Announcement

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Throughout the month of October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month - fire fighters are wearing pink duty shirts, driving pink fire trucks across the country and organizing other fundraising activities as part of a nationwide campaign supporting women in their fight against cancer. At the IAFF 50th Convention delegates collectively approved a resolution to encourage IAFF members to participate in campaigns honoring women fighting cancer.

Headlines

"Comp Claim Accepted Just Before Alaska Firefighter Dies" (Insurance Journal)
"House, Senate OK Firefighter Cancer Bill" (Hazleton Standard-Speaker)
"Abandoned Homes Tax Baltimore Fire Department" (Baltimore Sun)
"Police, Fire Departments Learn Volt Safety as GM Prepares Launch" (Detroit News)
"Flint Fire Fighters Willing to Negotiate to Avoid Layoffs" (Flint Journal)
"Palo Alto Firefighters' Union Loans Its Own Measure R Campaign $35K" (Mercury News)
"Providence Fire Fighters Plan to Sue City" (WJAR 10)
"Schenectady Fire Fighters Could Face Job Loss or Extra Duties" (CBS 6)
"Rockford Can’t Cut Fire Department Staffing, Arbitrator Rules" (Rockford Register Star)
"Deadly Blaze Took Emotional Toll on Firefighters" (PennLive)
"City Seeks Pa. Study of Firefighting Direction" (Philadelphia Inquirer)
"U.S. Navy Settles Overtime Pay Dispute With Federal Local F-121" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Villaraigosa Introduces Pension Reform Proposal" (Los Angeles Times)
"Seven Ohio Fire Fighters Become ‘Fowl Fighters’" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Merrimack Fire Fighter Hit by Sniper Bullet in Afghanistan" (Union Leader)

IAFF and MDA - - a Proud Tradition   The Muscular Dystrophy Association – one of the country's largest, most effective voluntary health agencies – is funded almost entirely by individual contributors and national sponsors like the IAFF. To find out more, call (800) 572-1717 or visit www.mda.org .

News from the IAFF

Vote for Your Favorite 'Pink' Campaign T-Shirt Design
(10/25/10)

With so many IAFF affiliates "thinking pink" this October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the IAFF is encouraging members to enter pictures of their pink T-shirt designs in our pink campaign T-shirt design contest. Pictures are posted online where you can vote for the T-shirt you like best.

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11th hour directive forbids fire fighters from giving away pink T-shirts
IAFF Frontline Blog (10/22/10)

Like many affiliates participating in breast cancer awareness campaigns this month, Stockton, CA Local 456 contacted us about its "Passionately Pink for the Cure" campaign. But unlike stories from other IAFF affiliates, we were disheartened to hear that late last night, the Stockton city manager emailed fire fighters with a directive that prohibits fire fighters from either selling or giving away any "Go Pink" T-shirts bearing the Stockton Fire Department name. Local 456 members face disciplinary action for violating the directive. 
 

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Help Prevent the Horror of Burn Injuries - Support the IAFF Burn Foundation

Halloween is a good time to remind members of your community about the danger of fire on Halloween and help prevent burn injuries this October 31. It's also the perfect time to purchase the 2011 IAFF Burn Foundation Calendar and help fund burn prevention, care and research programs and improve the quality of life for burn survivors across North America.

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Fire Fighters Care Enough to Wear Pink

Throughout the month of October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month - fire fighters are driving pink fire trucks across the country and organizing other fundraising activities as part of a nationwide campaign supporting women in their fight against cancer. At the IAFF 50th Convention, held in August 2010 in San Diego, delegates collectively approved a resolution to encourage IAFF members to participate in campaigns honoring women fighting cancer. The resolution calls on IAFF members to wear pink duty shirts during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For IAFF members, losing the blue and donning the pink is a way to support women in their fight against all cancers.

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Union Grant Helps Fire Fighter Save Money for College Fund
(10/21/10)

South Metro, CO Local 2164 fire fighter Matt Goebel has long dreamed of saving money so his three boys can attend college. But putting money aside was hard -- until he was awarded a $500 Union Plus College Savings grant.

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Fire Fighters in the News

Comp Claim Accepted Just Before Alaska Firefighter Dies
Insurance Journal (10/18/10)

The City of Anchorage, Alaska, agreed to pay workers' compensation benefits to a fire fighter and his family 12 days before he died from cancer. The fire fighter, Andy Mullen, filed a workers' compensation claim six months ago in order to receive benefits for contracting cancer while battling a fire 13 years ago. Anchorage initially disputed Mullen's claim but later relented after the City agreed that he contracted cancer after being exposed to burning wires while fighting a fire. An attorney for Mullen said that the fire fighter's case is the first test of the state's "fire fighter presumption law," which provides fire fighters with workers' compensation benefits if they develop cancer after being exposed to known cancer-causing agents in the course of their duties.

