Edmond Firefighter Todd Gabbert is used to fires. But the one Friday was different, much different.
That’s because the house on fire was his.
He told KOCO that he ignored his adult son’s pleas to leave. “I knew it was going to be bad, but you never expect it to be you. I turned on the news to track the wildfire, and then I heard it crackle over my head.”
He thought the wildfire would pass to the north. He was wrong.
Now, he and his wife are living in a camper beside the charred remains of their home.
Gabbert is just one of many in Logan County who are starting to rebuild their lives. And, the threat continues Tuesday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former Columbus firefighter cadet who says she was sexually harassed by an ex-battalion chief will receive $250,000 in a settlement of a lawsuit.
WCMH Channel 4 reports the settlement of the lawsuit includes a $25,000 payment to the woman from former Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Joe Richard, who was accused of sexually harassing the cadet.
The cadet is one of three female cadets who accused Richard of inappropriate behavior, the Columbus Dispatch reports. In the lawsuit that was settled, WCMH reports the cadet says that she told Richard she had a knee injury. Richard reportedly had her come to his office and ordered her to take off her clothes, then touched her sexually.
Richard has denied the allegations but has retired from the department, the Dispatch reports. He worked for the department for 34 years.
The Dispatch reports the city’s cadet program started in April 2019. Trainers with the department began to question Richard because he frequently called in female cadets for private meetings in his office, the Dispatch reports.
The private meetings “abruptly” ended after Richard was asked about the meetings, reports say.
An ex-EMT who’s the son of an embattled FDNY chief caught a break in his federal robbery case Monday, with a judge ruling the roughly 12 months he spent in Brooklyn’s notorious federal lockup was punishment enough.
Robert Gala, 30, was hit with federal charges in 2020 after impersonating a cop to rob a drug dealer three years earlier — one of a series of misdeeds during his six-year career with the FDNY that were first reported by the Daily News in August 2018.
On Monday, Brooklyn Federal Judge William Kuntz sentenced Gala to time served, warning him to steer clear of drugs and crime so he doesn’t end up back in the Metropolitan Detention Center.
“As we say in another part of Brooklyn, ‘Dude, this is your life, OK?’ This is real life. Stay away from the drugs,” the judge said. “You talk about the MDC — it’s not a country club.”
Gala. initially went free on $150,000 — secured by his father, Deputy Chief Michael Gala — after his September 2020 arrest. The ex-EMT consented to being sent to the Sunset Park lockup in April 2022, after 26 separate positive drug tests and flunking out of a residential treatment program.
Kuntz has railed about conditions in the federal lockup before. In 2021, he called the jail an “ongoing disgrace” after it took several days to fix a 60-year-old bank robbery suspect’s broken toilet.
Gala briefly buried his face in his hands, visibly relieved, when Kuntz handed down his sentence. Prosecutors were seeking 33 months.
“Go home with your family,” the judge said, adding, “Happy Easter.”
The jurist went on a frustrated tirade against the federal Bureau of Prisons, saying that after a group of judges sought accountability in the wake of an eight-day blackout at the MDC in the winter of 2019, the agency essentially “looked at us and said, ‘You can’t make us run this place any differently.’”
Gala apologized for his actions and said his time in the MDC made him realize he had hit rock-bottom.
“Nothing in my past history could prepare me for what I experienced there, the violence, the chaos on a regular basis,” he told the judge.
Prior to the sentencing, Michael Gala wrote a letter to Kuntz supporting his wayward son, detailing how his progeny wanted to follow in his footsteps as a firefighter, an ambition cut short by a decadelong addiction to painkillers and heroin.
“He loved the Fire Department so much and wanted to come to work with me as often as possible,” the chief wrote. “At the firehouse, he would help the members with routine committee work such as mopping floors, cleaning the fire trucks, cleaning bathrooms and helping to prepare the meals. At the fire scene, he would help the members stretch and take up hose lines.”
The elder Gala deferred to the family’s lawyer, Jim Walden, when asked for comment outside the courtroom.
“We are extremely grateful to Judge Kuntz for giving Robert a second chance,” the attorney said.
Robert Gala joined the FDNY’s Emergency Medical Services in 2013 and remained on the job until his resignation in 2019, despite an arrest history dating back to 2012.
One of those busts included a 2017 police impersonation arrest on Staten Island just three days before the heist that landed him in federal trouble. He also had a documented history of blowing off 911 calls and was the subject of a Department of Investigation probe.
Until the federal charges in 2020, none of his arrests led to any convictions.
The federal case stems from the July 24, 2017, robbery of a pill dealer on a Brooklyn street.
Gala pulled out a gold badge, ordered a man to place his hands on a wall and used plastic handcuffs to restrain the victim while he searched his pockets, according to court papers.
