Welcome to the IAFF Frontline News Brief, distributed twice a month to IAFF affiliate leaders and IAFF members. We encourage you to forward this news to your members and others in the fire service.

The Frontline News Brief is delivered directly by email and is also published on the IAFF web site. You can view past issues at http://www.iaff.org/Comm/frontline/news.htm.

Your feedback is also welcome - email pr@iaff.org with questions and comments.
 

"Bush Vetoes Defense Bill" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Can Firefighters Rescue Dodd?" (New Haven Independent)
"Anti-Labor Senators Derail Fire Fighter Bargaining Bill" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Effort to Defeat Florida Prop Tax Amendment Revs Up" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"FIREPAC Hits $2 Million!" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"N.Y. Firefighters Group Forms to Battle Giuliani" (Los Angeles Times)
"Former IAFF Member Is Atlanta's New Chief " (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"IAFF Wins Significant Funding for SAFER Grants" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"New St. Catharines Fire Chief Wants to Work With Union" (The Standard)
"Bill to Speed U.S.-Canada Mutual Aid" (Burlington Free Press (VT))
"Firefighter Challenge Heard" (Baltimore Sun)
"Peers Offer Support to Police, Firefighters" (San Diego Union-Tribune)
"Port Reaches Fire Coverage Agreement" (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (WA))
"Christmas Gift: Aid Arrives After Fire " (Anchorage Daily News )
"Retired Firefighters Picket in Support of Increased Manpower" (KFDM 6)
 

Bush Vetoes Defense Bill
International Association of Fire Fighters (01/02/08)

In a surprise development, President Bush has "pocket vetoed" the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill (HR 1585). The president's refusal to sign the Defense bill will delay implementation of several provisions important to the nation's federal fire fighters, including the amendments to the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). 
(Web Link)
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Can Firefighters Rescue Dodd?
New Haven Independent (01/02/08); Bailey, Melissa

Chris Dodd struggled to secure a commitment from one of the troops he's counting on to keep him in the business of running for president -- a fire fighter in a bright yellow shirt. Rod Livesay, an Iraq vet and Iowa fire fighter, was among the legions of union members being called to perform a rescue operation -- salvaging the Connecticut senator's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in Thursday's Iowa caucuses.
(Web Link)
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Anti-Labor Senators Derail Fire Fighter Bargaining Bill
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/14/07)

With the Senate on the verge of passing the IAFF's national collective bargaining bill, a small group of hard-line anti-labor Senators engaged in a series of parliamentary tactics to block the Senate from acting. With no way to overcome the obstacles, the Senate was forced to postpone action on the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act until 2008.
(Web Link)
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Effort to Defeat Florida Prop Tax Amendment Revs Up
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/17/07)

With the formation of the "Florida Is Our Home" ballot initiative committee, the movement to defeat Florida property tax reform -- otherwise known as Amendment 1 -- just got stronger. The committee will coordinate a statewide grassroots effort to defeat Amendment 1 on January 29, 2008.
(Web Link)
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FIREPAC Hits $2 Million!
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/13/07)

For the first time in its history, FIREPAC has raised $2 million in a single calendar year. This milestone follows on the heels of FIREPAC's successful fundraising efforts during the critical 2006 election year when it reached a record $1.9 million. One of the nation's top political action committees, FIREPAC experienced another first in 2007, raising more than 50 percent of its election cycle goal in the first year of the cycle. Previously, FIREPAC's best non-election year (on a percentage of money raised) was in 2003 when it raised 46 percent of its goal. For the 2007-2008 election cycle, FIREPAC has set a fundraising goal of $3.75 million.
(Web Link)
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N.Y. Firefighters Group Forms to Battle Giuliani
Los Angeles Times (12/20/07); Braun, Stephen

The 9/11 Firefighters and Families group has launched a campaign to prevent Rudy Giuliani from gaining the Republican presidential nomination. The group is made up of fire fighters who lost family members in the attacks on the World Trade Center. They believe Giuliani is exploiting their children's memories for his own personal and political gain. The group now only consists of about 20 activists but has support from the International Association of Fire Fighters. With this backing, they hope to bring attention to mistakes Giuliani made before and after September 11, 2001, they feel contributed to the deaths of their loved ones.
(Web Link)
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Former IAFF Member Is Atlanta's New Chief
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/17/07)

The Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters are proud to endorse Mayor Shirley Franklin's nomination of Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, a former Shreveport, LA Local 514 fire fighter. Cochran also received glowing recommendations from the Professional Fire Fighters of Louisiana and Local 514.
(Web Link)
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IAFF Wins Significant Funding for SAFER Grants
International Association of Fire Fighters (12/21/07)