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House, Senate OK Firefighter Cancer Bill
Hazleton Standard-Speaker (10/22/10); Swift, Robert

Legislation to guarantee financial benefits to fire fighters with cancer has passed in both the Pennsylvania House and Senate, but the chambers still must reconcile differences to determine benefit eligibility. The bill by Representative Kevin Murphy (D-Scranton) states that certain cancers suffered by a fire fighter are occupation-caused, thus making him or her eligible for workers' compensation benefits. Murphy introduced the legislation in 2009 shortly after he assumed office, saying fire fighters exposed to smoke, fumes and gases on the job often amass thousands of dollars in legal expenses to prove a cancerous disease is job-related. The bill shifts the onus of proof from the individual onto the municipal employer. The employer would have to prove that a fire fighter's job was not a primary contributing cause of cancer in order to turn the worker down for workers' compensation benefits.

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Abandoned Homes Tax Baltimore Fire Department
Baltimore Sun (10/19/10); Anderson, Jessica

The ever-growing number of abandoned houses in Baltimore is a major fire hazard, especially as many of them are rowhouses adjacent to occupied homes; the City is launching an effort to sell vacant homes quickly and tag dangerous ones to notify fire fighters. “It’s a big concern,” says Fire Chief James S. Clack. “I’m a big proponent in taking down buildings.” The September fire that tore through several vacant buildings also put many people out of their homes, and more than 100 fire fighters, including some from Washington, DC, and several surrounding counties, fought the spreading blaze. Because the City’s rowhouses are packed so tightly together, the fire department sends twice as many fire fighters to an alarm as other cities, with one unit for the front and one for the back. "The City was pretty much left open the other night," said Bob Sledgeski, president of the fire fighters' union. Officials say it was the largest call for outside help since the 1904 fire that nearly destroyed the entire downtown area. "The population peaked out in the early 1970s and then decreased, but that population decrease … cannot be extrapolated to mean that we have one-third less exposure to fire,” said Stephan G. Fugate, president of the City fire officers’ union. He says the buildings need to be torn down, but the City does not have the financial means to do so, and it has already closed one fire house and put three others on rotating closure schedules.

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Police, Fire Departments Learn Volt Safety as GM Prepares Launch
Detroit News (10/21/10); Rogers, Christina

Drivers of the Chevrolet Volt may appreciate the quiet purr of its engine, but for fire fighters approaching a crash scene, it can be an issue of life or death. "You don't know with an electric vehicle whether it's been turned on or off because there is hardly a sound," said Southfield Fire Department Battalion Chief Keith Rowley. "It could be on and still operational." The near-silent engine is one of several new challenges fire fighters and other rescue personnel will face when responding to emergencies involving General Motors' new extended-range electric Volt when it hits the market later this year. The Detroit car manufacturer has launched a nationwide safety initiative to educate first responders about the Volt's response features and safety quirks. This initiative includes two-day sessions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC, and Austin, Texas, this fall. Those who attend learn how to turn off the Volt's electrical source, maneuver around its 435-pound lithium-ion battery, and break into the car's durable steel cage.

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Flint Fire Fighters Willing to Negotiate to Avoid Layoffs
Flint Journal (10/21/10): Longley, Kristin

The Flint firefighter's union is willing to negotiate a fair solution to help relieve the city's $5 million deficit. Raul Garcia, president of the Flint firefighter's union, said the group is willing to concede some of its employee costs — but probably won't agree to the double-digit concessions Flint Mayor Dayne Walling is asking from city unions. The fire fighter already contribute 5.5 percent — the most of all the unions — toward its retirement. 

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Palo Alto Firefighters' Union Loans Its Own Measure R Campaign $35K
Mercury News (10/21/10); Dungan, Jesse

The fire fighters' union in Palo Alto, California, has provided $35,000 for its campaign for Measure R, a ballot measure that would lock in minimum staffing levels for the fire department. If passed by voters, Measure R would prevent the City Council from reducing fire department staffing below 2009-10 levels, and would prevent the closing of stations without public hearings and an election.

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Providence Fire Fighters Plan to Sue City
WJAR 10 (10/22/10)

Providence fire fighters plan to sue the City after a report says cash reserves have plummeted and the City's pension system is not being funded. Local 799 President Paul Doughty, who represents more than 500 members said, "The money needs to be in the pension system. If there is a cash flow problem, lets identify there is a cash flow problem." Doughty said a lawsuit against the City of Providence will be filed next week.

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Schenectady Fire Fighters Could Face Job Loss or Extra Duties
CBS 6 (10/25/10); Simons, Randy

City department heads must their present plans to cut their budgets to the City Council; more than 1.5 million dollars can be saved if 22 fire fighter jobs are cut. The issue has sparked signs to be posted all across the City in front of businesses, homes and even on billboards. "The purpose is to bring awareness to everyone that we don't want these job cuts," says Marc Renson who is a business owner who has one of the signs posted in his storefront. To save money, one idea the council is mulling over is to have fire fighters do code enforcement work while on the job. Schenectady fire fighters handled 14,500 calls last year and the idea is that they see more buildings than the enforcers themselves.

