Legislation and Funding
As part of the FireRescue1 Legislation & Funding topic, we highlight articles that will affect the bottom line of fire department budgets and operations.
The two-year Department of Investigation probe will require biannual updates on environmental health risks first responders and survivors faced after the 2001 attacks
Questions persist about plans for a consolidated agency
Walla Walla County fire officials say local crews are fully staffed and prepared for wildfire season, with confidence in state and federal support despite federal budget cuts
Fire Chief Willie McDonald’s goal is to eliminate the dual response system where medical calls are answered by the fire department and private ambulances
Former Fire Chief Michelle Gibson is under scrutiny for her retirement deal and spending during her six years in the position
Former Fire Chief Ryan Scharber admitted to setting nine fires and will be sentenced April 10
The mayor says 60 firefighters could be laid off and the department would be back to the smaller size of 153, down from the current 213
The new class is composed of nine white men; NAACP officials say a large segment of the community has been denied the opportunity of employment
Thirteen seasonal employees of the team will be let go after the wildfire season; officials disputed that they made the decision based on preventing costly lawsuits like those filed after the Yarnell Hill Fire
Officials extended the physicals deadline for the department embattled since an alleged molestation incident at the firehouse last summer; several lawsuits have been filed by firefighters
More calls will be transferred to the city’s fire department instead of a private ambulance service
It’s the last piece of the puzzle to stop the brownouts; the money will add 50 firefighters and pay their salaries for two years
But both the taxing district and the newly formed department want the land and several vehicles that belong to the original department
They are accused of forging documents to falsely show they attended college in order to steal thousands from their father’s firefighter pension fund over six years
Retired firefighters and police officers are accused of falsely claiming they had depression, PTSD or other psychological problems so crushing they couldn’t work
Capt. Nathan Gonzales allegedly showed up to a scene intoxicated; officials say the firing has to do with violating the county’s nepotism policy
The video shows the off-duty cop attempting to arrest the firefighter, pleading with a group of bystanders to call for help
Former Deputy Chief Eric Harrison hasn’t worked in months but is still on the payroll
The judge said their rolling brownouts plan violates the union’s collective bargaining agreement with the city
The hearing centered on the death of Cecil Mills, who died of cardiac arrest when firefighters at a station across the street refused to help him
They’re concerned about the “lack of progress in EMS structural reform” and are pushing for fire and medical services to be managed by a consortium
Battalion Chief Gerald C. Birkhimer did not follow the division’s chain of command and ignored division policy, allowing a firefighter to have an affair with a young woman while on duty
Three Pittsburgh firefighters were killed in the fire, and the man was recently granted a new trial
Fire officials credited sprinklers with dousing flames at the shop until firefighters arrived and rescued all the puppies from their cages
The judge issued a gag order saying the attorneys should not comment on the pending case
The plan calls for spending $82 million on fleet and facilities between now and 2018
Kirk Bills and store owner Gloria Eun Hye Lee face felony and misdemeanor arson, conspiracy, burglary and attempted animal cruelty charges in the Jan. 27 fire at Lee’s Prince and Princess pet shop
The chief was accused of buying gas for personal vehicles with the department credit card
Greg Brown is accused of setting a fire that killed firefighters Thomas Brooks, Patricia Conroy and Marc Kolenda; they became trapped after stairs collapsed and died of smoke inhalation
Notes defining the term “scab” were placed inside the firehouse after a union vote calling for members not to request a transfer to the station
Six people were killed last summer when a wall collapsed onto a thrift store
Michael James Sulak, 52, faces three counts of child rape on charges he had sex with a 15-year-old girl who ran away from home
Fire officials say the city’s plan to study switching from full-time firefighters to all volunteers will be more expensive to the city and taxpayers