Wednesday, July 30, 2014   A Firefighter from New York is calling on his brothers and sisters in the fire service to lend a hand, in his battle with a serious illness.
"I love the fire service," said David Blank of Lake View, who has been a member of North Boston Fire Department for the past 30 years including time as Chief of Department.
Earlier this year, Blank, 53, began experiencing unexplained and excruciating bone pain.
"I kind of blew it off at first as old age and overdoing it sometimes,"
Last month after a bone marrow biopsy, doctors confirmed a diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Blank has been hospitalized at Roswell Park Cancer Center since July 3rd, undergoing chemotherapy.
Several of his Brother and Sister Firefighters are collecting t-shirts-so he can wear a different one each day as he fights his cancer-
CAN YOU HELP?
Please send an XL tee-shirt from your FD or FIRE/EMS org for Ex-Chief Blank to:
Firefighter Dave Blank T-Shirt
5564 Main St, ... [ more ]

Wednesday, July 30, 2014  THIS IS GREAT NEWS! The  USFA’s National Fire Academy (NFA) announces a new training program aimed at improving the professional skills of America’s fire and emergency medical services first responders. Called the Managing Officer (MO) program, the curriculum emphasizes leadership, safety, community risk reduction, training, and technology for those men and women who may be embarking on supervisory roles in their organization.
The MO program differs from other NFA programs by providing new officers a defined nationally-recognized curriculum. Students will be able to complete the program in as little as two years, and will receive a NFA capstone certificate when they finish.

NFA Superintendent Dr. Denis Onieal explained, “The MO program will fulfill the four universal elements of professional development: higher education, training and certification, continuing education and experience. This includes a combination of self-study, state and local t... [ more ]

Wednesday, July 30, 2014  A young Napanee area volunteer firefighter continues to fight for her life in a Kingston hospital, after suffering a bleed in her brain.

Jessica Boomhower, a 20-year-old volunteer firefighter with the Dorland Station south of Napanee, was on training at the Napanee Fire Station on June 25 when she began to complain that she was not feeling well.

"Jessica was at the station when a call came in, and she was getting ready to respond," said Greater Napanee Fire Services chief, Terry Gervais. "She felt ill as she was getting onto the truck, and a couple of firefighters helped her get into a chair and called EMS."

Boomhower was rushed to the hospital in Napanee, where she was unconscious on arrival.

"They transported her right to Kingston General Hospital, where she received emergency surgery on her brain for a brain injury," said Gervais.

Boomhower remains in KGH and is making some slow steps towards recovery. The Napa... [ more ]

Tuesday, July 29, 2014  A week after the fire in the 22-storey Lotus Business Park killed a fireman and injured four others the Chief Fire Officer has been replaced.

The BMC on Monday divested acting CFO A N Verma of his charge. Deputy CFO Sunil Nesrikar has been given charge as CFO.

However, additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh sought to delink the two things and said the decision had been pending.

Verma said he had learnt from TV channels that he had been shunted out for his lethargic reaction to the Lotus Park fire. “I have not been given any reason. How can they remove me when I am the senior most,’’ he said.

Verma arrived at Lotus Park four hours after the fire even though a brigade call had been given to summon help from fire stations across the city. There was a lot of anger against him as he was not present at the site when fireman Nitin Yevlekar’s body was brought down from the building.

At the time of the ... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service faces trial accused of a number of health and safety breaches following the death of a firefighter more than five years ago.
Yesterday at the High Court in Glasgow judge Lady Rae was told the the trial is expected to last 12 weeks.

No date has yet been set and the case has been continued until September in order to find a suitable court which can accommodate a three-month trial.

Prosecutors brought charges after firefighter Ewan Williamson died while tackling a basement blaze at the Balmoral Bar in Dalry Road, Edinburgh in July 2009.

About 20 people were rescued from the burning building, but the 35-year-old lost his life after he became trapped.

The service denies three charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

This includes a claim that there was a failure to prioritise Mr Williamson's rescue.

He worked for the former Lothian and Borders Fire and Re... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  Bad news out of Montana-a wildland Firefighter working on a fire on the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana is now missing. The Firefighter was a member of an eight-person hand crew working out of Darby, Montana mopping up the one-acre Weasel Fire yesterday afternoon July 27 when reported missing. The other Firefighters began a search and notified Ravalli County Search and Rescue, which is continuing the effort today.The Weasel Fire is about 10 miles east of Hamilton and 40 miles south of Missoula near the border of the Bitterroot and Beaverhead/Deerlodge National Forests. The fire had been contained on Saturday and was being checked and mopped up by the Darby crew on Sunday.
KTIYP's.

FOLLOW more details at www.Wildfiretoday.com as well as thru The Secret List and more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  An Italian firefighting helicopter crashed on Sunday near the city of Rieti in central Italy killing the pilot and a technician who was also traveling in the aircraft, local reports said.