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Rockford Can’t Cut Fire Department Staffing, Arbitrator Rules
Rockford Register Star (10/18/10); Curry, Corina

No one at City Hall was too surprised that a labor arbitrator ruled in favor of the Rockford fire union. Earlier this year, the City announced a plan to close two fire stations and reduce staffing from 64 fire fighters per shift to 56. The move would save almost $2 million a year. The fire union fought the proposed cut, first with a labor grievance and then in court, obtaining a judge’s order that prevented the City from making any of its proposed changes until an arbitrator could rule on the case. The ruling states the City can close the stations but must maintain a daily staffing level of 64 fire fighters as the City’s contract with the union dictates.

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Deadly Blaze Took Emotional Toll on Firefighters
PennLive (10/20/10); Courogen, Chris A.

A fire October 18 that killed four children and one adult has been emotionally traumatic for Harrisburg fire fighters. “Some guys just want to be by themselves to process it,” said Eric Jenkins, head of the City's fire fighters' union. "Some just want to hug their kids.” The City has a peer-to-peer counseling program for fire fighters, he said. “I just got finished hugging a 30-year veteran battalion chief who has seen this kind of thing numerous times. It doesn't get any easier.” Fire fighters broke windows to enter the burning home and crawled along the floor to find the inhabitants, and then began CPR which continued in the ambulances and in the hospital, but none of the victims could be revived. Harrisburg Bureau of Fire Chief Robert Talloni said the fire fighters who responded to the fire met for a stress debriefing and will meet again with counselors before returning to duty. “We have some special people coming in who the fire fighters can relate to,” Talloni said.

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City Seeks Pa. Study of Firefighting Direction
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/20/10); Shields, Jeff; Gelbart, Marcia

Philadelphia fire officials asked the state to fund a study of the City’s fire safety needs. The City is struggling with budget cuts and criticism of the mayor’s commitment to public safety after shuttering seven fire companies and instituting rolling brownouts. The union said such changes should not be made without a study of their impact, and City fire officials are asking the City’s state-appointed overseer to study the department’s current operations and a future vision for its needs, from deployment of companies to management structure and revenue. However, the study itself would cost up to $450,000 to conduct, which the City cannot afford, says Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison, who presented the proposal to the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA). And while the review is intended to be independent, Philadelphia, PA Local 22 attorney Richard Poulson says the union does not consider PICA to be independent. "I've never seen PICA advocate for an increase in funding for the fire department," he said.

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U.S. Navy Settles Overtime Pay Dispute With Federal Local F-121
International Association of Fire Fighters (10/22/10)

The United States Navy has agreed to a settlement in a dispute before the Federal Labor Relations Authority after the National Capital Professional Federal Fire Fighters Local F-121 filed charges for failure to bargain. The Navy had decided to use military reservist fire fighters in place of civilian fire fighters at one of the Naval District Washington locations for a three-month period to reduce unscheduled overtime.

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Villaraigosa Introduces Pension Reform Proposal
Los Angeles Times (10/19/10); McDonnell, Patrick J.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced October 18 that he supported a proposal to cut pension and health care benefits for new city fire fighters and police officers. A City report found that the plan, which would apply only to fire fighters and police officers hired after July 1, 2011, would save Los Angeles $173 million for every 1,000 new fire fighters and police officers hired. Villaraigosa is hoping the plan will help reduce the City's expected $320 million budget deficit next year. However, experts say that the plan does not go far enough in cutting the City's pension system. The plan, which was developed in a collaboration between the City and labor representatives, does not include controversial measures that would increase the minimum retirement age and reduce the maximum pension payout for fire fighters and police from 90 percent of salary. Nevertheless, Villaraigosa said he expected the City Council to approve the proposal so that it could be put before voters next March. Villaraigosa also said he believes public safety employee unions will support the plan.

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Seven Ohio Fire Fighters Become ‘Fowl Fighters’
International Association of Fire Fighters (10/26/10)

About two years ago, seven members of Greenville, OH Local 1101 wondered about how many fire fighters are sportsmen and why there was no fire fighter network specific to hunting waterfowl. That’s when the Firefighters Waterfowl Association was born. 

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Merrimack Fire Fighter Hit by Sniper Bullet in Afghanistan
Union Leader (10/18/10); Houghton, Kimberly

Sergeant 1st Class Michael Kiernan, a Merrimack, New Hampshire fire fighter who is recovering from a gunshot wound at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, says it is his sense humor that has helped him get through a traumatic, yet strangely odd combat experience. The platoon sergeant with Charlie Company had to leave Afghanistan a month early after a sniper hit him in the foot during a dismounted patrol operation. Kiernan shares his unique story.