly people off the floor, even at some senior care facilities with their own staff. More than 7,100 times last year, fire departments across the state were dispatched to assist frail but uninjured people, a nearly threefold increase from a decade prior.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

Four Manchester firefighters injured while battling a fire Sunday afternoon went back into the Seventh Avenue home to continue the firefight. They were also back on the job on Monday. “You're right next to each other but you can't see each other,” Capt. Pete Franggos, of the Manchester Fire Department, said.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMUR-TV ABC 9 Manchester

VIDEO - The Pitcairn Council voted Monday night to disband the #2 Volunteer Fire Department during a heated meeting. The borough currently has two separate volunteer fire departments, but the #2 Department will be disbanded at the end of the year. After the decision was announced, there was an altercation between several people that ended with one firefighter being shocked with a Taser and arrested by police.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPXI-TV NBC 11 Pittsburgh

The song lyrics say, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” So maybe it’s an appropriate time to talk about grant seekers that confuse Uncle Sam, the personification of the American government, with Santa Claus. He gives presents and fulfils requests for those who deserve them. How many times have we heard someone say, “Oh don’t worry about how much it costs it’s a grant application.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue 1

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the road-rage death of an off-duty firefighter on a Brooklyn highway, law enforcement sources told The Post. Joseph Desmond, 29, was tracked down by the NYPD and US marshals at the Circle Motor Lodge in South Amboy, NJ, where he was arrested for a parole violation, the sources said.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

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

A Central Wisconsin volunteer firefighter accused of sexual assault charges against a child had his bond modified in Marathon County court on Monday. Nicholas Koebach of Colby is now free on $10,000 cash bond and $90,000 signature bond and will be staying with his mother in Oconto County. A judge set strict orders for Koebach as part of the deal including absolute sobriety from alcohol and drugs.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2018 9:36:27 AM - SOURCE: WRIG-AM Fox Sports 1390

Two juveniles are in custody after police say a fire was intentionally set at the Almena U.S. Post Office. The Turtle Lake police department says Almena firefighters responded to the scene around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night. When they arrived, there was heavy smoke coming from the roof of the building on all sides.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2018 6:47:20 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

On December 9, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A Worcester firefighter died Sunday shortly after he was pulled from a burning apartment building on Lowell Street. Fire Chief Michael Lavoie identified the victim as Firefighter Christopher Roy, 36, a 2½-year member of the department. He lived in Shrewsbury and leaves a 9-year-old daughter. The fire was reported at 3:58 a.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Firefighters weren’t paying attention and hadn’t been properly trained when a brand new $1.1 million fire truck was seriously damaged and put out of service during a training exercise in October, according to a report released Friday. Fire Chief James Wilson has been directed to immediately establish new standard operating guidelines that also were found lacking after the truck’s 107-foot aerial ladder hit an overhead power line, sending an electrical current that destroyed the truck’s complex wiring systems and sparked a fire on the right front tire.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Press Herald

The union representing city firefighters will challenge an order dismissing an unfair labor practice complaint filed over the demotion of former assistant chief Thomas Makar. The complaint alleged Makar, an assistant chief for 12 years, did not retain his appointed position because of his criticism of the city on social media.
- PUB DATE: 12/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wilkes Barre Times Leader