Quick takes
Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jy_q2w9tSQ&hl=en&fs=1&]
Another Gary house fire: This home burned at 2:00 yesterday morning.
Judge’s ruling has county threatening massive layoffs: Prince George’s County’s spokesman was quick to react yesterday after we informed him of a federal judge’s ruling calling the furlough of union represented public safety workers unconstitutional. Jim Keary said to comply with the irresponsible ruling would require “massive layoffs”. We have more reaction. Click here for our coverage.
Wasilla firefighters’ headquarters trashed & vehicles stolen while they were on the front lines: This is not how Sarah Palin described Wasilla. When Alaska’s Pioneer Peak Hotshots returned from two weeks on the front lines in Fairbanks for two days of R & R they discovered their headquarters had been broken into. Inside, equipment was destroyed, electronics stolen and personal items taken. Outside, five of the firefighters’ vehicles were stolen and are still missing. There was an attempt to steal two more and eighteen other vehicles were vandalized. Read the story.
Cuts in Florida fire department are personal for one family: By now you may have heard of the cuts in Lehigh Acres where 35 firefighters were laid off. Here’s the story of one family impacted by the closing of the local fire station.
Former medical director rips firefighters’ union over investigation: In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. John Sacra, the retired medical director for the fire department, believes the firefighters’ union is interfering in the investigation into falsification of medical records by telling paramedics not to respond to a questionnaire from the city auditor. Sacra also is critical of the union’s opposition to three members of the city council he believes asked the right questions about the records controversy. Union president Stan May says their opposition comes because the councilmembers considered making cuts to the department’s budget and is not about the investigation. Read more from Tulsa World.
Michigan firefighter falls in pool: From thetimesherald.com: A Port Huron firefighter was injured Tuesday night when he fell into an empty pool while fighting a fire. Capt. Mark White of the Port Huron Fire Department said the firefighter, who was not identified, fell into the empty pool while fighting a fire in a pool house at 3003 West Village Lane. “He took a pretty good tumble,” White said. White said the firefighter was taken to Port Huron Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Smoke and darkness made it difficult to see in the pool house, White said.
Outside fires keep fire crews on the move: Firefighters in Montgomery County, Maryland started chasing after burning hay bales and mailboxes around 3:00 yesterday morning. Neighbors and investigators are quite concerned. We have an update to the story we first told you about yesterday.
Coverage of the Kansas City memorial service: Some of the nicest coverage of the memorial service remembering the five firefighters and one civilian killed in the Southwest Boulevard fire came in a video from the Kansas City Star. Click here to see it. Read the paper’s story. Here are more links to reports on the 50th anniversary of the fire – KMBC, WDAF, KSHB. And if you missed it, click here for our compilation of some of the coverage, pictures and reports from 1959.
A memorial service was also held in New York yesterday on the second anniversary of the Deutsche Bank fire that killed two FDNY firefighters. Click here.
Councilmember becomes fire chief: Salt Lake County Councilmember and Deputy Fire Chief Michael Jensen has a new job that will apparently cause a conflict. The Unified Fire Authority Board has named him chief of Utah’s largest fire department. The Hatch Act apparently will keep Jensen from running for another term because the department administers federal funds. Here’s the story.
Fire department sits one out: Police and ambulance got the call for the woman in labor, but the fire department was late to the party. An investigation has brought action against two dispatchers with the Quincy, Massachusetts Fire Department. Read the story.
It’s an epidemic: Not really. Just two drivers in different parts of the country finding their cars drawn like magnets to the side of a local firehouse. Click here for the details.
