Court rules against City over exams used in fire chief competition
Judge rules that the City set qualifications specifically to exclude members of their fire department from the chief’s position.
Fire captain dies in fire, firefighter injured
Captain Michael Goodwin, a 30 year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department, was killed when a third floor roof collapsed. Firefighter Andrew Godlewski was injured while trying to rescue Goodwin and is in stable condition in the hospital.
Scottish fire service charged criminally in death of firefighter
The Scottish Crown has now decided to invoke criminal charges under their health and safety laws against the fire service. They are charged with breaching section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which states “it shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees”.
A second charge pertains to failure to carry out risk assessments at work.
Facebook and Twitter used to help fight grass fires
The fire department is using social media as part of a new initiative to make appeals and provide arson awareness messages after incidents.
Hire slow and fire fast
If you substitute “fire chief” for “business owner” and “organization” for “business” you will see this article is very relevant to the fire service.
GPS units in emergency response vehicles pose a concern to fire and police unions
Some fire departments have had GPS units in their vehicles for only about a month, and already there is an internal investigation of at least two fire battalion chiefs who were traveling in excess of 100 mph in city-issued SUVs. Firefighters are upset that tracking devices were installed without warning, with no policy in place and without an administrator to oversee what data are reported.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/03/30/police-fire-unions-urge-gps-limits.html
Residential fire sprinklers are the only proactive form of fire protection
While smoke detectors are key in alerting occupants of fire, they are also a reactive form of fire protection, and can only save those who are able to react. Fire sprinklers, on the other hand are proactive, providing firefighters the time they need to extinguish the fire and help avoid potential tragedies and severe structural damage.
Fire departments give mixed reviews on self-inspection programs
Some fire departments that employ business owner self-inspection programs have found that many were not as compliant as they said they were.
Over 4000 cars recalled for electrical problem that could result in a fire
Wire harnesses on 2013 model Challengers equipped with V6 engines could overheat from a short circuit and cause a fire. Chrysler is telling customers to stop driving their cars and not to park them “in or near any structures.” Chrysler said it was aware of seven related incidents in which the wires overheated.
Fire department management overstates number of available response units
At least four aerials and six engines were incorrectly listed in a spreadsheet fire officials provided to D.C. Council’s public safety committee. The firefighters union uncovered the discrepancies by checking serial numbers and conducting a station-by-station inventory.