National FireWire...11/4/14 Oregon Supreme Court ruling favors Portland disabled firefighters The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled largely in favor of six firefighters involved in a six-year squabble with the city of Portland after they were forced back to light duty work and had their disability benefits terminated. In a 5-2 decision last week, the high court focused on defining what the city charters required duties really means. Chief Justice Thomas A. Balmer wrote a dissenting opinion. The firefighters asserted that the city wrongfully discontinued their disability benefits. They argued that disability payments could be halted only if an employee became able to perform the required duties of the job held at the time of the injury. The city argued that it did not breach the terms of its charter when it adopted a return to work program for disabled firefighters. They city argued that the Fire Bureau determined the plaintiffs in this case were able to perform some of the duties in their job classification and could be assigned to a light-duty position. PORTLAND OREGONIAN Investigation of Dallas Fire-Rescue firefighters death stirs old tensions Dallas firefighter Stanley Wilson died battling a blaze more than a year and a half ago. But some of his former colleagues say an internal rift that has formed since his death dates back much further to long-standing departmental politics and a tinge of racial tension within Dallas Fire-Rescue. Two reports on the May 2013 fire that killed Wilson faulted Deputy Chief Bobby Ross for giving an order that led to Wilsons death, though the reports showed conflicting accounts on the extent of Ross order. Many white firefighters say they are upset now because they believe that Ross, who is black, lied to investigators by denying he gave fateful commands to Wilson and others that day. But some black firefighters contend Ross, a 30-year veteran of Dallas Fire-Rescue, is under attack because he has long been disliked by white firefighters who thought he was undeservedly promoted by Eddie Burns, the departments first black chief. Burns, who resigned under pressure in 2011 after serving five years, was beloved by the Black Fire Fighters Association but despised by other groups. Retired Lt. James Hunter, a former head of the Dallas Black Fire Fighters Association, said Ross is being made a scapegoat. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS States Struggle to Contain Firefighting Costs Firefighting is expensive. In the past 30 years, the costs for key pieces of equipment have jumped more than fivefold. And thats the least of it. The time and training to become a certified firefighter have increased. Volunteers, who make up roughly 70 percent of fire department personnel, not only pay for their own training but also face additional indirect costs, such as temporary lodging, lost time at work and medical expenses. Not surprisingly, a growing number of localities are confronting a significant decline in volunteer firefighters. A recent report from Pennsylvania, where 96 percent of all fire companies are fully staffed by volunteers, spells out the problem. The states 72,000 volunteer firefighters provide services with an estimated annual tax savings value of $6 billion. But those savings and systems, as the report notes, are creating increasingly serious challenges, including a decline in the number of active volunteer firefighters (down from 152,000 in 1985 to 72,000 today); difficulties in funding, with volunteers spending 60 percent or more of their available hours on fundraising activities; and unnecessary and inefficient duplication of firefighting equipment. GOVERNING.COM Rhode Island chief suspended with pay pending investigation The Coventry Fire Districts board voted Monday after a little more than hour of executive session to suspend Fire Chief Paul Labbadia with pay pending an independent authoritys investigation into allegations of job misconduct. The boards action prohibits the chief from entering the fire station premises and requires him to surrender all keys. The five-member board would not comment on which independent entity would conduct the investigation, nor would they discuss any details of a Channel 12 investigation that raised questions about the chiefs conduct.The emergency meeting was prompted by a Channel 12 investigation that allegedly shows Labbadia drinking during the workday and taking a department vehicle to a party on Federal Hill, where he drank and apparently smoked marijuana before driving the truck home. The months-long investigation by Tim White also appears to show Labbadia leaving work in a department vehicle to play golf for hours before returning to work. Labbadia has denied any wrongdoing. PROVIDENCE JOURNAL Related with Video: Rhode Island fire chief faces questions after months-long undercover investigation Off-road motorcycle unit lets Colorado department respond to any emergency In a region where outdoor thrills are plentiful, ice rescues, lost hikers and injured rock climbers are a year-round reality for the Colorado Springs Fire Department. For some firefighters, mountain rescues are just as much a part of the job as house fires and car crashes. They have an arsenal of tools for the job, including a half dozen off-road motorcycles. Its just one of the tools in our toolbox in being an all-risk department, Fire Department spokesman Capt. Steven Oswald said. Probably the majority of metro departments our size dont have motorcycles. Firefighters are trained to ride the motorcycles through rocky ravines, up steep, gravelly trails and on winding mountain roads. The bikes are used when quick response to a remote location within city limits is required - often for fire spotting or locating a lost or injured hiker. The program started in 2001, when the department received a few motorcycles from the Colorado Springs Police Department, which had scaled back its now-defunct park police program. The department typically has about eight trained riders available on any given day to man its four Yamaha XT250s and two Yamaha WR250s. Firefighters receive several months of training for the program, Fire Station 13 Capt. Don Hawley said. THE GAZETTE
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 00:02:54 +0000
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