When police arrested him in December 2017, he told them, “You know the guy that I robbed is a drug dealer, right? The news made it sound worse than it was.”
The case was initially dismissed after the victim couldn’t ID Gala, but in 2019, the victim told the FBI that Gala stole 180 oxycodone pills from him.
Gala’s father is currently embroiled in a different type of legal battle. He and two other former assistant chiefs, Joe Jardin and Michael Massucci, are suing the FDNY and Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh after they were demoted to deputy chief in a February shakeup.
It’s not the first time the elder Gala has sued the FDNY.
In 2021, he alleged that he lost a promotion because he wouldn’t denounce a pair of letters to the editor he penned for the Chief-Leader newspaper in 2007 and 2011 criticizing the Fire Department’s push to hire more Black firefighters.
A St. Louis firefighter is suspected of using credit cards of a victim in a crash that killed four people.
Police used body cam footage as well as other video from the Feb. 25 wreck to identify the firefighter, according to KSDK.
Seven Robinson told reporters he handed the firefighter his wallet when he asked for his identification. In addition to credit cards, he said he had $674 cash and $200 in gift cards as he had just celebrated his 18th birthday.
Four of Robinson’s friends, including girlfriend, were killed in the wreck.
Detectives went to the firehouse on March 12 and two battalion chiefs identified the firefighter.
Two days later, the firefighter told officers he informed a supervisor he may have accidentally used the victim’s credit card. The captain told him not to do anything and he would run it up the chain of command.
Robinson, who also saw the body cam footage, said: “That was crazy to me because it’s like you don’t really hear about firefighters doing stuff like that. It was pretty interesting to see because it was like you could literally see him look in the wallet and kind of like close it and put it to the side of his jacket.”
His mother told police her son’s card was used three times at three different stores the day after the wreck.
He also told told police he “accidentally” used the victim’s card.
St. Louis Fire Capt. Leon Whitener said Friday, “The police conducted an investigation and there was no wrongdoing that was found and the firefighter is back to work.”
But, that’s not correct. Police told a reporter Monday the investigation is continuing.
“As it relates to that crash at Forest Park and South Grand, we have opened an investigation into an alleged theft that occurred from that scene and a person of interest has been developed…” Sgt. Charles Wall.
“Investigators are still working to gather additional evidence and once their investigation is complete, they anticipate presenting the case to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney for any charges.”
Sources familiar with the case said detectives told the firefighter after their interview with him they would be applying for charges for stealing, and three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.
Two workers were killed in a construction collapse at Kennedy Airport Monday, authorities said.
The victims were trapped under construction rubble about 11:05 a.m. at Building 49, the Calpine JFK Energy Center, which supplies electricity to the airport. Both workers died at the scene, Port Authority officials said.
All work at the site was put on hold in the wake of the mishap.
The FDNY, which sent firefighters and medics to the scene, said the workers were pulled from a trench.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, whose district includes the airport, said she would reach out to support the families of the dead workers. The Dem also sounded a warning that work at JFK has become too dangerous.
“Construction worker deaths have reached a recent five-year high, and this incident marks the third workplace fatality to occur at JFK Airport in the past month alone,” Adams said in a statement.
Gov. Hochul tweeted her condolences to the workers’ families for the deaths.
“My thoughts are with the loved ones of two people tragically killed while working on a construction site at @JFKairport,” she said.
As 9-1-1 calls increase across the country, many fire departments are struggling to keep up with demand.
Marion County, FL Fire Rescue Chief James Banta heads one of those struggling departments. They are 80 personnel down.
Banta said the department is actively recruiting local people to join their ranks including reaching out to high school students. But, he added it’s just as important to keep personnel.
Firefighter Ryan Lietz told a Matter of Fact reporter that he used to work 60 hours a week. Now, it’s 100. And, sometimes he gets a call an hour before he’s supposed to go home that he has to stay.
It’s difficult, he says, as his wife is a nurse and they have three children.
He said it drains you, physically and mentally. He wouldn’t recommend anyone in his family become a firefighter right now.
Lietz said there are a number of factors for the shortage in Marion. “We haven’t been up to keep up with pay,” he said adding that potential candidates also see mandatory overtime.
Alachua Chief Harold Theus, who led a statewide survey, said nearly 3,000 firefighters will retire in the next few years.
That’s why recruitment and retention is so critical, Theus said adding that it appears youths are no longer interested in serving in public safety.
They’re marketing the fire service using images of firefighters as heroes. They hope emotional words and phrases will catch the ear of someone looking for a career.
U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said there is a nationwide shortage of firefighters especially in volunteer departments.
She noted that in “some places there is no one coming from miles away.”
Editor’s Note: Pilot Mark Gann, 63, of Sylacauga and RN Samuel Russell, 43, of Goodwater, died as a result of the crash, officials announced Monday.
