A Milwaukee firefighter was injured in a fall from the roof of an apartment building Saturday morning.
The firefighter was transported to a hospital for treatment. There was no word on his condition.
“I hope his equipment kind of saved some bones or organs or important things that will keep him from doing this because this is crazy man,” said T. Harris Bey, a neighbor who witnessed the fall told Fox6 news. “I don’t wish this on nobody.”
The injured firefighter had been with the department for several years.
A firefighter with Community Volunteer Fire Department died of a medical emergency after a training detail earlier this month.
FF/EMT Nahit Oral died on March 9, the department announced on its Facebook page.
A native of Turkey, Nahit received the Academic Excellence Award when he graduated from the fire academy in 2020-Alpha.
He is survived by his wife and brother.
Fellow firefighters and other Houston area escorted him from the funeral home to George Bush Intercontinental Airport where he received full fire department honors before he was placed on the flight to return to Turkey.
IAFF General President Ed Kelly, foreground, filed suit against NFPA on Thursday.
The International Association of Fire Fighters has filed a lawsuit to remove “cancer-causing” PFAS chemicals from firefighter protective gear.
The labor union on Thursday in Dedham’s Norfolk County Superior Court sued the National Fire Protection Association, citing NFPA’s role in imposing a testing standard that effectively requires the use of PFAS in gear.
PFAS, toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, are found in firefighter bunker gear and have been linked to cancer, the leading cause of firefighter death. Nearly 75% of those honored at the 2022 Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial died of occupational cancer.
“The very gear designed to protect firefighters, to keep us safe, is killing us,” said General President Edward Kelly, adding that the testing standard from NFPA “needlessly requires the use of PFAS in firefighter gear.”
“It’s about removing the cancer-causing chemicals in our gear and finding justice for our brother and sister members,” Kelly said about the lawsuit that seeks damages and other relief.
NFPA’s Standard 1971 establishes minimum levels of protection from thermal, physical, environmental, and biological hazards faced during firefighting.
The standard calls for using PFAS in the middle moisture barrier of firefighter bunker gear to satisfy the NFPA’s Ultraviolet Light Degradation Test — which requires turnout gear to be exposed to UV light for 40 hours without degradation. The only substance that can pass the test for that long is PFAS.
The lawsuit seeks to hold the NFPA liable for not removing the dangerous test from its Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.
“Even when presented with independent science on the health and safety risks, the NFPA has refused to help save our lives,” Kelly said. “The IAFF has a duty to protect our members’ health and their families’ wellbeing.”
The IAFF has retained three law firms in its effort to combat cancer in the fire service. The firms, collectively known as the PFAS Law Firms, are available to assist IAFF members made sick by PFAS exposure at work.
NFPA in a statement said, “NFPA shares the concern of the entire fire service community around the health and safety of first responders. We have not yet been served with this complaint so we can’t comment on it.”
NFPA added, “The specific issue of the first responder PPE is before the Technical Committee for NFPA 1970, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural and Proximity Firefighting, Work Apparel and Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services, and Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS) through our open-consensus standards development process.”
Plans are well underway to build a new fire and EMS station in an ever-growing area in West Ashley
St. Andrews Fire Chief Charles Lamoreaux told reporters the extra space is needed.
“Our crews are really excited to partner with Charleston County and welcome them into this new fire house. They really believe that this is going to just enhance the professional relationships that we already have with Charleston County EMS,” he said.
Charleston County has partnered with St. Andrews Public Services District to build the station.
Charleston County EMS District 3 covers the City of Charleston and the St. Andrews Public Services District. Crews in District 3 handle incidents in a 62-square mile area and respond to the most 9-1-1 calls out of all 14 stations.
Councilman Brantley Moody believes the facility will fill a void.
“That’s why it’s such a win-win is that the fire station is going to be a state-of-the-art fire station. It’s going to improve the conditions of Church Creek as well and then, give us the EMS presence out there that we surely need.”
He added: “It’s got to cut down response times because, you know, you just don’t know when people are going to have emergencies and where our trucks are going to be at the time. So, having a physical presence there couldn’t hurt. It could only help.”
A chaotic scene unfolded in Old Montreal early Thursday morning when a fire tore through a historic building.
Firefighters rescued people trapped on the roof and hanging from windows, according to CBC
Nine people were taken to hospital in stable condition but one person is still accounted for. However, a fire officer said others may be missing. It was difficult to determine the exact number because some of the units were rented.
A group of firefighters have been shoveling driveways and digging vehicles buried under feet of snow in California mountains.
This team — the Buffalo Hand Crews — is different from others helping residents dig out from the record-setting snowfall. All have criminal records, KCAL reported.
“I did three years and ten months,” said Superintendent Dalton Harris Jr. explaining that poor choices landed him behind bars.
He went for the inmate firefighter program after learning he would get time off his sentence. But, he soon learned to love the grueling work and set his sights on becoming a career firefighter once he was released.
“I went to every station, and they laughed at me,” said Harris. “They told me I was never going to be a fireman.”
Crew Capt. Jonala Vann had a similar story about bad choices when she was younger.
“Pretty much 10 years behind bars,” she said, adding that joining a fire camp inspired and pushed her.
“Having people thank you for saving their homes, regardless of the color of the uniform I was in, regardless that I was an inmate. It meant something to me. It sparked a passion within.”
They decided to follow that calling and got in touch with the forestry and fire recruitment program, a nonprofit that helps former inmates find careers in firefighting. That’s how they became leaders.
And, their future looks even brighter now since Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in 2020 that allows former inmates who served in prison fire camps to petition to get their records expunged.
Harris’ slate is wiped clean. “Upon me getting my record expunged, now I’m able to get my EMT and probably take it even further and get my paramedic.”
Vann is in the process of getting her sentence off her record. “I can’t erase the past. I can’t take it back. I can’t change what I did. But I can move forward and be a better person, better mother, better servant.”
Wendy Otto appreciated the firefighters’ work to clear her vehicle and driveway. “It was stressful. To have this help, it’s just a blessing.”
San Antonio Fire Department firefighters rescued a homeless person from a manhole near downtown.
A battalion chief told reporters said the man likely slipped and then fell into the manhole. Homeless people often go into the ditch to get out of the elements.
Crews worked for more than an hour to get the man out. He was transported for a leg injury.
