Category: In The News

Jan. 19, 2023 The allocated $4.7M will be used to buy three engines and three ladder trucks.

Source Firehouse.com News

When engines and trucks go out of service in Atlanta, a juggling act takes place.

In some instances, there weren’t any reserves, UAFF Local 134 President Nate Bailey told Atlanta News First. 

“Over the past few weeks, months, even the last year we had several engines and trucks go out of service,” he said.

Earlier this week, the city council unanimously approved $4.7 million in funding to buy three new pumper trucks and three new ladder trucks.

The department has 31 fire engines, including 13 with more than 100,000 miles, Bailey said adding that some of the rigs are over 20 years old.

“When we start to lose some of those, we lose our capabilities and the other engines and trucks in those surrounding areas have to run more calls,” Bailey said.

 Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said:. “The expansion of our AFRD fleet will help decrease response times, increase our readiness, and improve the overall safety of our communities…”

Jan. 18, 2023 Clark County Battalion Chief Steven Broadwell and his wife are facing charges of theft between $25,000 and $100,000 and exploiting an older and vulnerable person of more than $5,000.

By Brett Clarkson Source Las Vegas Review-Journal (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A Clark County firefighter and his wife are accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a woman who served in the Korean War and who suffered from various health ailments, then evicted her from their house, leaving her broke and forced to live in temporary assisted living, according to Henderson police.

A Henderson Police Department affidavit states that Steven Broadwell, 52, and his wife, Janelle Broadwell, invited the woman to live at their Henderson home in early 2020 after the friends the woman had been living with died.

After the woman’s bank accounts were depleted, the Broadwells told her to move out, the affidavit claims.

“It seems they used (the victim) as their own personal bank account to fund home improvement projects and other lavish spending,” a Henderson police officer wrote in the affidavit. “They left her with nothing in her accounts, and when her money ran out, they wanted her out of their home.”

The 29-page affidavit breaks down the alleged spending. Between March 2020 and June 2022, the Broadwells withdrew just over $129,000 from the victim’s bank accounts, the affidavit states. Another $26,800 in payments were withdrawn to pay to an air conditioning company.

“A generous estimate of (the victim’s) living expenses during that time period is anywhere from $30,000 to $45,000 a year,” the officer wrote, concluding that theft of between $5,000 and $100,000 took place.

Michael Troiano, the lawyer for Janelle Broadwell, said his client was “cooperative and transparent” with law enforcement during the investigation.

“She is shocked and saddened that charges were filed in this instance, and as her counsel I look forward to clearing her name,” Troiano said in a text message.

Steven Broadwell, a Clark County Fire Department battalion chief, is still employed with the department, a Clark County spokesman said in an email Tuesday.

“We have no comment at this time,” Erik Pappa said. “He remains employed at this time.”

In an interview with police, the victim, whose age wasn’t provided in the affidavit, said she was living with two friends in Henderson and that after both died a few months apart in 2019, Janelle Broadwell, who had been hired by one of the friends to clean and help out at the house, invited the victim to come live at the Broadwells’ house.

The victim, who is blind in one eye, partially deaf, and suffers from multiple sclerosis, agreed, ultimately insisting that she pay rent of about $200 to $300 a month, a total that then increased to $500, according to the affidavit.

In an interview with police, according to the affidavit, Janelle Broadwell said she and her husband tried to do something nice for the victim, but it backfired. She said they were fair to the woman.

“Now it seems like it’s coming back to bite us in the butt. That’s so wrong. That’s why people don’t do nice things anymore,” Janelle Broadwell told an investigating police officer, according to the affidavit.

Steven Broadwell told police that he and his wife had known the victim for about 14 years because they had lived in the same neighborhood. Steve Broadwell said that “once (the victim) was out of money, she started antagonizing Janelle when he was at work,” according to the affidavit.

“Due to the stress and potential liability it was causing, they asked (the victim) to leave,” the affidavit states.

The Broadwells are facing charges of exploiting an older and vulnerable person of more than $5,000 and theft of between $25,000 to $100,000, court records show.

They are each due to appear in court Wednesday morning.

Contact Brett Clarkson at [email protected]. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.

Jan. 18, 2023 FDNY Firefighter William Moon, 47, continues to save lives even after his death.

Source Firehouse.com News

A FDNY firefighter continues to save lives even in death.

The widow of Firefighter William Moon announced Tuesday her husband donated his organs to five people on the transplant waiting list, CBS reported. 

Among the recipients were retired members of the FDNY who received Moon’s liver and lungs.

Moon, 47, was killed in December during a training session in a FDNY fire station. 

“The fact that they’re people who are local, and two of them are New York City firemen, is even a bigger part of his legacy. That it’s a family and a community that we really are very fortunate to be a part of. I’ve always known that family, and I’m even more grateful for them today than I’ve ever been,” Kristina Moon said.

Jan. 18, 2023 The Hazlet fire remains under investigation but does not appear suspicious, authorities say.

By Nicolas Fernandes Source nj.com (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Hundreds of mourners gathered at a park in Hazlet Tuesday night for a candlelit vigil to honor the mother and daughter who died in a house fire last week.

The fire broke out on the first floor of the Montanaro family’s township home Friday around midnight, officials said. Jacqueline Montanaro, 39, and and her daughter, Madelyn Montanaro, 6, were both killed in the blaze.

The Montanaro family gathered at the gazebo at Veteran’s Memorial Park and were joined by Mayor Michael Sachs, township police, boy scouts and hundreds of people from the community.

Eulogies were read by multiple family members as well as the mayor before the candles were lit. Photos of Jacqueline and Madelyn were on display on easels.

Authorities said Jacqueline, her husband William and their 8-year-old daughter were able to escape through thick smoke on the night of the fire, but Madelyn was trapped inside.

