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.
 

"Two FDNY Fire Fighters Killed in Fire Near Ground Zero" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Union head: Standpipe checks stopped before ground zero fire" (Newsday)
"911 Tapes From Sofa Store Fire Released" (Charleston Post and Courier)
"Task Force Issues Preliminary Recommendations for Charleston Fire Department" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Veteran Charleston firefighters named to new posts" (Charleston Post & Courier)
"Chief backs fire dept." (Baltimore Sun)
"USFA Releases Annual Report on Fire Fighter Deaths" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Firefighters' Widow, Union Say U.S. Rejected Benefits" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
"Giuliani Missteps in Imagery of Sept. 11" (New York Times (Online))
"Mayor scraps search for fire chief" (Los Angeles Times )
"Fire Fighter Elected as Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Maintenance of fire trucks under scrutiny " (Republican American)
"Judge's Ruling Upholds Collective Bargaining in Pharr" (The Monitor)
"Council to Consider Locker Rooms for Female Firefighters" (CBS 42)
"San Francisco Fire Fighters Finalize Contract" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Union urges uniform drug testing" (Baltimore Sun)
"Fire Fighter Cuts In Coatesville A Hot Topic" (CBS 3)
"Saving Our Own: The Powell Doctrine and Interior Fire Operations" (Firehouse.com)
"Fire Fighter to Lose 24 Hours of Pay" (The Huntsville Times)
"Police/Fire 'Funeral Policies' May Cool Anger" (Palo Alto Online)
"Fire Fighter Inventor to Launch Home Safety Product" (International Association of Fire Fighters)


 

Two FDNY Fire Fighters Killed in Fire Near Ground Zero
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/19/07)

The IAFF is deeply saddened by the deaths of two FDNY fire fighters killed August 18 while battling a blaze at a building just south of New York's ground zero. Robert Beddia, 53, a 23-year veteran, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, an eight-year veteran with FDNY -- both with Ladder Company 5 and members of the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94 -- became trapped while working the seven-alarm fire in the Deutsche Banking building. After running out of air, both suffered severe smoke inhalation and were taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest where they succumbed to their inhalation injuries.
(Web Link)
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Union head: Standpipe checks stopped before ground zero fire
Newsday (08/22/07); Westfeldt, Amy

A local firehouse was told to stop inspecting an abandoned ground zero skyscraper's water-supply system more than a year before it failed in a blaze that killed two fire fighters, the head of a city fire union said. The Fire Department stopped the inspections of the former Deutsche Bank building's standpipe system because of health concerns about the toxic tower, according to Uniformed Firefighters Association President Stephen Cassidy. "They were told that they should no longer do that because the air quality in that building was not safe," Cassidy said. The broken standpipe pumped thousands of gallons of water into the basement, leaving fire fighters without enough water to fight Saturday's deadly fire.
(Web Link)
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911 Tapes From Sofa Store Fire Released
Charleston Post and Courier (08/10/07) Bartelme, Tony; Menchaca, Ron; Smith, Glenn

Communications tapes that included final words from some of the nine fire fighters trapped in the deadly June 18 Sofa Super Store fire have been released. The audio had been withheld by the city because of several ongoing federal and state investigations into the still unknown cause of the blaze. The department's handling of the fire also is under investigation.
(Web Link)
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Task Force Issues Preliminary Recommendations for Charleston Fire Department
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/17/07)

After an initial review of Charleston Fire Department operations during the June 18 Sofa Store fire that killed nine fire fighters, an independent Fire Review Task Force has issued a prelimin ary list of recommendations for immediate implementation. 
(Web Link)
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Veteran Charleston firefighters named to new posts
Charleston Post & Courier (08/22/07); Menchaca, Ron and Smith, Glenn

Two veteran Charleston fire fighters were tapped to fill new positions recommended by an independent panel studying ways to improve the fire department in the wake of the fatal June 18 Sofa Super Store blaze. T he postings were among numerous recommendations announced by the six-member panel of fire fighting experts. But some are unhappy with the choices. Roger Yow, who heads the local fire fighters' union that represents about half of the department's fire fighters, called the assignments "outrageous" and said the city should have cast a broader search.
(Web Link)
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Chief backs fire dept.
Baltimore Sun (08/22/07); Linskey, Annie