The co-pilot was wounded and rushed to a hospital in nearby Rome in serious condition, according to Rome-based Il Messaggero newspaper.





The victims, aged 60 and 67, were confirmed dead soon after the crash, which occurred near a lake in the area while the firefighter helicopter was carrying out a flight training, according to a statement from the local government.





Local authorities said the accident could have been caused by a sudden damage of the aircraft's transmission system. The pilot was thought to have attempted an emergency landing before the engine collapsed definitely.





No further casualties were reported, but eyewitnesses said the crash could ... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  Some more information with regards to Southwold Township Firefighter Kevin James visitation and funeral: 



Visitation

The Official Fire Service time to pay their respects, starts at 18:30 on Tuesday July 29 at Williams Funeral Home, 45 Elgin St., St. Thomas.

We ask all Fire Personnel to park offsite, such as the large parking lot at Knox Presbyterian Church (Hincks & Wellington, just behind the back entrance of the Williams Funeral Home)


Funeral

Kevin’s funeral will begin at 13:00 hours on Wednesday July 30. The Fire Service march procession will start at approximately 12:40 hours.

All fire service personnel are asked to be at the Forest City Community Church, 3725 Bostwick Rd., London, at least 1 hour prior to the march (11:40 hours).


Reception

A reception will immediately follow the service & recessional, at the church.

... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  Alex Forrest clearly remembers what happened to a fellow firefighter who was traumatized by the deaths of two captains in a house fire.

It was two months after the Winnipeg blaze in 2007 that killed Tom Nichols and Harold Lessard, and Forrest knew his colleague was having a hard time coping.

“I checked up on him and he had killed himself in a garage, and he was holding the pamphlet from the memorial,” Forrest, head of the Winnipeg firefighters union, recalled last week.

“Many of the firefighters are still suffering the effects of that fire.”

Forrest is one of many emergency responders across the country, including police officers and ambulance crews, who are fighting for better treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

He says the condition has been around a long time — he remembers early in his career 25 years ago when one firefighter committed suicide — but people are more willing to tal... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  The latest findings are more than twice the number of reported cancer cases up to September of last year, when epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said some 1,140 people suffered from WTC-related cancers.

'There are more cases out there, because we just know of the people in our government-funded medical programs, not those who have been treated by their private doctors,' has said Dr. Jim Melius, who oversees health programs for 9/11 first responders.
One thousand 9/11 first responders have been diagnosed with cancer since coming into contact with Ground Zero - and doctors expect the number to rise
Donna Summer said toxic dust from 9/11 gave her fatal lung cancer. Crazy? 60,000 others say they're blighted, too

More than 60,270 people have been at risk of deadly diseases after inhaling dust and fumes containing asbestos from the building's lower columns and benzene from jet fuel.

The toxins also include lead... [ more ]

Sunday, July 27, 2014   An Orlando Fire Engine hit a car trying to get away from police. The driver of that car ran off and is still missing.
Just before midnight last night, Orlando Police said an officer tried to pull over a car near Columbia Street and Goldwyn Avenue.

They say the driver of the car appeared as if he was slowing down, but then quickly sped up. Police said the car drove through a stop sign at Bethune Drive and Columbia Street.

At the same time Orlando Fire Department's Engine 7 was headed west on Columbia Street with their lights and horn on responding to a call.

The front of the engine hit the side of the car. Police say the driver got out of the car and ran away. His three passengers were taken to the hospital in stable condition.

If caught, the driver of the car will certainly face numerous charges. No one from inside the fire truck was transported to the hospital.

Sunday, July 27, 2014  An overnight fire in Eminence, Kentucky, had firefighters battling flames for hours.

The fire began just before 12:30 a.m. Sunday in a mixed-use residential and commercial building on South Main Street before spreading to a second building.

A passing police officer reported the fire and was able to evacuate everyone in the first structure.

Firefighters said it started in an apartment in one building and spread to another.

Officials said the age and specific construction of the building hampered efforts to extinguish the fire.

"Everybody wants to come out, but please stay back. We don't even feel safe. We've already had three firefighters injured when the building collapsed -- cuts, bruises, abrasions," said Eminence Fire Chief Gary Lucas.

Officials said at least 50 firefighters worked the fire.

Several firefighters were injured when part of the building collapsed.

None of the residents inside the... [ more ]

Sunday, July 27, 2014  No injuries were reported after a Mahwah fire truck collided with a sedan last night.

The truck carrying five firefighters from Fire Company # 2 Hazmat was responding to a gas leak from a dryer on Greene Street in the Fardale section when the crash occurred.

The truck had its lights and siren activated when it stopped on Wyckoff Avenue for a red light at Pulis Avenue and was struck by the car as its driver made a right as the rig continued on, Police Chief James Batelli told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

The collision damaged the truck’s undercarriage pullout drawer, the chief said.

Police were investigating, he said.

http://cliffviewpilot.com/car-crashes-into-mahwah-fire-truck/