Fire House Digest

Category: In The News

  • History Made in New England as First Black Female Dons White Helmet

    History Made in New England as First Black Female Dons White Helmet

    March 31, 2023 Shelly L. Carter is chief of Southbury, CT Training Center Fire Department.

    By Liz Hardaway Source Connecticut Post, Bridgeport (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

    Mar. 30—Shelly L. Carter was pushing her son in a stroller one day when they came across a fire truck.

    Like many kids, he was ecstatic about the truck, and though Carter didn’t want to interrupt their work, a firefighter encouraged them to come over. They spoke for more than an hour and the firefighter explained how the department was looking for women to apply.

    “I can’t do this,” Carter thought to herself. “I’m a girly girl. This is hard work.”

    But Carter applied and joined the Hartford Fire Department in July 1999. After more than two decades of service, the Hartford native is now New England’s first Black female fire chief.

    Hired in December 2022 as the chief of the Southbury Training Center Fire Department, Carter was honored Wednesday by Gov. Ned Lamont in a pinning ceremony at the state Capitol.

    “It’s an honor, but most importantly, it is my responsibility and my duty to mentor, to be an example and to be that leader that other folks, not just in Connecticut, but of course in New England look up to,” she said in a phone call Thursday morning.

    Carter was with the Hartford Fire Department for more than 20 years, during which she was one of the city department’s first female engine drivers. She retired as the captain of Engine 10 in 2021 and then joined the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security in May 2021 as the operations and training manager for the state, she said.

    Before becoming a firefighter, Carter thought she wanted to be a news anchor. She went to school for communications and held several jobs before considering firefighting. Carter said she took the police and fire tests and decided whichever she scored higher on would be her career path.

    “The fire service kind of chose me,” she said.

    The fire department helps protect the staff, clients and families at the Southbury Training Center, a state-run facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities. As the chief, Carter is hoping to update and expand fire protection and safety measures for people with disabilities across the state. This includes ensuring group homes and state-owned facilities are up to code and local fire marshals have the resources to keep vulnerable residents safe.

    The mother of five mentors other women in the field about managing their careers and home lives.

    “I’m a huge advocate for women in the fire services and that’s simply because I was told no so many times,” Carter said. “It’s important for me to ungird and really encourage women who’re working currently in the fire service, but also who might be interested in the career.”

    “It’s hard sometimes being female and being that mom and wanting to be that leader,” she continued. “It’s important for me to have the conversation with ladies, not just about being firefighters, because it’s a whole different mindset in the firehouse when you’re working as the only female or female in leadership to all men.”

    But she also tries to be there for anyone who needs her, not just women.

    “I couldn’t be here without my amazing brothers and those who rooted for me,” she said.

  • Vacant Apartment Building Blaze Lights up Detroit Sky

    Vacant Apartment Building Blaze Lights up Detroit Sky

    March 30, 2023 The cause remains under investigation.

    Source Firehouse.com News

    Detroit firefighters battled a massive blaze in a vacant apartment building Thursday morning.

    Flames were visible throughout much of the city, WDIV reported.

    There were no injuries reported. As of Thursday afternoon, the fire was still under investigation.

  • Medicare Changes Draw Ire of FDNY Firefighters, EMTs

    Medicare Changes Draw Ire of FDNY Firefighters, EMTs

    March 30, 2023 Mayor Eric Adams signed off on the contract Thursday despite opposition from city retirees.

    By Chris Sommerfeldt Source New York Daily News (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

    Mayor Adams signed off on a contract Thursday that will eliminate traditional Medicare coverage for retired city government workers and shift them into a privatized version of the program instead — a highly controversial move that immediately drew a lawsuit threat from a grassroots retiree group.

    The contract with private health insurance giant Aetna is the culmination of a years-long effort by the city to enroll its roughly 250,000 municipal retirees in a Medicare Advantage Plan.

    Under the deal inked by Adams, the city’s retirees — most of whom are on a traditional Medicare benefits structure that includes a Senior Care supplement — will lose their current coverage and be automatically enrolled in an Advantage plan administered by Aetna, effective Sept. 1.

    The Advantage setup will save the city some $600 million annually thanks to increased federal subsidies, an allocation Adams described as critical at a time that the municipal government is staring down a $10 billion budget deficit by 2026. In a statement, Adams also argued the Advantage plan will improve health care coverage for city retirees.

    “This plan improves upon retirees’ current plans, including offering a lower deductible, a cap on out-of-pocket expenses, and new benefits, like transportation, fitness programs, and wellness incentives,” said the mayor. “This Medicare Advantage plan is in the best interests of both our city’s retirees and its taxpayers.”

    Tens of thousands of retired teachers, cops, firefighters and other city workers say Adams is wrong.

