Marion County Fire and Rescue is mourning the second loss of a firefighter to suicide.
Chief James Banta spoke to members of his department urging them to keep an eye on each other and reach out if they or someone else is struggling.
On Saturday, Feb. 4, firefighters will offer a final salute to FF/Paramedic Allen Singleton who died Jan. 29. He leaves behind his wife and two children.
The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. at the Church at the Springs in Ocala.
On Jan. 9, Marion FF/Paramedic Tripp Wooten died. He also left behind a wife and two children.
In a video message posted on the department’s Facebook page, Banta said his department is “in pain, confused and upset…”
He said also is suffering the same emotions.
The chief said if there were easy fixes, he would do them. But the issues run much deeper.
“I need each of you to be my eyes and ears. I shoulder the burden of leading us out of this crisis, but i cannot do this alone.”
He urged the crews to be cognizant of their co-workers and watch of change in demeanor. Asking the tough questions also is important.
After the funeral on Saturday, the IAFF strike teams comprised of mental health officials will be arriving in Marion County to offer their assistance.
Banta urged them to take advantage of their services and reach out.
“I am here for you…Never quit…I am always available if you need to talk…”
A consultant’s review of the Apopka Fire Department, conducted in the wake of last summer’s on-duty death of firefighter Austin Duran, alleges firefighter health and safety programs have been neglected for years, according to a 45-page draft of the report.
Its authors, Gannon Emergency Solutions, commissioned by the city last year, suggested the 131-employee department “needs a reset.”
The document praised positive, recent changes in the Fire Department’s organizational hierarchy including adding a training chief and a life-safety chief, both new posts, but it also “identified deeper foundation deficiencies” that fuel concern as the city grows.
With a population of about 56,000 people, Apopka is Orange County’s second-largest city.
The draft, obtained by the Orlando Sentinel through a public records request, includes electronically inserted comments in the margins by Fire Chief Sean Wylam and City Attorney Michael Rodriguez, who disputed many of Gannon’s observations, conclusions and language.
“We didn’t edit anything out,” Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson said. “We just put in [comments] where they were wrong.”
Nelson, elected to a second, four-year term last March, said he was disappointed in the review. He said it appeared intended to persuade the city to award Gannon a three-year contract at $150,000 a year to help fix the problems they said they found in the department.
The report’s authors were out of the country on business Wednesday and unavailable for comment. They are expected to give a formal presentation on their findings at a future Apopka City Council meeting, the mayor said.
At Wednesday’s council meeting, Michael Duran, the fallen firefighter’s father, offered his view of the city’s response.
“No surprise,” he said. “The city continues … to push back and refuse to accept accountability.”
As required by law, the Duran family has notified the city it intends to sue over Austin’s death.
Austin Duran, 25, died July 15 from injuries suffered in an on-duty accident at a fire station when a trailer filled with sand tipped over and crushed him. Neither he nor a co-worker helping him had been trained on how to move the trailer.
Fire Lt. Alex Klepper, head of the Apopka firefighters union, assailed city leaders’ criticism of the consultants they handpicked.
“This company has gone from experts to enemy No. 1 for exposing the reality that the rest of us live in,” he said.
Under a section titled “Unacceptable and Requires Urgent Attention,” the consultants referenced the tragic lack of training.
“There is a prevailing and widespread culture of assumption and taking things for granted,” they wrote. “It was assumed that Austin Duran and his colleague knew how to hitch the trailer and it was taken for granted that they were capable of doing so. Better guidelines, training and supervision eliminate assumption and are critically important in such a young and inexperienced organization.”
Consultants noted many firefighters spoke with them anonymously, fearing retribution from department administration.
Administrators clapped back in a note attributed to ”fire staff” in the report’s margin.
“Again, these are serious accusations that AFD takes seriously, and ones we would NEVER ignore. We have never received a complaint regarding this statement,” it read. “Even with rumors of such, we developed a mentorship program to encourage everyone to say something if they see something.”
The consultants cited “major issues” with the department’s attention to health and safety, including a lack of accountability.
The report alleges the health and safety issue went beyond the Fire Department and faulted the absence of “a dedicated and experienced safety professional to ensure compliance with basic safety requirements citywide.” They recommended hiring a “change manager.”
Fire officials brushed off the guidance. “Infers that [fire] staff is incapable of driving change,” they wrote.
The consultants pointed out that firefighting is a dangerous occupation.
