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 Department of the Interior and the USDA Forest Service announced a new year-round mental health program for wildland firefighters and dispatchers
California lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban PFAS from firefighter turnout gear by 2027, citing cancer risks and the lasting environmental impact of the so-called “forever chemicals”
President Donald Trump has directed the creation of a single wildland firefighting program, shifting thousands from the U.S. Forest Service to a new agency
She said the county and city’s negligence led to the death of her son after failing to follow proper firefighting procedures
Residents are charged as much as $150 per year for each habitable structure they own; the fee replaces cuts to CalFire’s budget
A long-running contract dispute boiled over when the commission set out to buy apparatus it would use if it broke with the fire department
The ruling strips the county commission of authority to dictate where and how the department can respond
Andrew Cushman, 25, faces a felony charge for allegedly stealing from the department’s bank accounts
This leaves a total of 42 firefighters on staff in the city, and saves the city and taxpayers about $700,000; they will leave the vacancies unfilled
They have been asked to cut $4 million from its budget and rethink protocols, shifting more to a medical focus rather than fires
Three firefighter positions will be eliminated and three lieutenants will be demoted to firefighters to save money
A state audit shows that the responders should receive benefits if they work more than 15 hours per week
Fire departments need to do what it takes to equip themselves, but trouble lies down the road
The firefighters’ union is fighting for their pension by hiring their own team to look at the city’s dire predictions
There are fewer police layoffs, because their union and management have been coming up with cost-saving ideas
City leaders need to look for creative ways to build needed fire stations, even if that means incorporating retail or residential use into building
They unanimously approved including $850,000 for a new truck in its proposed 2014 budget; city officials said it was important to replace for the ‘safety of firefighters’
The El Paso County Commissioner said the “shortsighted” budgets have a major impact on wildfire mitigation
The department is looking for extra income, but city officials say the trucks are not an appropriate spot for advertisements
The overtime could reach $43 million, which is well above the $20 million budgeted by the mayor’s office
Municipal leaders and taxpayers must understand that each element of emergency service comes at a cost
The issue goes back to the spring of this year when the firefighters’ union approached the city about granting automatic promotions
The department is still without a permanent facility to operate out of, more than three months after a tornado hit
“I definitely feel discarded,” said firefighter Brendan Milewski, one of the firefighters featured in “Burn”
The department is investigating whether fellow firefighters tried to cover for the apparatus driver
The firefighters accused the city of altering dozens of test scores, and then shredding them before the challenge was heard
The fund, created to assist responders with long-term problems following the elementary school massacre, falls far short of what’s needed, a union lawyer says
David Fernandez was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and has been sentenced to 10 years in prison
Some jurisdictions allow older structures to be ‘grandfathered’ in on old building- and fire-code rules
They say the new bill means long-term volunteers with less than 25 years of service wouldn’t receive full scope of benefits
The fire department has 791 firefighters, down from 209 since May 23 due to retirements
The teenager was on the ground and covered in foam that rescuers had sprayed on the burning wreckage
As originally proposed, the closing of one fire company and the continued brownouts of three other companies would leave the department with 32 engine companies in 36 firehouses