Despite a variety of significant obstacles as Congress approached its annual year-end recess, the IAFF succeeded in winning a unprecedented increase in funding for the SAFER grant program. H.R. 2764, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2008, included $190 million for SAFER, an increase of more than 65 percent over the previous year. 
(Web Link)
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New St. Catharines Fire Chief Wants to Work With Union
The Standard (12/19/07); LaFleche, Grant

St. Catharines' new fire chief is confident he can avoid wading into the morass of labour relations problems that dogged his predecessor. "I'm going to work closely with the union and I'm very optimistic that this is something that can succeed," Mark Mehlenbacher said . "I have been a fire fighter for nearly 27 years and I am ready for the challenge." The post was vacated in June by Tony Mintoff. Mintoff's two-year tenure as fire chief was marred by ongoing conflict with the St. Catharines Professional Firefighters Association.
(Web Link)
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Bill to Speed U.S.-Canada Mutual Aid
Burlington Free Press (VT) (12/19/07); Baird, Joel Banner

A bill has passed in both the House and the Senate designed to help fire fighters and other first responders near the U.S.-Canada border work together in emergency situations. The bill only awaits President Bush's signature. Cross-border cooperation between fire departments has been the norm in the northeastern United States and Canada for some time. Government efforts to formalize this cooperation began in 1998 after an ice storm devastated a large part of the upper East Coast.
(Web Link)
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Firefighter Challenge Heard
Baltimore Sun (12/21/07); Jones, Brent

Baltimore fire fighters have filed a complaint with a federal arbitrator over fire department requirements that the entire department maintain Advanced Life Support (ALS) certification. The case was brought by fire fighter Ryan Wenger and the Baltimore fire fighters' unions. They maintain high-ranking officers and drivers have additional responsibilities to focus on during emergency medical calls and should not have to be concerned about medical care. Fire department officials argue every fire fighter on the scene of an emergency should be ALS certified. To maintain their certification, every fire fighter must pass a test every two years on skills like administering intravenous drugs. Only about a third of Baltimore's 1,700 uniformed workers are currently certified. The arbitrator is expected to make a final decision on the case within 45 days.
(Web Link)
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Peers Offer Support to Police, Firefighters
San Diego Union-Tribune (12/17/07); Neely, Liz

Exposure to traumatic events on a regular basis is not something many people are equipped to deal with, and as a result of the repeated trauma they face, fire fighters suffer far more stress than most individuals. As a way to help fire fighters deal with the stressful nature of their jobs, many departments are forming peer counseling programs. Peer counseling offers fire fighters the chance to talk about their problems with someone who understands their situation and can lend a confidential, non-judgmental ear. Peer support programs have been around for a while, but have grown in popularity over the past 10 years or so. Society is beginning to acknowledge the kind of strain fire fighters face, and it is becoming acceptable for fire fighters to show emotion. When a fire fighter is forced to suppress their experience of a traumatic situation, it can lead to depression or disease.
(Web Link)
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Port Reaches Fire Coverage Agreement
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (WA) (12/14/07); Hillhouse, Vicki

An interlocal pact between the Port of Walla Walla, Washington, and Walla Walla County Fire District 4 has been negotiated. The deal marks the final hurdle in ending the four-year-old breach with the International Association of Fire Fighters. Terms of the pact specify that Fire District 4 provide aircraft rescue and fire fighting services to the airport, and the Port cease from operating its own fire department. Effective January 1, two Port fire fighters will join the Fire District 4 staff, a move Port executive director Jim Kuntz says will enable the fire district to have 24-hour-a-day coverage at the station.
(Web Link)
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Christmas Gift: Aid Arrives After Fire
Anchorage Daily News (12/24/07); Holland, Megan

It was just one thing after another for Gabriel Wilburn. He went from living in a cramped camper on top of his truck with his three-year-old son and two dogs to moving into a newly purchased Mountain View mobile home -- only for it to catch fire days later. The unemployed man's woes, though, did not go unnoticed. In a rare but not unheard-of move, Anchorage Fire Department fire fighters who responded to his burning trailer saw him as a man coping with a string of bad-luck mishaps and adopted him as their Christmas charity.
(Web Link)
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Retired Firefighters Picket in Support of Increased Manpower
KFDM 6 (12/18/07); Lawrence, Scott

Retired fire fighters in Beaumont, Texas, protested in front of city hall in favor of all fire trucks being required to carry a minimum of four fire fighters to each call. They contest that recent injuries to fire fighters could have been avoided if the four-person rule had been in effect. Six fire fighters were hurt while combating a blaze on December 17.
(Web Link)
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