Mayor Hardie Davis offered his support to the city’s Fire/EMA department at a news conference Friday and announced a series of meetings to address concerns about it. “For the last several months, this community, elected officials, local government, the media and others have engaged in what seemingly is a never-ending discussion about public safety,” Davis said.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Augusta Chronicle

Houston’s credit outlook has taken a hit after residents earlier this month voted to pay firefighters the same as city police officers. Fitch Ratings this week downgraded the city’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative,” saying the anticipated $100 million annual cost of the Proposition B charter amendment will hamper the city’s spending ability and could lead to a downgrade in the its AA bond ratings in the future.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

Nels Gunderson, owner of I-94 Towing and Recovery in Osseo, said he has seen it all in his 44 years operating a towing service and serving on the Osseo Fire Department for 42 years, including the deaths of emergency responders trying to lend aid at accident scenes. It was because of the frightening and tragic stories Gunderson and other emergency responders can tell that they gathered at the Chippewa Valley Technical College Emergency Service Education Center on Nov.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2018 5:31:47 PM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald

Buck Manley is the new chief of the Holmen Area Fire Department. The fire board held a closed session Nov. 7 to discuss Manley’s future with the department, then voted to not only continue the chief’s employment, but change his official title to fire chief. “It was unanimous to make Buck Manley the department’s fire chief,” said Doug Jorstad, Holmen Village Board’s representative on the fire board.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 7:03:22 AM - SOURCE: Onalaska Holmen Courier Life

The new fire chief at the Wind Lake Volunteer Fire Company, Don Catenacci, expects to stay in his current position despite allegations of assault and misconduct that have been alleged against him in Verona. Catenacci became Wind Lake’s part-time fire chief in September. He concurrently serves as the assistant chief at the Verona Fire Department in Dane County, which is also a part-time position.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 4:43:29 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

A veteran firefighter who came to California from Washington state to fight the Woolsey fire was left with major injuries when he was run over by a pickup truck as he slept at night in a field next to a fire truck in the Malibu area, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday. Terry Geisleman, 46, of the South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Department of Port Orchard, Washington, received crushing injuries to his chest and the left side of his body, a CHP report on the 11:45 p.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Bernardino County Sun

Top Fire Department brass retaliated against two emergency medical services lieutenants due to their “union activity,” a labor board ruled, the Daily News has learned. FDNY Lt. Douglas Rondon was “totally restricted” from duty for an entire year after he reached out to his union president for assistance on potential disciplinary charges.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

While it's a scary trend, it's one that's commonly swept under the rug. First responders are now more likely to die by suicide, than in the line of duty. Each year, the number of men and women in the fire service taking their own lives continues to rise, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC 15 Phoenix

The deadly wildfire that left the town of Paradise, California, in ruins may become a test case for the municipal bond market. “The situation casts doubt on whether the local government can meet over $3.5 million in annual payments to pension obligation bondholders, CalPERS and retiree healthcare plan participants,” wrote Marc Joffe, a policy analyst with the Reason Foundation.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: BondBuyer.com

A lot has been published recently about harassment and discrimination. However, much less is being said about the problems of bullying in the fire and EMS industries. Yet, these problems have equally-serious effects on their victims. I was recently at a state EMS conference and heard a speaker give a very poignant discussion on suicide in EMS.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

City firefighters extinguished a blaze at a local restaurant during the early morning Thursday. The Waupun Fire Department was dispatched to Helen’s Kitchen, 1116 W. Main Street, at 4:01 a.m. for a report of a grease fire in the kitchen. Upon arrival, firefighters found a small fire. Crews were able to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but not before it had caused some damage.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 3:47:39 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

On November 14, 1 residential fire fatality was reported by the Nation's news media.

Officials with the Milwaukee Fire Department are investigating two separate fires that happened early Thursday morning, Nov. 15. A home and an apartment complex were damaged as a result of the fires. The first happened at a house near 20th Street and Scott Street around 12:20 a.m. Officials say no one was hurt — and all residents made it out safely.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 5:57:27 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

The Racine Fire Department was dispatched to put out a garage fire caused by someone's turkey fryer Wednesday afternoon. According to a report, the fire started when the owners of the house left their turkey fryer unattended. The fire destroyed the garage and its contents completely, totaling an estimated $20,000 in damages.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 5:46:11 AM - SOURCE: Today's TMJ4

The Lodi Area EMS Commission met Monday night, and made mixed progress on a couple of long-simmering issues among the three municipalities — the Town of West Point, Town of Lodi, and the City of Lodi—that make up the body. Discussions to change the assessment structure, from a 40-40-20 share to a per-capita basis appear to have stalled for now, as the sides agreed to continue negotiations.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 1:41:18 AM - SOURCE: Lodi Enterprise

When Orlando Police and Orange County Sheriff’s Office tactical teams used explosives to break through the wall of Pulse nightclub to confront gunman Omar Mateen, some Orlando Fire Department personnel — including its arson and bomb squad — thought the shooter was the one who set off the blast. That detail was among several examples of inadequate communication and outdated training policies that hampered the multi-agency response to the June 12, 2016 massacre at Pulse, creating confusion between OFD, Orange County Fire Rescue, police and the Sheriff’s Office, according to a report released Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel

As a third body was discovered among the ashes of a home in Agoura Hills, residents in nearby Malibu questioned fire officials about the division of resources and rushed evacuation notices during the Woolsey fire’s devastating march through Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The body, which has not been identified, was found by a cadaver dog searching a burned-out home in the 32000 block of Lobo Canyon Road with law enforcement Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Chief Charles Gordon is ending his tenure as the city’s 21st fire chief. Gordon, 57, will retire effective Dec. 28 after 30 years with department. However, his last day on the job will be next Tuesday. Gordon joined the department in January 1989 and rose through the ranks until he was appointed chief by former Mayor William Bell in September 2014.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AL.com

A woman with developmental disabilities who befriended a Portland firefighter but then was ordered to stay away from him and certain fire stations under threat of a criminal trespassing charge is suing the city for alleged discrimination. Brandy Tuchscherer first encountered firefighters while rowing with the Wasabi Paddling Club’s “Special Dragons’’ team.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com

As multiple devastating wildfires raged across California, a private firefighting crew reportedly helped save Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s home in Calabasas, TMZ reported this week. The successful defense of the $50 million mansion is the most prominent example of a trend that’s begun to receive national attention: for-hire firefighters protecting homes, usually on the payroll of an insurance company with a lot at risk.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Atlantic