February 2009

City tries to ‘Bait and Switch’ San Bernardino City Firefighters Union

February 28, 2009

The president of San Bernardino’s firefighters union accused the city manager Thursday of “bait and switch tactics” in altering the terms of an informal deal reached last week to help erase a budget deficit. “In short, (Interim City Manager) Mark Weinberg now believes that our concession is not great enough and even though he acknowledges [...]

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Esperanza Arson Fire Suspect fate in hands of Jury

February 27, 2009

RIVERSIDE – The fate of the man charged with lighting the massive Esperanza Fire in 2006, which killed five federal firefighters, is in the hands of jurors. Prosecutors painted Raymond Lee Oyler as an arrogant man, driven by his own ego, who worked at perfecting the practice of lighting wildfires. Charged with lighting 23 fires [...]

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Escondido council breaks firefighters’ pay impasse

February 27, 2009

ESCONDIDO — The City Council voted 3-2 yesterday to break an impasse over pay with the Escondido Firefighters Association and imposed the city’s offer on the union. The impasse was over additional pay for advanced training and education, which would have cost the city $21,000 this year. Union representatives told the council that firefighters already [...]

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Salinas Rural and North County fire districts recruit young Firefighters

February 27, 2009

Recruits are being sought for a firefighter training program that hopes to find jobs for young adults in Monterey County. The Salinas Rural and North County fire districts have teamed with Rancho Cielo Youth Campus to provide free instruction covering basic wildland fire suppression, first aid and other aspects of the fire service. The program [...]

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Seven American Canyon Firefighters Give Back Raises

February 27, 2009

AMERICAN CANYON — Seven firefighters will return pay raises they got after receiving fake college degrees — the source of much controversy during the last year.The American Canyon Fire Protection District and Firefighters Association Local 1186 officials agreed the firefighters would back pay a total of $37,103.48, said City Attorney William Ross. The city spent [...]

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Arizona Paramedics assemble for Advanced Training

February 27, 2009

Eight Certified Emergency Paramedics from the Bullhead City Fire Department are currently participating in an Advanced Life Support training class instructed by Wizard Education. An additional sixteen Paramedics from Phoenix, Las Vegas, the four corners, Care Flight, and the National Park Service are also in the six day class. “We have just completed our fourth [...]

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Alameda Firefighters Control Blaze At Auto Dealership Near Hayward

February 26, 2009

Firefighters in Alameda County controlled a fire at that burned at a vacant car dealership in unincorporated Hayward for more than two hours this morning, a fire department dispatcher said. The two-alarm fire was reported just passed 3 a.m. at 20095 Mission Boulevard in a building the used to be occupied by Jeep and Chrysler [...]

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Georgia Firefighter Dies in Apparatus Rollover

February 25, 2009

Firefighters Memorial A southeast Georgia community is mourning a Stockton volunteer firefighter killed in while responding to a fire call. Lanier County District Fire Chief Gary Yeomans said 32-year-old Dereck North was riding in the passenger seat of the fire truck. He was was killed when his 33-year-old brother, Chad, swerved to avoid a collision [...]

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Hesperia wants more San Bernardino County Firefighters

February 24, 2009

Despite declining revenue, the Hesperia City Council wants more firefighters and more deputy sheriffs on the streets and will consider raising taxes to do it. Three possible new taxes were discussed at Tuesday’s mid-year budget review at Hesperia City Hall along with the Public Safety Advisory Committee’s picks as the city’s top three needs for [...]

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Strife with Escondido Firefighters and City Continues

February 24, 2009

ESCONDIDO — Labor unions representing Escondido firefighters and police officers have repeatedly balked this winter at city requests for voluntary compensation cuts, complicating efforts to balance the city’s budget as revenues continue to decline. Efforts to reach agreements have been so unsuccessful that city officials have declared impasses with both unions, triggering City Council hearings [...]

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