Welcome to the IAFF Frontline News Brief, distributed twice a month to IAFF affiliate leaders and IAFF members. We encourage you to forward this news to your members and others in the fire service.

The Frontline News Brief is delivered directly by email and is also published on the IAFF web site. You can view past issues at http://www.iaff.org/Comm/frontline/news.htm.

Your feedback is also welcome - email pr@iaff.org with questions and comments.
 

"Interim Charleston Fire Chief Appointed" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Connecticut Fire Fighters Gain Presumptive Heart Benefits " (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"BC recognizes testicular cancer as occupational hazard for firefighters" (The Canadian Press)
"Fire Union Defies Muncie Mayor With Hire" (The Star Press)
"West Virginia Fire Fighter Vies for State House Seat" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Risky Cuts Compromise Fire Department Response Time " (WBZ-TV)
"After Fire Training, Nutter Has Hot Idea" (Philadelphia Inquirer)
"Evans Raises, Spends More than Opponents in Mayoral Race" (Press of Atlantic City)
"Cleveland Firefighters Say Policy Puts Lives at Risk" (Firehouse.com)
"DC Metro Area Donates 400 T-Shirts for Hero to Hero" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Union Says FDNY Fire Fighters Baited into Bad Conduct" (Firehouse.com)
"EMTs protest outside HUMC event" (Hackensack Chronicle)
"Seattle's First Woman Firefighter Retires" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
"New Jersey Firefighters Aid Co-Worker Headed to Iraq" (Bergen Record (NJ))
"Fire Fighters Save Girl's Dog and Her Prom" (Union Leader )

 

Interim Charleston Fire Chief Appointed
International Association of Fire Fighters (05/21/08)

A veteran fire official will take over the Charleston Fire Department when Chief Rusty Thomas steps down. Mayor Joe Riley announced that Assistant Chief Ronnie Classen will be acting chief when Thomas leaves his post on June 27.
(Web Link)
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Connecticut Fire Fighters Gain Presumptive Heart Benefits
International Association of Fire Fighters (05/20/08)

With the support of the IAFF and the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association (UPFFA) of Connecticut, Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell has signed a bill that will better protect the state's fire fighters and police officers if they have a heart condition or impairment as a result of their duties. "This is an important victory, not just for Connecticut fire fighters, but for all fire fighters," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "It is a scientific fact that fire fighters and emergency medical responders are at increased risk for heart disease, lung disease, cancer and infectious diseases. Yet, many fire fighters across the country get little or no protections and benefits when they get sick on the job."
(Web Link)
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BC recognizes testicular cancer as occupational hazard for firefighters
The Canadian Press (05/27/08)

The British Columbia government now recognizes testicular cancer as an occupational hazard for fire fighters and will add lung cancer in non-smoking fire fighters to the list, as well.
(Web Link)
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Fire Union Defies Muncie Mayor With Hire
The Star Press (05/22/08); Yencer, Rick

Despite city budget constraints, the Muncie Fire Merit Commission has hired a new fire fighter, bringing the department up to its full staffing of 110. Fire Chief Eric Wilson asked for the new appointment, while Mayor Sharon McShurley had asked the fire union to delay hiring new fire fighters. Members of Firefighters Local 1348 decided to honor its contract with the city that calls for 100 fire fighters. The agreement also calls for 28 fire fighters on each shift along with a battalion chief.
(Web Link)
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West Virginia Fire Fighter Vies for State House Seat
International Association of Fire Fighters (05/27/08)

After a victory in West Virginia's state primary elections, Professional Fire Fighters of West Virginia (PFFWV) Secretary-Treasurer and Huntington, WV Local 289 President Carl Eastham will be running in the November 2008 general election for the State House of Delegates. Eastham will be campaigning to fill one of the three spots in District 15 (Cabell County).
(Web Link)
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Risky Cuts Compromise Fire Department Response Time
WBZ-TV (05/05/08)

At a time when resources are shrinking and budgets are being slashed, emergency calls are up in many cities and towns, causing concerns about staffing and response times.
(Web Link)
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After Fire Training, Nutter Has Hot Idea
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/17/08); Shields, Jeff

After completing a simulated fire drill at Philadelphia's Fire Academy, Mayor Michael Nutter says he wants to launch a similar bootcamp for public officials, civic leaders and the public. Upon completing "Fire Ops 101" at the city's Fire Academy, Nutter promised to discuss how to "replicate that experience" for public officials and ordinary Philadelphians with the managing director. Nutter said experiencing the on-the-job realities of fire fighters during those drills offered him the chance to walk in their shoes, noting that, "I think it's important for someone like myself ... to get a very up-close view of what it's like to be a public employee in these kinds of positions." During the drills, Nutter was joined by Pennsylvania House Speaker Dennis O'Brien, U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA), State Representative George Kenney and other public officials. The event was organized by Philadelphia, PA Local 22 and the fire department.
(Web Link)
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Evans Raises, Spends More than Opponents in Mayoral Race
Press of Atlantic City (05/10/08); Clark, Michael