Baltimore's fire chief defended his beleaguered department after an independent investigation concluded that a recruit who was killed in a training exercise had been poorly trained and outfitted. But Mayor Sheila Dixon said her "confidence level" in the chief's leadership "is very questionable."
(Web Link)
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USFA Releases Annual Report on Fire Fighter Deaths
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/15/07)

The annual report released by the United States Fire Administration says most fire fighter fatalities in 2006 were caused by heart attacks. According to the report, out of the total 106 deaths, 50 were attributed to heart attacks.
(Web Link)
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Firefighters' Widow, Union Say U.S. Rejected Benefits
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (08/16/07); Ahmed, Saeed

The Department of Justice is withholding benefits to a fallen fire fighter's family, despite the passage of legislation guaranteeing benefits to family members of emergency response employees who die of cardiac failure in the line of duty. The Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act guarantees $300,000 to the families of fire fighters and emergency workers who die of a heart attack or stroke while on duty. But the widow of fire fighter Russell Schwantes says the Justice Department refuses to honor the law despite repeated efforts to collect on the claim. The International Association of Fire Fighters has petitioned Senate lawmakers for help with the case.
(Web Link)
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Giuliani Missteps in Imagery of Sept. 11
New York Times (Online) (08/11/07); Wheaton, Sarah

After being criticized for claiming that he had spent more time at the site of the World Trade Center than most rescue workers, Republican presidential candidate and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani admitted that he "could have said it better" when asked to clarify his comments. Giuliani, who has built his campaign around his leadership in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, has been criticized by first-responder groups for being unprepared to deal with the attacks. The International Association of Fire Fighters is critical of Giuliani's candidacy.
(Web Link)
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Mayor scraps search for fire chief
Los Angeles Times (08/21/07); Zahniser, David and Lopez, Robert J.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa scrapped his search for a new fire chief, naming interim Fire Chief Douglas L. Barry to run a department buffeted by civil rights lawsuits and a budding federal employment discrimination investigation. The change in hiring plans drew praise from Steve Tufts, head of the city fire fighter union, who applauded Barry for going to many of the city's fire stations to talk directly with fire fighters. 
(Web Link)
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Fire Fighter Elected as Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/16/07)

The Texas AFL-CIO officer elections resulted in two firsts this year -- the first female president and the first fire fighter secretary-treasurer. Running mates Becky Moeller and now-former Big Spring, TX Local 2922 President Paul Brown were elected and have immediately begun work on important state labor issues in Austin. "Brown, as a longtime IAFF leader, has worked hard to improve fire fighter pensions and working conditions," says Sandy McGhee, IAFF 11th District Vice President "Now, with his new position, fire fighters will have a seat at the table where important decisions are made concerning the future of the labor movement."
(Web Link)
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Maintenance of fire trucks under scrutiny
Republican American (08/15/07)

The bureau that oversees the maintenance of the Waterbury Fire Department fleet is under intense scrutiny in the investigation into the May 19 accident that killed Captain John Keane. The investigative report, prepared by Police Superintendent Neil O'Leary, found that mechanical failure was not the cause of the collision between Engine 12 and Truck 1, but that the Bureau of Automotive Repair's practices and record keeping were insufficient.
(Web Link)
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Judge's Ruling Upholds Collective Bargaining in Pharr
The Monitor (08/16/07); Holeywell, Ryan

A judge ruled in favor of Pharr's police and fire fighter unions, overturning the results of May's election that repealed the unions' collective bargaining rights. The ruling ensures that the unions have collective bargaining rights -- for now. The union had argued the May vote was illegal because it came less than one year after a previous election on the issue, a violation of state law.
(Web Link)
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Council to Consider Locker Rooms for Female Firefighters
CBS 42 (08/08/07); Taylor, Rebecca

Women fire fighters in Austin, Texas, are turning to the Austin City Council in an effort to obtain separate locker rooms in fire stations. Council Member Mike Martinez, a former fire fighter, has proposed a plan to refit all of the city's fire stations to allow female fire fighters to have a separate area to change their clothing.
(Web Link)
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San Francisco Fire Fighters Finalize Contract
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/15/07)

