National News

  • Fallen Massachusetts Firefighter's Ladder 4 gets prepped for funeral services
    For years, they’ve watched from across the street as the trucks go in and out of the Park Avenue fire station, protecting the city and its residents. Now Harris Auto Body is returning the favor, giving two fire trucks a final detailing in preparation for Firefighter Christopher J. Roy’s funeral services.
    - PUB DATE: 12/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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  • 911 call logs reveal terrifying moments at onset of Camp Fire
    At 6:33 a.m. on Nov. 8, a Butte County dispatcher answered what was among the first emergency calls in what would become the deadliest wildfire in California history: A “powerline transformer sparked and there is a fire,” the Magalia caller reported. By just after 8 a.m., residents of Concow and Magalia were phoning in a panic — some of them trapped and needing rescue and others frantically alerting authorities to parents and grandparents in harm’s way, according to Butte County dispatchers’ logs.
    - PUB DATE: 12/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle
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  • Baltimore County fire chief to retire
    Two more top Baltimore County officials are leaving as County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. sets up his new administration. Fire Chief Kyrle Preis and planning director Andrea van Arsdale announced this week that they are retiring. They were two of the department heads who were not included in a list of appointments and reappointments that Olszewski sent to the Baltimore County Council last week.
    - PUB DATE: 12/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun
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  • 3 simple ways to avoid a fire department PR nightmare
    Southwest Airlines recently found itself in hot water and had to apologize for the actions of one of its employees. That person, a gate agent, had joked with coworkers about the unusual name of one of the passengers on the flight, and later posted a picture of that passenger’s boarding pass to her personal social media account.
    - PUB DATE: 12/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1
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  • City of Houston files legal brief claiming fire pay parity amendment unconstitutional
    The city of Houston has alleged in a legal claim that the voter-approved charter amendment granting firefighters equal pay to police officers is unconstitutional and preempted by Texas’ local government code, echoing a similar contention from the Houston Police Officers’ Union. The claim, filed in state district court as part of the police union’s lawsuit against the Houston Professional Fire Firefighters Association and the city, comes 10 days after a judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of Proposition B, which passed with 59 percent of the vote last month.
    - PUB DATE: 12/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
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  • 7 FDNY firefighters, 5 civilians hurt as massive fire tears through Queens businesses
    At least 12 people are recovering from injuries after a massive fire burned through several businesses in Sunnyside, Queens. The fire broke out inside one store on Queens Boulevard around 2:14 a.m. Thursday and quickly spread. Dozens of firefighters were called to the scene as the fire grew to five alarms.
    - PUB DATE: 12/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7
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  • Texas city council to consider making 4-person crew rule mandatory for fire calls
    Austin City Council members on Thursday will consider an ordinance that would require most of the city’s fire vehicles to be staffed with a minimum of four people, a move decades in the making that supporters say will improve safety and efficiency at the Fire Department. The ordinance would essentially bring into law a policy that the Fire Department has already been implementing to make sure that first responders are able to act immediately during a critical fire incident.
    - PUB DATE: 12/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman
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  • Ghost Ship defendants ask for arrest of landlord, fire officials for deadly California blaze
    The attorneys for the Ghost Ship defendants are asking the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for an unusual move — to arrest the warehouse landlords and fire department officials for the deadly fire. Attorneys for Derick Almena and Max Harris announced the motion to compel the arrests on Tuesday, asking for a laundry list of arrests that includes the Ghost Ship warehouse landlord Chor Ng and her two children, Eva and Kai, who served as building managers.
    - PUB DATE: 12/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times
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  • Councilman demands independent probe on FDNY chief suspended over abusive behavior accusations
    The head of the city council's investigations committee has requested an independent probe of the events leading up to the suspension of a top Fire Department chief accused of abusive behavior. Councilman Ritchie Torres, (D-Bronx), sent Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett the request Tuesday, days after FDNY Chief of Department James Leonard was relieved of his command and put on desk duty.
    - PUB DATE: 12/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
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  • How suburban Illinois fire chiefs collect both pensions and paychecks
    Mitch Crocetti's job pays pretty well, but his old job pays him even better. The Pingree Grove & Countryside Fire Protection District chief receives $117,500 a year in his current role, but his pension after his previous 30-year career with the Wood Dale Fire Department also pays him $124,037 annually.
    - PUB DATE: 12/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Illinois Daily Herald
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