    Citing federal studies that show Advantage plans can deny beneficiaries “medically necessary” care, retirees have called on Adams since he took office to let them stay on traditional Medicare, contending that the switch would put them at risk of losing access to certain doctors, medical procedures and drugs.

    A group called the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees successfully convinced courts last year to block the first iteration of the Adams administration’s Advantage plan — and Jake Gardener, a lawyer for the group, told the Daily News on Thursday that they will file another lawsuit in hopes of derailing the new plan as well.

    “We will be challenging this violation of the retirees’ health care rights in court,” Gardener said. “This is just the latest example of the city trying to save money on the backs of retired and disabled city workers. What this would do is to jeopardize the health of a quarter million elderly and disabled city workers.”

    Retirees are resisting the Advantage switch, in part, because Aetna will require pre-authorizations for some forms of care, a protocol that does not exist under traditional Medicare. They fear this will result in diluted coverage, and have depicted it as a life and death issue.

    “Retired firefighters, police, EMT workers and teachers will be forced into a privatized, managed care plan that has strict in-network, pre-authorization and referral requirements that will cause potentially life-threatening delays and denials of care,” said Marianne Pizzitola, a retired FDNY EMT who leads the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees.

    “Many of the quarter-million respected public servants, and all the current NYC public employees, will be harmed by this damaging decision by Mayor Adams.”

    In his statement, Adams said he sympathizes with the angry retirees.

    “We also heard the concerns of retirees and worked to significantly limit the number of procedures subject to prior authorization under this plan,” he said.

    The reason courts blocked Adams’ first plan was because it would’ve levied a $191 monthly premium on retirees who wanted to opt out of Advantage and stay on traditional Medicare. The courts found that penalty violated a local law requiring the city to provide its retirees with premium-free coverage for life.

    Adams’ administration, with support from the city’s Municipal Labor Committee, says the new plan structure complies with the court rulings because there will no longer be a $191 penalty on the table as the premium-free Advantage coverage is the only insurance option available to retirees.

    Gardener disagreed and claimed the new plan is also illegal.

    “Forcing them into Medicare Advantage by not even giving them the option of keeping their existing health insurance is far more damning and just as illegal,” he said.

    Gardener declined to say exactly on what grounds his group will challenge the new plan, but added: “We have a number of grounds that we will be relying on to ensure that the savings the city is looking to achieve is not obtained solely on the backs of retirees.”

  • Ethanol, Syrup Burning After Train Derails in MN Town

    Ethanol, Syrup Burning After Train Derails in MN Town

    March 30, 2023 Raymond firefighters are allowing the ethanol burn off after spraying thousands of gallons of water overnight.

    By Tim Harlow Source Star Tribune (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

    MINNEAPOLIS — A BNSF train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in the west-central Minnesota town of Raymond early Thursday, and residents living near the scene were being evacuated, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office said.

    More than 20 tanker cars jumped the tracks on the west side of the community about 110 miles west of the Twin Cities just after 1 a.m., said Lena Kent, a spokeswoman for the railroad.

    No injuries were reported and BNSF is sending a team to the scene assess the situation, she added.

    Scores of first responders from several agencies rushed to the scene and residents living with a half-mile of the crash were told to leave their homes.

    Christine O’Leary, who lives less than a block from where the derailment happened, was in a deep sleep when her dogs started barking and firefighters pounded on her door and told her to leave the area. She packed up her two young children and drove to Montevideo to stay with a friend.

    “I put my hands over my head and said, ‘This can’t be happening,” she said. “I wondered if something like this would happen.”

    O’Leary said the air smelled like “burning plastic.” She said she saw a few tankers fully engulfed in flames as she drove safely out of town.

    Others who needed a place to go were directed to go to the Central Minnesota Christian School in nearby Prinsburg, Minnesota, said Kandiyohi County Sheriff Eric Tollefson said.

    Jon De Groot, superintendent of school, said he wasn’t expecting too many people, but more than 150 people came to seek refuge, he said. The school set up tables in the gymnasium, put out mats and provided games and coffee. A nearby church served breakfast to about 100 people still at the school hours after the derailment

    “I’m proud of how our community banded together,” De Groot said. “We were blessed to be a blessing. Everybody got along.”

    The Red Cross was also on the scene.

    Gov. Tim Walz and State Emergency Management leadership visit the site and will meet with residents Thursday morning, a spokeswoman for the governor said.

    The Federal Railroad Administration was also sending officials to the scene, said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in a statement.

    “We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigation,” he said.

    O’Leary said the crash happened near the city’s grain elevator.

    No travel was advised within the city of about 800 people while the large fire was being contained and extinguished, he said.

