February 2009

‘Smart Hose’ makes it’s debut in Ontario

February 18, 2009

ONTARIO – The rain didn’t play a role in getting a group of area firefighters wet on Tuesday morning. The culprit was a seemingly benign fire hose that managed to dispense more than 300 gallons of water every minute. Officials who sell and produce the Smart Hose, a specialized fire hose manufactured in Sweden, demonstrated [...]

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Turlock Firefighters Mitigate Ammonia Vapor Leak

February 16, 2009

An industrial complex in west Turlock was evacuated this afternoon after vapors leaked from a storage tank filled with liquid ammonia, authorities said. A hazmat team had secured the scene at South Kilroy Road and was working to contain the leak. “The risk is pretty well contained and minimized,” said Brian White, division chief with [...]

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Mered County Firefighter Volunteers Critical to Protection Success

February 16, 2009

For decades, Merced County has relied on volunteers like Maciel to supplement and support its paid firefighters. But with the county’s burgeoning population and budgets stretched paper-thin, officials say the volunteers are more vital to public safety than ever. And at the same time, recruiting them has become harder and harder. The number of volunteer [...]

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Fire in Pasadena Injures One Person

February 16, 2009

PASADENA – A contractor was in critical condition Monday after the exterior heating unit he was working on caught fire, forcing evacuation of all 78 elderly residents of the San Marino Health and Wellness Center. The unidentified man, who was taken to Huntington Hospital, was working on the electrical system when it “shorted out, flashed, [...]

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San Bernardino City Firefighters Respond to Train Derailment

February 15, 2009

Just after midnight on Feb. 13, 2008, 8 units from the San Bernardino City Fire Department responded to a report of a train derailment on the Union Pacific Rail Line just off Rialto Ave Southwest of Macy Avenue. The first unit on scene reported a total of eight cars that were derailed just off the [...]

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Las Vegas Firefighter Hurt in Pit Bull attack

February 14, 2009

A northwest Las Vegas woman and a Las Vegas firefighter were slightly injured after a Pit Bull attacked the woman and her pet Springer Spaniel in front of a Las Vegas fire station late Friday morning. The firefighter was taken to the hospital for treatment; the woman’s dog was taken to a veterinarian’s office for [...]

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NIOSH Final Report of Charleston Super Sofa Fire

February 13, 2009

The final report from NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, makes 43 recommendations. According to Chief Thomas Carr, almost all of the recommendations have been met by the Charleston Fire Department.  On Scene Video Nine firefighters were killed in the line of duty when fire burned down the Sofa Super Store on [...]

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Funding for Fire Service in Stimulus Bill

February 13, 2009

Congressional leaders and the Obama administration have agreed on a compromise economic stimulus package that will provide more than $200 billion to states and localities facing budget shortfalls. This critically needed funding will help alleviate the pressure on fire department budgets in communities across the nation. Several items championed by the IAFF are included in [...]

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LA County Fire Chief urges El Monte City Council to keep station open

February 13, 2009

EL MONTE – As city officials consider whether to close one of the city’s four fire stations to save money, they are faced with a tough reality – doing so could nearly double emergency response times in some areas. “We cannot in good conscience recommend closure of this station,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Fire [...]

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Ventura City Firefighters cut Benefits to Save Jobs

February 12, 2009

Each of the voluntary cuts by public safety and management employees equals at least a 5 percent payroll reduction, but the savings were reached in different ways: Ventura City Firefighters agreed to defer by one year recently approved retirement benefit increases. The increases now will take effect July 1, 2010.

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