San Francisco, CA Local 798 has finalized contract negotiations with the City and County of San Francisco. The agreement, which was ratified August 14 by the membership, includes a 27 percent pay raise over the four-year term of the contract. Local 798 had been in negotiations with the City and County since February 2007.
(Web Link)
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Union urges uniform drug testing
Baltimore Sun (08/22/07); Mitchell, Josh

In the two and a half years since Baltimore County began requiring career fire fighters to take random drug tests, at least a half-dozen have been dismissed for substance abuse -- proof, union leaders say, that the policy works. But the county's estimated 2,000 volunteer fire fighters and paramedics are not required to take the tests. And union leaders say that is a problem.
(Web Link)
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Fire Fighter Cuts In Coatesville A Hot Topic
CBS 3 (08/13/07); Levesque, Valerie

Drastic cuts in the city's fire fighters are a burning issue in Coatesville, Chester County. A meeting regarding the cuts was accompanied by a protest demonstration. Coatesville has 18 paid fire fighters and 15 volunteer fire fighters, and out of the 18 paid, only two are full-time. The two have been reduced to part-time employees. As a result, fire fighters said they are only one to two fire fighters available to battle a blaze. Residents are outraged by the decision and voiced their displeasure at the meeting at the city council chambers. A letter from the fire fighters union claimed the reduction came without warning and without any study on its impacts.
(Web Link)
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Saving Our Own: The Powell Doctrine and Interior Fire Operations
Firehouse.com (08/08/07); Lamar, Eric

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell developed a four-point plan that forms the basis of any military strategy. Fire fighter Eric Lamar studies the ways in which Powell's mandates can be applied to "combat" situations in fire fighting. Lamar defines a combat situation as one where fire fighters are put at risk by choosing to enter a burning building. He contends that this situation should only occur under the conditions that Powell put forth, beginning by evaluating the situation and ensuring that it is absolutely necessary for personnel to enter. Then commanders must establish that there is a significant risk to not entering the building. In the case of fire fighting this means that lives could be saved by entering the building and will be lost otherwise. Before beginning any such search and rescue mission, leaders should also make sure they have the overwhelming equipment and manpower needed to safely attempt the building entrance. Lamar notes that all too often fire fighters' lives are lost needlessly because the initial team does not have access to necessary backup. Finally, Powell contends, any combat operation should have a sound exit strategy. In the case of fire fighting, a sound exit strategy involves speedy and synchronized ventilation, widespread laddering, consistent communication and backup fire fighters and equipment on the scene.
(Web Link)
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Fire Fighter to Lose 24 Hours of Pay
The Huntsville Times (08/10/07); Peck, John

Free speech or the abuse of it? That's a question Huntsville City Council members grappled with in reprimanding Fire Captain Marc Thrailkill for disrespecting then-Fire Chief Dusty Underwood in a union newsletter. His attorney, Bo Emerson, said, "The issue is whether this speech is protected as it relates to public health and safety issues." Thomas Malone, district field director for the International Association of Fire Fighters, pledged the international union's support.
(Web Link)
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Police/Fire 'Funeral Policies' May Cool Anger
Palo Alto Online (08/08/07); Trout, Becky

New rules in the city of Palo Alto, California, will allow fire fighters to attend funerals in off-duty, official vehicles, as well as lower flags in honor of colleagues who pass away. Earlier, relations between fire fighters and city officials had suffered because of a comment perceived as insensitive that was made by City Manager Frank Benest. He had asserted in late July that lowering flags should not be done in a "willy-nilly" fashion but rather should adhere to municipal policies. The comment triggered criticism among fire fighters from as far away as the East Coast. Palo Alto, CA Local 1319 President Tony Spitaleri noted that U.S. Code Title 4 Section 7 allows for the flag to be lowered "in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law."
(Web Link)
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Fire Fighter Inventor to Launch Home Safety Product
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/21/07)

Ventura County, CA Local 1364 member Greg Chavez, the winner of the ABC reality show, "American Inventor," may soon be working with home-safety product manufacturer First Alert to determine the production and commercial viability of the invention that earned him the show's grand prize of $1 million on August 1, 2007. Chavez's invention, the "Guardian Angel," is designed to suppress Christmas tree fires, and features a small, pressurized tank of water wrapped to look like a Christmas package. A small hose is connected to the package, which is fed throughout the tree to a special tree-top angel.
(Web Link)
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