The first round of campaign finance reports shows Atlantic City Mayor Scott Evans with a substantial lead over his opponents in fundraising, with more than $51,000 in the bank to mount his campaign to regain the mayor's seat. Evans, who was vice president of the city fire fighters union, largely leveraged his fire and union connections. He accumulated nearly $18,000 between contributions from unions, fire fighter unions, fire fighter political action committees and individual fire fighters.
(Web Link)
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Cleveland Firefighters Say Policy Puts Lives at Risk
Firehouse.com (05/23/08)

Fire fighters in Cleveland are worried about an emergency-call list in which fire fighters will no longer automatically serve as first responders. The list includes burns, attacks, stabbings, accidents and emergency infant deliveries. City public safety director Marty Flask explains that Cleveland is altering resources and will rely more greatly on EMS for medical calls, thereby giving fire crews more time for other emergencies. He stresses that fire fighters will continue to respond to emergency calls. Fire fighters do not agree, stating that the list is evidence that they will not receive the call when they are most needed. The fire union will keep fighting the new rule.

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DC Metro Area Donates 400 T-Shirts for Hero to Hero
International Association of Fire Fighters (05/28/08)

Thanks to the strong organizational efforts of Fairfax County, VA Local 2068, the Washington, DC metro area fire and police departments donated 400 T-shirts to the "Hero to Hero," a nationwide program that collects signed T-shirts from emergency first responders to send to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as a show of support.
(Web Link)
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Union Says FDNY Fire Fighters Baited into Bad Conduct
Firehouse.com (05/12/08); Adams Otis, Ginger

Fire fighters say they're the targets of stings designed to bait them into inappropriate or even criminal behavior. In an April 18 memo, United Firefighters Association president Stephen Cassidy wrote to his members: "The UFA has confirmed that the City's Department of Investigation is conducting random 'integrity' tests of city employees." Several fire fighter sources told The Post the incidents that worried fire fighters included cocaine dropped in a firehouse, an RV packed full of beer and babes, and a damsel in distress slipping a cash reward to a fire fighter.  
(Web Link)
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EMTs protest outside HUMC event
Hackensack Chronicle (05/28/08); Bonamo, Mark J.

The eight emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who currently serve under Hackensack Fire Department command and who are scheduled to be replaced in August by Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) personnel protested outside HUMC's 17th annual EMS Excellence Award Program inside the city's landmark banquet hall.
(Web Link)
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Seattle's First Woman Firefighter Retires
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (05/18/08); Mcnerthney, Casey

Bonnie Beers, the first female fire fighter for the Seattle Fire Department, has retired. She was inducted into the department in 1978 and served as a role model for the 92 women who have since joined the 1,035-person force. She became the department's first woman lieutenant.
(Web Link)
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New Jersey Firefighters Aid Co-Worker Headed to Iraq
Bergen Record (NJ) (05/20/08); Schillaci, Sarah

The fire fighters union in Paterson, New Jersey, held a beefsteak dinner to raise money to send 24-year-old fire fighter Leonardo Enriquez on a vacation before he is deployed to Iraq as part of the New Jersey National Guard. Union President William Fillippelli says the intent is to send Enriquez on a 10-day vacation before deployment. Other departments working in support of their fire fighters include Clifton, NJ Local 21, which is working on a T-shirt sale where the purchase of one shirt will send another two shirts overseas along with the National Guard. It is common for public safety officers to have military backgrounds, which increases their support of the armed services, according to Anthony Latona, a fire fighter in Clifton and member of the New York National Guard. "My civilian job goes over to the military side," said Latona, and "the training I got there helps me in Clifton." Among the things that will change for Enriquez when he goes overseas is his seniority -- he is the youngest fire fighter in his station in Paterson right now, but "there, I'm in charge of soldiers," he says. "Here, I'm under their wing."
 
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Fire Fighters Save Girl's Dog and Her Prom
Union Leader (05/19/08); Cousineau, Michael

Alexandra Shaw lost her Fitzwilliam house, including her prom dress, in a fire that nearly claimed her dog. Fire fighters took a vote at the fire scene and agreed to donate money so Shaw could buy a new dress and attend her senior prom.
(Web Link)
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