Quick takes
Looked like a good turnout and nice weather for Saturday’s ride to honor Rich Findley and raise money for his family. Click here to watch the story.
Delayed response story has people talking: And what they are talking about are career/volunteer issues in Loudoun County, VA. The rate the responses are coming in since last Thursday’s story has it on pace to be our most commented story since the blog began. Click here to see for yourself.
Ambulance billing dispute still a hot topic: While the pace has slowed, we are still getting comments on the story from August 14 about ambulance billing in Prince George’s County, MD. With just short of 100 comments it is has received more comments than any other story we have run (but Loudoun is closing in). The more recent comments seem to be among just a few people as they look at what an all career PGFD might cost. Click here to see how the numbers add up.
Firefighter Nation has its own conversation going: Dave Iannone posted a YouTube video I think we ran earlier this year of a district chief running interference for a responding fire truck. It has created a bit of a discussion on Firefighter Nation. Click here.
Death of a firefighter – a five-part editorial: An Oregon newspaper’s editorial board believes justice wasn’t served after a young volunteer firefighter died following a party at a training conference. Details and links to parts 1 and 2.
Video roundup: Dave goes off the deep end about the caption to a truck fire video from CA. Also a West Virginia tavern fire, house fires in Oregon and Pennsylvania, a garage fire in NY and lots more. Click here.
Preferential hiring to end in Indianapolis: Under an agreement with the federal government, the Indianapolis Fire Department will no longer allow preferences for blacks and women in hiring and promotions. Read the story.
Can-do attitude: The New York Times takes another look at the Deutsche Bank report and the good and the bad things that can come from aggressive firefighting. Click here for the story.
Four from MA … no, make that five: On Saturday we posted four stories from Massachusetts that occurred at the end of last week. One involved a firefighter’s home burning and three involved illegal drugs. Now another drug story. A Newton firefighter was arrested Thursday on heroin charges. This occurred a day before marijuana was found in the Newton chief’s car. Still nothing definitive on how the pot got there. Click here for the latest story.
Mutual funding: A dispute over mutual aide between two New Jersey townships has brought a request for money. Read more.
Elsewhere in NJ, a dissolved FD’s pumper is up for auction: It has been more than a year since the Delmont Fire Company went out of business. Its eight-year-old pumper has been hanging around and now it may be legally disposed of. Read the story.
After 26 years in charge, ambulance director is shown the door: Brian Binns has been a part of White Lake (MI) Ambulance Authority for 38 years and has run the place since 1982. Binns and others are not trying to figure out why the agency’s only director was suspended on August 12 and fired this past Friday. Click here for the story.
