Saturday, February 4, 2012
News Archive
Fire Chief's Latest News covers only the most critical issues that fire service leaders need to know about.
Latest News from Fire Chief
Diversity Should Be Management’s Priority, Not Just Labor’s, IAFF Rep Says (with Related Video)
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
Pat Morrison said there’s something wrong if fire departments lack diversity and fail to represent the community they serve. ...
Video: Heritage Center Creates Award to Honor Fire-Service Writers
The National Fire Heritage Center has created Ben Franklin Fire Writers Award. There are several award categories, and three levels of prizes will be awarded in each category. ...
Hoarding Dangerous to Firefighters, NFPA Reports (with Related Video)
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
While hoarding can be a crippling psychological disease, it also poses extreme dangers to firefighters who may enter an inflamed structure only to find exits blocked or collapsed ceilings from the sheer volume of goods stored in unlikely places, said Sharon Gamache, program director for the NFPA’s high-risk outreach programs....
USFA Releases 2012 Harvard Fire Executive Fellowship Program Application Procedures
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
The 2012 Harvard Fire Executive Fellowship Program application procedures have been released and national and international senior fire executives who have demonstrated significant career accomplishments can now apply for the program....
Treat the Soil to Grow Diversity in the Fire Service
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
When Rosemary Roberts Cloud was assigned to her first station, she realized the Atlanta Fire Department had picked “new flowers but they hadn’t treated the soil to make sure they could flourish.”...
Mo. Chief Battles Against Departmental Cancer
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
Cottleville Community Fire Protection District Chief Rob Wylie said 10% of his 50-person career work force has been diagnosed with cancer in the last four years....
Firefighting the Second-Most Stressful Job in the Nation, White Paper Reports (with Related Video)
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
A new job-stress report by CareerCast.com found that firefighters have the second most-stressful job in the country, exceeded only by those enrolled in the military. ...
Indy Safety Chief Says Cities Must Address Abandoned-Building Problem
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
To protect firefighters and its citizens, Indianapolis now has a system in place to demolish structures after a fire occurs if it can be proven that there is damage to the structural integrity of the building. ...
Multiple Fire-Apparatus Makes, Models Included in Meritor Wabco ESC Recall
By Janet Wilmoth (janet@firechief.com)
Two months ago, Meritor Wabco Vehicle Control Systems issued a recall of certain electronic stability control (ESC) modules shipped to North American Vehicle manufacturers from August 2005 through September 2011. Meritor advises that 10,700 units could be affected. ...
VIDEO: CPSE Takes Accreditation Message to City Managers
The Center for Public Safety Excellence this fall sent representatives to the International City/County Management Association’s annual conference in Milwaukee to raise awareness among city managers and administrators about fire-department accreditation. ...
ABC’s Extreme Makeover Improves Texas Firehouse, Stocks it with Motorola Radios
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
The Bastrop Fire consumed more than 34,000 acres in Texas and destroyed more than 1,300 homes — including those of 14 out of the Heart of Pine Volunteer Fire Department's 22 members....
NYC Tests Mobile Emergency-Alert System Today
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
Six test messages will be sent to WEA-enabled mobile devices around New York City....
Virtual USA Gen 4 Expands Sharing Capabilities
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
Before Gen 4, Virtual USA was a state-centric tool, but the new version expands information-sharing across states, counties and cities....
House Approves Legislation That Reallocates D Block
By Donny Jackson
House members yesterday voted 234-193 to approve payroll-tax legislation with language to reallocate the 700 MHz D Block spectrum to public safety and provide at least $5 billion in funding for the buildout of a nationwide LTE network for first responders, but the measure is expected to face stiff opposition in the Senate....
Ford Executive/Firefighter Develops Field Calculator App
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
The app has embedded calculation tools used to determine discharge pressure for firefighting pumps, foam application rates and amounts, critical application rate/flow estimation, and pressure and flow rates for smooth-bore nozzles....
Extrication a Snap with Downloadable App
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
Upon arriving at the scene of a vehicular accident, emergency responders can click on the Extraction Zones Pro app and select the make and model of the damaged vehicles from an extensive databank in the pop-up list. ...
Fire-Service Diversity Still Lacking, But Chiefs Can Solve the Problem
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
Diversity is an absolute necessity for any public or private organization trying to be competitive in today's multicultural world, said Jona Olsson, the founder and director of Cultural Bridges to Justice and fire chief of the Latir Volunteer Fire Department in Questa, N.M....
Volunteer Incentive Act Not Dead Yet
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
S.933 would extend the exemption on taxation of property-tax benefits for volunteer emergency responders and increase the value of other benefits that volunteers can receive without having to report or pay income tax from $360 per year to $600 per year....
NFPA Report Discusses Smoke-Alarm Effectiveness, Lack of NFPA 72 Compliance (with Related Video)
By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)
The National Fire Protection Association recently released its “Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires” report, which found that two-thirds of home fire deaths between 2005 and 2009 occurred in properties without working smoke alarms....
Send Season's Greetings to Firefighters Overseas
During this holiday season, many American firefighters are doing double-duty for their country, serving as soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations abroad. Readers of Command Post, FIRE CHIEF's weekly e-mail newsletter, have contributed the names of the soldiers on this list; these are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, colleagues and friends, fathers and mothers in the fire-service family. To add a name, send an e-mail....
| Commentary | Special Reports | Station Style |
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Mutual Aid is a blog of news and views from FIRE CHIEF staff and industry experts — a virtual conversation about the issues important to you as a fire service leader. |
In Service provides information on fleet management, apparatus specifying and maintenance. Keep abreast of new trends and changes to emergency vehicle apparatus. |
Station Style focuses on the architectural design and needs of fire and emergency stations today. See the latest in design trends and learn about the Fire Station Design Awards. |