“It is accepted that a firefighter’s role will expose them to danger and unpredictable situations responding to emergencies in the field, but not at a fire station where workplace safety should be exemplary,” they noted. “City leaders, fire department staff, the Duran family and the community all want to see a thorough review of the circumstances and a progressive reaction to the findings. The outcomes of this report and the legacy should be a strategic plan and a process of change that puts in place measures to prevent something like this from happening again.”
A former Palm Beach County firefighter is facing up to 20 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine after her conviction in federal court Wednesday.
Elizabeth Genna Suarez, 34, was convicted by a federal jury on three of four counts of misappropriating $158,960 from a fund for people with cystic fibrosis, WFIX reported.
Suarez was a Palm Beach County Fire Rescue firefighter and EMT from March 2019 until her resignation in November.
Documents showed she married the Piper’s Angels founder and CEO in October 2018, and had access to his personal bank accounts and the charity’s business accounts. In 2019, she joined the board and started the bookkeeping duties.
She used the funds for cosmetic surgery, car improvements and sunglasses, records showed.
Feb. 1, 2023 Volunteer fire departments provide coverage to approximately 46% of the population, but 76% have reported a decrease in volunteer service in recent years.
Feb. 1—ALBANY — During her state budget presentation on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul will roll out a plan to invest $10 million to support the training, recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.
Nine million New Yorkers live in communities served by volunteer fire departments. But the Covid-19 pandemic decreased participation in the programs, and municipalities have struggled to recruit and retain people to provide the critical services.
The new funding proposed by Hochul includes $6.5 million to provide stipends to volunteer firefighters who complete core training. The other $3.5 million would go to the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to administer the program and enhance training capacity.
In addition, Hochul’s budget also includes legislation that would allow municipalities and fire companies to pay volunteer firefighters compensation for response to calls and completion of training.
“Volunteer first responders put their lives on the line to support their fellow New Yorkers, and we are forever indebted to them for their heroism,” Hochul said in a prepared statement. “Many communities across the state rely on services provided by volunteer firefighters but need further support to recruit and retain people willing to serve their neighbors. With this proposal we are recognizing that it takes time, commitment and dedication to be a volunteer firefighter, and that we must provide resources to support those crucial, life-saving efforts.”
Volunteer fire departments provide coverage to approximately 46% of the population, but 76% have reported a decrease in volunteer service in recent years, according to Hochul’s office.
Between 1997 and 2020, according to Hochul’s office, there was a 29% increase in fire incidents in the state. This combined with the volunteer shortage has led to an increase in “mutual aid calls” in which the local “home” department must call on a neighboring department to help. According to Hochul’s office, this has strained the resources of not only volunteer departments, but also professional, career fire departments.
Hochul is set to deliver her second budget address at noon Wednesday at the State Capitol in Albany. The deadline for Hochul and the Legislature to strike an agreement for an on-time budget is April 1.
New bodycam footage captures the moment an officer and a good Samaritan rescued an unconscious man after he crashed his car.
The incident occurred last week in front of the Venetian on the Las Vegas strip, ABC 7 reported.
Justin Mouser and his wife were walking down the Las Vegas Strip on Friday afternoon when they saw a car ram into a palm tree in the median.
When no one got out of the car, he ran to check on the driver. Other bystanders were yelling the fire was spreading. With that news, Mouser figured he’d better hurry up.
Others were trying to help, but when the officer got there, he told people to back up.
“I don’t hear very well or sometimes act like I don’t,” Mouser said with a smile. “I probably should have listened to him, but I tried to help.”
And, that’s just what he did.
Las Vegas Officer Derek Stebbins told reporters: “If we weren’t there, I think he would’ve been burned in the vehicle. Would he have died? I don’t know, but I think he would have suffered severe burns just from how fast the vehicle caught fire.”
That driver was later arrested at the hospital and is now facing DUI charges.
Feb. 1, 2023 Three tractor-trailers and three vehicles collided on snowy Interstate 94 in Chelsea and rescuers needed a heavy wrecker to help complete the extrication.
Rescuers worked for 48 minutes to free the driver of an 18-wheeler who was trapped after striking another tractor-trailer in a multiple vehicle wreck in Chelsea, MI.
The crash, which involved three tractor-trailers and three vehicles, happened Monday morning just before 5 a.m. on Interstate 94, according to MLive.com.
The cab of one big rig was crushed between two trailers leaving the driver trapped.
Multiple fire and rescue agencies were called in to assist as crews worked in cold, snowy weather.
“We were unable to gain access to the passenger and driver’s side of the semi-tractor, as it was pinned between two box trailers,” Washtenaw County Technical Rescue Team Director of Operations Greg Payeur told Firehouse.com.