Authorities spent Sunday afternoon and evening on the scene of a deadly helicopter crash in northeast Shelby County.
Lifesaver 4 out of Sylacauga crashed just before 5:30 p.m. off U.S. 280. Two male crew members were killed.
Shelby County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Clay Hammac said the medical helicopter crashed Sunday evening. The Lifesaver helicopter was requested to assist the extraction of a patient who had been hiking in the area and suffered breathing problems and chest pains. Deputies had set up a landing area for the helicopter.
At 5:23 p.m., a Shelby County deputy called into 911 to report the crash of the aircraft on County Road 43, which is Bear Creek Road, in the area of Mountain Oaks Drive.
Hammac said there were three crew members onboard. One of them was pronounced dead on the scene. Two others were taken to the hospital where another crew member was pronounced dead.
The condition of the third crew member was not immediately available.
The original patient – the hiker – was transported separately to a hospital.
“Our deputies did the best they could to render aid,” Hammac said. “The helicopter was on fire.”
“They did attempt to extract the flight crew and we’re very thankful for the help of our Chelsea Fire Department as well as the Cahaba Valley Fire Department which responded to the scene,” he said.
Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer said that whenever first responders answer that type of call, they know there is a possibility of something very bad happening. “It was an outcome that none of us want,’’ Picklesimer said.
“This flight crew on Lifesaver, they’re heroes and so our hearts go out to the families of these two flight members and a heartfelt thanks to my heroes, Chelsea Fire and Rescue and the deputies that responded,” the mayor said. “Please remember these families that will be left behind and that have to deal with this tragic event.
Hammac called it a difficult time for those in the public safety profession.
“We count ourselves as family of all first responders, fire, medical and law enforcement,” the chief deputy said. “Many of us in this profession know these individuals who were involved so this affects us very deeply.”
Deputies will continue to hold the scene overnight. The crash investigation will be led by the NTSB with assistance from the FAA.
The Shelby County EMA is assisting by providing any resources needed in the probe. Director Hub Harvey said NTSB investigators are en route to the scene, with more investigators to arrive Monday morning.
“We are a very tight-knit group of responders…and this is a tragic loss for this community,” Harvey said. “We ask that you would continue to keep all these people, especially the people who had to respond to this tragic incident, in your thoughts and prayers.”
The area will be closed until further notice. Hammac said they hope to have it open by morning, but could not say for sure that would be the case.
Apr. 2—A Macomb County driver is under investigation after he lost control of his car and fatally struck an EMS driver and a woman who who was involved in a separate crash, authorities said Sunday.
According to Michigan State Police, the incident took place about 2:15 a.m. on Interstate 75 near Caniff Road in Detroit when a private ambulance rig stopped to check on a single-car crash with the occupant outside of her car and walking around.
Investigators said as the EMS driver was helping the crash victim, a vehicle driven by a 58-year-old male from Washington Township spun out and hit both the vehicle driver and the EMS driver.
The driver of the first crash, a 36-year-old female from Oak Park, was pronounced dead on the scene, according to MSP. The EMS rig driver, a 38-year-old male, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
“The Move Over law saves lives,” MSP F/Lt Mike Shaw said in a statement. “If you see an emergency vehicle with its lights on, slow down 10 mph below the speed limit and move over. It really is that simple. Our prayers go out to both families dealing with this tragedy.”
The release did not state whether the Washington Township man was taken into custody while the investigation is continuing. Police also did not say whether alcohol or drug use were suspected of being a factor in the fatal collision.
Once the reports are complete, police will submit the documents to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for review and possible charges.
President Biden on Sunday declared a major disaster in Arkansas and approved federal aid for the state following a series of deadly tornadoes that rocked the Midwest and South.
Biden’s declaration came two days after severe storms devastated Arkansas cities including Wynne, where at least four people died, and the state capital of Little Rock. Overall, at least five people died in the state, officials said.
“The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Cross, Lonoke and Pulaski,” the White House said in an announcement Sunday. “Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.”
At least 10 states suffered damage from suspected tornadoes, with 32 deaths reported. At least nine of the deaths came in McNairy County, Tenn., while Illinois and Indiana also suffered multiple fatalities, officials said.
“While we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we know families across America are mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses,” Biden said Sunday.
A high school building in Wynne lost its roof and windows, while homes and businesses in the 8,000-person city suffered similar damage. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency on Friday and activated the National Guard to assist in the recovery efforts.
“Our message and our mission are really simple: the people will come first and the paperwork will come second,” Sanders tweeted. “We will ensure that every Arkansan who needs help receives it.”
Reports of tornadoes in New Jersey and Delaware were also being looked into Sunday by the National Weather Service. Delaware State Police reported one death on Saturday night.
Last week, Biden declared an emergency in Mississippi making federal aid available for multiple counties following a tornado that caused widespread damage and killed more than 20 people.