The Montanaro parents tried to rush back into the house and Jacqueline pushed through the smoke back into the home, William said in a statement issued by his brother, Domenico Montanaro, a reporter for NPR, who has been handling communications for the family.

Jacqueline and Madelyn were taken to nearby hospitals and were both pronounced dead after prolonged efforts to save their lives, Montanaro said on Sunday.

The family’s dog, a golden retriever-poodle mix named Duchess, was also killed in the blaze. Hound Hunters, a company hired to search for her, announced her death after volunteers canvassed the neighborhood for the dog over the weekend.

It remains unclear what caused the fire, but the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said it did not appear suspicious.

Jan. 18, 2023 Ellington firefighters quickly extinguished the fire before it destroyed the building.

By Christine Dempsey Source The Middletown Press, Conn. (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Jan. 17—ELLINGTON — State police said they made an arrest in a recent fire at the local Masonic lodge.

Gino Salvatore DeGrandis, 23, was arrested Friday on a warrant charging him with third-degree arson and first-degree criminal mischief, police said Tuesday. He was in custody on $100,000 bond Tuesday morning and was scheduled to be arraigned in state Superior Court in Rockville later in the day.

The fire at the Fayette Lodge No. 69, 141 Orchard St., was reported the morning of Jan 7, according to the Ellington Volunteer Fire Department. No one was in the building, and the firefighters were able to get the blaze under control before the building was destroyed.

According to the warrant for his arrest, an investigation showed DeGrandis stayed at a homeless shelter in the Rockville section of Vernon the night before the fire, bought gasoline at a gas station down the block and used it to start the fire. A surveillance camera captured him splashing some type of liquid from what appeared to be a cup on the door closest to the lodge’s parking lot, which was burned in the fire, the warrant stated.

An accelerant-sniffing police dog later alerted to the presence of a flammable liquid on the burnt door and on his sneaker and front left pocket, the warrant said.

Another surveillance camera at the gas station on Union Street showed DeGrandis, wearing the same clothes, picking up a clear plastic cup from the garbage and pumping gas into it shortly before 8 a.m. that day, according to the warrant.

DeGrandis played a role in his arrest by calling 911 the day after the fire, the warrant stated. He was wearing the same clothes as he was in the surveillance videos from the day before, the warrant said.

He told the Vernon officer he called police because “he was a freemason and his mother wouldn’t talk to him,” according to the warrant.

During his interview with state police detectives, DeGrandis again said he was a freemason and admitted he was at the lodge the morning of the fire, the warrant stated. He said he noticed that the side door was on fire, but he did not say that he started it, the warrant said.

DeGrandis did acknowledge that he did not try to put the fire out or call 911, the warrant said.

DeGrandis also said he saw the surveillance picture of himself on TV news broadcasts.

“He was not sure who took the photo, but asserted that it was him in the photo,” the detectives wrote in the warrant.

A representative of the Masons told state police that it cost $29,304 to repair the damage from the fire because of the building’s advanced age and environmental concerns, the warrant said.

Christine Dempsey may be reached at [email protected]..

Jan. 17, 2023 Troy, which only has a dozen career firefighters, relies on its 100 volunteers to provide service.

Source Firehouse.com News

Changes are on the horizon for the over 100 volunteer firefighters in Troy, thanks to the IRS.

And, city officials are going to bat to amend the program and protect its firefighting force, according to Fox Detroit.

While they don’t collect a paycheck, volunteers have an option to cash out an incentive program when they retire. The IRS wants the program altered.

“I know everybody hates the IRS, and right now I do too,” Mayor Ethan Baker told reporters. “Those firefighters mean everything to our city. I’ve talked about them at length for as long as I’ve been mayor and on the city council. They are the heartbeat of our community as far as far as it goes with public safety.”

Since the city only has 12 career firefighters, the city has battled to protect the 43-year-old incentive program that looks after volunteer firefighters many who have served over decades.

Volunteers aren’t the only ones who will be impacted. Current retirees and beneficiaries also will take a hit.

“They’re going to get payouts based on what they have vested so far,” Baker said. “The city has got about $14 million dollars in the volunteer firefighters’ incentive trust plan already put away that has been accumulating for future retirees. We are going to have to use all of that to pay them out, plus the City’s going to have to pay about $5 million from its general fund to make these guys and girls whole, and we have to create a new plan.”

The mayor says the reason for the move, is because their eventual payout after retirement is simply too much to be tax-exempt.

“So we are in the process of changing the plan. We don’t know exactly what that looks like right now.”

Jan. 17, 2023 A 30-year fire department veteran, Steve Montoya, recently refurbished a truck and drives it to firefighters’ funerals.

Source Firehouse.com News

As many departments across the nation, Denver used horses to get apparatus to the fire scene.

When Denver Station 1 was built in 1909, the beasts were instrumental. They’re gone, but the building where they once were stands with a treasure trove of memorabilia.

“The fire house itself is just something that’s very cherished,” long time firefighter Steve Montoya told a reporter. .

After 30 years on the nozzle, Steve has spent much of the past decade honoring his fellow firefighters at the Denver Firefighters Museum.

“There’s an old saying, ‘Once a Marine always a Marine.’ Same with firefighters. You know, it’s something you never leave.”

He’s doing much more than giving tours and sharing stories about the big ones.

He rebuilt EO4, replacing the motor and transmission among other things. He now drives the museum’s pride and joy to funerals.

“Guys that are passing away at this point in time were on the job when I was hired. They taught me to be a firefighter, so I’m giving back to them and their families by doing this.”

Former museum director Angela Rayne says: “I think it means all the world to him. It’s the last ride. And that’s one of the most important things.”

Steve, Angela and the other volunteers are at the museum every Tuesday.