“Extrication efforts consisted of tunneling from the rear of the cab and disentanglement from the front.”
A heavy wrecker was brought in from Manchester Towing to winch the box trailer away from the cab to give crews access to the driver’s side of the rig. On the other trailer, a grip hoist was used to pull the tractor away from the cab.
“Once access was gained, crew members quickly disentangled the patient, and he was transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition,” Payeur said.
One person was listed in critical condition and several others were injured, the Michigan State Police told the Detroit News.
The initial investigation determined that an 18-wheeler jackknifed on the snow-covered interstate and caused all the other cars to collide.
A grandfather took a mom to work, leaving young kids alone in a North Carolina home when it went up in flames, officials said.
The children — ages 2 and 3 — were pronounced dead after the fire ripped through the house on Jan. 13, Rutherford County Fire Marshal Frankie Hamrick told McClatchy News at the time.
Now, more than two weeks after the deadly blaze, the children’s mother and grandfather have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office in a Jan. 31 news release didn’t list attorney information for the two, identified as Jontae Nichelle Littlejohn and John Randolph Littlejohn, respectively.
“Investigators found that John Littlejohn would take Jontae to work at Zaxby’s in the mornings, and the children were often left at the residence, until John Littlejohn returned,” deputies wrote. “This particular morning was no different.”
Firefighters responded at about 10 a.m. on Jan. 13 to a home on Bostic Sunshine Highway. While at the scene, crews reported seeing smoke.
“While the primary search was underway an occupant of the house returned home and advised fire crews that his grandkids were in the back bedroom,” Rutherford County officials said at the time of the blaze.
Firefighters reportedly found the toddlers and performed CPR. The kids were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The children were identified as 3-year-old Niya Littlejohn and her brother, 2-year-old Nasir Littlejohn.
“They had the biggest hearts, the cutest smiles,” Amber Suttle, a family friend, told WSPA earlier this month. “They were just the best kids. We’re heartbroken at this point.”
The sheriff’s office said the young brother and sister died after a fire started near a living room couch, though the cause of the blaze was still under investigation as of Jan. 31.
A grand jury indicted the children’s mother and grandfather “for involuntary manslaughter” and felony child abuse.
Rutherford County is roughly 70 miles west of Charlotte.
BAY VILLAGE, Ohio – Jeremy Gillespie was standing on the patio of his Air Bnb in Hawaii on Friday watching a storm roll over the beach.
The 27-year-old Bay Village firefighter noticed as Maui County officials responded to several flooding incidents along the shore Jan. 27.
“Then, I saw them running into the ocean and could tell something was wrong,” he said.
Maui firefighter Tre Evans-Dumaran was swept into a storm drain and started to drown. He was recovered in the ocean by his crew approximately 50 yards away from shore, Gillespie said.
Gillespie, who has worked for the Bay Village Fire Department for approximately a year and previously with Cleveland EMS, said at first he thought the firefighters were recovering debris from the water but soon realized it was the body of Evans-Dumaran.
“I ran over and identified myself as a medic and asked how I could help,” he said. “He didn’t have a pulse at that moment, and the firefighters asked if I would help with CPR.”
Maui paramedics responded shortly after with an automated external defibrillator, but it failed because Evans-Dumaran’s body was too wet.
Others brought towels to dry the 24-year-old firefighter who regained a pulse. He was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where he is in critical condition, according to county officials.
Gillespie said his faith in others was restored when people on vacation stopped to help.
“I was just doing what I was supposed to at the moment,” he said. “Seeing other people jump into action was great. People need to help people more often. That’s what we need more of in the world.”
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said the community is focused on the firefighter’s recovery and encouraged by his progress.
“So many in our community, myself and my own family as well, are holding Tre in our good thoughts and continuing to pray for his well-being,” he said.
“The days and weeks ahead will be important ones for him and his ‘ohana.’ “
Ohana means family in the Hawaiian culture.
In a statement, Fire Chief Brad Ventura said the department is grateful for the support of the community.
“Tre’s ‘ohana and our family of firefighters, together with our community are at his side in prayer and spirit to help him get through the difficult days ahead of recovery,” he said. “He’s not out of the woods yet, but every day brings hope and every day we offer our prayers to give him strength.”
Gillespie has not been in touch with those close to Evans-Dumaran or others who were at the scene on Friday, but he hopes everything turns out well.
“We’re firefighters. We’re a brotherhood,” Gillespie said. “I know he would have done the same for me.”