    Highway 23, a major route into the town, has been closed between Kandiyohi County Road 1 and Chippewa County Road 1, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.

    Raymond is one of three cities that comprise the MACCRAY Public School District, which will be in session Thursday. With roads closed in Raymond, students who ride the bus will be picked up in two spots only, at 1st and 5th Streets and 2nd and 4th Streets, the district said.

    “Any Raymond students who have been displaced during the night will be excused from classes today,” the district said in a statement.

    The derailment in Raymond comes after several other incidents across the country in recent weeks, including the high-profile crash in East Palestine in which a train carrying hazardous materials derailed on Feb. 3.

    There were at least 1,164 train derailments across the country last year, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. That means the country is averaging roughly three derailments per day.

  • Bi-partisan Bill to Provide $750M for Fire/EMS Station Upgrades Introduced

    Bi-partisan Bill to Provide $750M for Fire/EMS Station Upgrades Introduced

    March 30, 2023 Many stations across the country lack features to keep crews healthy and safe, a recent NFPA survey found.

    Source Firehouse.com News

    While fire and rescue personnel are on duty 24/7 across the country, many of the stations they are staying in lack features to keep them healthy and safe, a recent NFPA needs survey shows.

    But, that will change if Congress passes the FIRE STATION Act, a bi-partisan measure introduced this week.

    It would create a $750 million grant program to modify, upgrade and construct fire and EMS stations, according to a release from U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, (D-MD), one of the bill sponsors.

    “Our fire fighters (sic) deserve the best possible facilities so they can be ready with everything they need to spring into action when duty calls. Yet nearly half of the fire stations across America require major repairs – with some even posing serious health hazards to the men and women who protect our communities. This bipartisan bill will unlock more funding to ensure our fire and EMS heroes have modern, safe, and mission-ready facilities,” he said in a statement.

    Van Hollen was joined by Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) in sponsoring the legislation.

    The NFPA report showed 44 percent of fire stations are over 40 years old and in need of significant repairs and 56 percent of stations lack exhaust emission control and are not properly equipped with cancer-preventing systems.

    Many have no backup power and don’t have separate quarters for women and men.

    Van Hollen noted that he found similar conditions in Maryland where some 71 stations need repairs, modifications or need to be replaced.

    Murkowski noted: “Those who serve as fire fighters (sic) throughout Alaska not only deserve functional facilities – but need them – to help them respond quickly and safely to emergencies. Unfortunately, many fire stations in our state are in dire need of repair and updating—which is why I’m joining my colleagues in this bipartisan measure, the FIRE STATION Act, to invest in our fire stations and to support the people that are always there for our communities when we need them most.” 

    IAFC President Chief Donna Black lauded the lawmakers: “This legislation will help fire departments upgrade their stations to meet the life, safety, and health requirements of the modern fire service.”

    Pascrell pointed out: “Our Fire Station Act will provide critical funding to help modernize fire and EMS department facilities across the nation, ensuring that our first responders have the tools they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.”

    The chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council said the measure will help departments in rural and small communities.

     “Thousands of fire stations across the country are outdated and don’t meet current voluntary consensus standards for health and safety. This problem is particularly acute in smaller, rural communities, which often lack the tax base to properly invest in modern facilities for fire and EMS,” Steve Hirsch said.

    Likewise, the Congressional Fire Service Institute said the legislation is of the utmost importance. “Our nation’s fire and emergency services personnel work tirelessly to protect their communities. We must ensure that the facilities where they sleep, eat, and work are safe and code-compliant,” said Bill Webb, CFSI executive director.

    The FIRE STATION Act would provide funds for:

    ·        Building, rebuilding, or renovating fire and EMS department facilities;

    ·         Upgrading existing facilities to install exhaust emission control systems;

    ·         Installing backup power systems;

    ·         Upgrading or replacing environmental control systems, such as HVAC systems;

    ·         Removing or remediating mold;

    ·         Constructing or modifying living quarters for use by personnel; and

    ·         Upgrading fire and EMS stations or building new stations to meet modern building codes and standards as set by the National Fire Protection Association and International Code Council.

    IAFF General President Edward Kelly thanked the legislators for their effort. “Countless fire stations nationwide have fallen into dangerous levels of disrepair – risking fire fighters’ health and safety. Budget-strapped local governments need assistance repairing and replacing these dilapidated stations.”

  • Nine Dead When Two Black Hawk Choppers Collide in KY

    Nine Dead When Two Black Hawk Choppers Collide in KY

    March 30, 2023 The incident occurred during a training mission near Fort Campbell.

    Source Firehouse.com News

    Nine military personnel were killed Wednesday night in the collision of two Black Hawk helicopters.

    Personnel from the 101st Airborne Division were involved in a routine training mission near Fort Campbell when the incident occurred, WKRN reported.

    The crash remains under investigation, according to a military spokesperson. 

    A resident said the two choppers were flying low together shortly before the crash. 

    More information will be released later today as the probe continued late Thursday morning. 

  • Two Killed in MA Rooming House Fire

    Two Killed in MA Rooming House Fire

    March 30, 2023 New Bedford Chief Scott Kruger said firefighters rescued three people.

    Source Firehouse.com News

    New Bedford firefighters rescued some and others jumped to escape a massive fire in a rooming house Tuesday night.

    New Bedford Fire Chief Scott Kruger confirmed that two people were found dead, WPRI reported. 

    Manuel Moreira, 59, lived on the fourth floor and was found Tuesday night, while another person was found Wednesday afternoon. 

    Kruger said firefighters rescued at least three residents before they were forced to retreat as conditions worsened. 

    Jason Gilmore leapt to safety from a second-floor fire escape with several other tenants.

    “It was too much. I tried to make it out of my room but all I could see was smoke. I tried making it down the stairs and I couldn’t … the fire was coming up too quickly,” he told a reporter.

    The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

  • Future of WI Department to be Decided in Ballot Box

    Future of WI Department to be Decided in Ballot Box

    March 30, 2023 Lake Country fire officials hope residents in Delafield will approve a measure to increase firefighters.

    Source Firehouse.com News

    Lake Country Fire & Rescue are hoping resident give them the nod to hire additional staffing which they say is desperately needed.

    When residents in the Town of Delafield and City of Delafield go to the polls next week, they’ll see referendums on their ballots, according to Fox6.

    They will decide to approve or reject a tax increase or fire fee. The choice depends on where they live.

    “When we don’t have any part-time and paid-on-call people around that day or able to work, it forces us to close fire stations,” said Lake Country Fire & Rescue Chief Matthew Fennig adding that between July and December 2022, the city fire station was closed 50% of the time.

    That resulted in an increased response time.

    The chief said the department needs to hire full-time firefighters. He gets few people who want part-time work.

    “If this moves forward, like we hope it will, it will ultimately fund the first two years of our staffing plan. It would be an additional 13 head count. I think there’s some hope we’ll hire these individuals next year and this year, and things will settle down, and there’ll be a change in the job market.”

  • FDNY Firefighters Injured in Warehouse Fire

    FDNY Firefighters Injured in Warehouse Fire

    March 29, 2023 One firefighter was seriously hurt at the Queens fire.

    Source Firehouse.com News

    A fire at a Queens warehouse Wednesday left several firefighters injured including one seriously.

    Firefighters had difficulty entering the burning building because of how packed it was, CBS2 reported.

    The warehouse, which is 20 feet by 80 feet deep, was stacked from floor to ceiling with portable air conditioning units.

    Firefighters moved them to the sidewalk to gain access to the building to search. 

    In addition to the seriously injured firefighter, four others and a civilian were hurt.

  • CA Skydiver on First Solo Jump Lands on Live Power Lines

    CA Skydiver on First Solo Jump Lands on Live Power Lines

    March 29, 2023 Lake Elsinore rescue technicians said the woman made a wrong turn.

    By Sam Mauhay-Moore Source SFGate, San Francisco (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

    Mar. 28—Firefighters in Riverside County rescued a skydiver who had become entangled in live power lines after overshooting her landing Monday, officials confirmed.

    The woman was completing her first skydiving attempt without a trainer present when she landed on the power lines, Battalion Chief Jeff Roberts of the Lake Elsinore Fire Department told SFGATE.

    “She got kind of disoriented, she said, and turned the wrong direction and ended up getting caught on top of a live power pole with high-tension power lines, and she was hanging next to the transformer,” Roberts said.

    After responding to a 911 call regarding the incident, firefighters contacted Southern California Edison to shut power off in the area and prevent the woman from being electrocuted, Roberts said. Crews then used an aerial ladder to assist her back down to safety. The operation took roughly one hour.

    The skydiver did not sustain any injuries from the accident.

    Roberts said his crews respond to skydiving incidents regularly. This is the second time in a year they have responded to incidents of a skydiver becoming stuck in power lines after miscalculating a landing.

    The previous incident happened about a year ago and also did not result in any injuries. Roberts said that crews had to be more cautious with Monday’s rescue because the woman landed directly next to high-voltage lines, heightening her risk of electrocution.

    Skydive Elsinore general manager Josh Hall told the Los Angeles Times that the skydiver was attempting her first solo jump as part of a training program and that something went awry when her parachute was released.

    “From what it sounds like, she just got confused,” Hall told the LA Times. “She basically flew her parachute into an area where she shouldn’t.”

    The company is investigating the incident, according to the LA Times.