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.
 

"IAFF Marks 7th Anniversary of 9/11" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"IAFF Raises Record $27,530,000 for MDA" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Biden Meets With Firefighters, Guardsmen" (MSNBC)
"IAFF Expands Student Loan Forgiveness for Fire Fighters " (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"State Investigators Blame SDG&E, Cox for Fires" (North County Times)
"DNCC Doherty Remarks" (PRNewswire)
"Extended Fire Fighter Family Takes Care of California Widow" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Local Firefighters Reach Out to New Orleans Brethren" (WBAY-TV (Green Bay, WI))
"Hackensack EMTs Seek Judge's Ruling on Layoffs" (The Record)
"Fire Union Feels Burned" (The Capital-Journal)
"Indiana Fire Fighters Launch Community AED Program" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Sorry Situation: Hancock EOC Has First Responders Worried" (Sun Herald )
"Firefighters Stymie Cost Cuts" (Detroit News)
"Home of Toledo Fire Fighter to Get 'Extreme Makeover'" (Toledo Blade)
"Dad and Daughter Firefighters Making History at TFD" (Tucson Citizen (AZ))
 

IAFF Marks 7th Anniversary of 9/11
International Association of Fire Fighters (09/11/08)

Today marks the 7th anniversary of the darkest day in our union's history. No matter how many years pass, we must always remember the ultimate sacrifice made by our 343 fallen FDNY brothers after terrorists launched their cowardly attacks on the World Trade Centers.
(Web Link)
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IAFF Raises Record $27,530,000 for MDA
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/02/08)

The IAFF maintains its spot as the largest national sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) after raising a record-shattering $27,530,000 for the MDA 43rd annual Labor Day Telethon. The event, held at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, raised a total of $65 million.
(Web Link)
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Biden Meets With Firefighters, Guardsmen
MSNBC (08/28/08); Memoli, Mike

Senator Joe Biden (D-DE)  spoke to a group of fire fighters, praising their bravery and voicing his great affection for those who helped save the lives of his two sons in a 1972 car accident that killed his wife and young daughter. "Look us over," Biden said to the group. "If you don't like what we're doing, pick up the phone and holler at my campaign."
(Web Link)
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IAFF Expands Student Loan Forgiveness for Fire Fighters
International Association of Fire Fighters (08/28/08)

The IAFF has won a major benefit for its members through the enactment of legislation expanding student loan forgiveness benefits for professional fire fighters. H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act, creates a new program allowing fire fighters to receive up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness and expands Perkins loan cancellation benefits to fire fighters.
(Web Link)
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State Investigators Blame SDG&E, Cox for Fires
North County Times (09/03/08); Downey, Dave

A scathing report blames three of last fall's southern California wildfires on San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Cox Communications, saying the companies violated state regulations by failing to properly maintain electric and cable television wires in areas where blazes started. The investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission's Consumer Protection and Safety Division alleged the companies were out of compliance with state rules designed to ensure the safe operation of cables.
(Web Link)
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DNCC Doherty Remarks
PRNewswire (08/27/08)

Speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Mark Docherty, a professional fire fighter and member of Sterling Heights, MI Local 1557, said fire departments need additional funding to maintain training, staffing, and equipment, especially because they have been expected to bear a heavier load since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He noted that Republican presidential nominee John McCain has voted against all the important increases in funding, and along with President Bush makes it difficult for workers to organize. He backed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, saying that he will bring change and entirely fund fire departments and first responders.
(Web Link)
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Extended Fire Fighter Family Takes Care of California Widow
International Association of Fire Fighters (09/05/08)

Ventura County, CA Local 1364 fire fighter Phil Vuola and his wife, Alyssa, were on vacation in April 2006 when tragedy struck and Phil died in his sleep. Since then, members of Local 1364 and other IAFF affiliates have continuously supported the Vuola family, including starting an education fund for the fallen fire fighter's three young children. I have always been proud of the brotherhood among fire fighters, but the ongoing support for the Vuola family has been incredible," says Steve Kaufmann, executive vice president of Ventura County, CA Local 1364.
(Web Link)
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Local Firefighters Reach Out to New Orleans Brethren
WBAY-TV (Green Bay, WI) (09/02/08); Thomsen, Sarah

Fire fighters in New Orleans were asked not to leave the city before Hurricane Gustav hit in case they were needed to aid in emergencies. That concerned fire fighters in Green Bay, Wisconsin, who traveled to New Orleans in April and spent one week rebuilding fire fighters' homes ruined by Hurricane Katrina. Green Bay fire fighter Ryan Gibbons watched Gustav wreak havoc in the same spots his department had been working on and text messaged New Orleans fire fighters to make sure they were all right. "When Katrina hit you didn't really know anybody, but now it's a little bit more personal after spending a week down there with those guys," he said.
(Web Link)
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Hackensack EMTs Seek Judge's Ruling on Layoffs
The Record (09/05/08); Van Dusen, Matthew

Lawyers for the city's EMTs argue that the city's agreement with Hackensack University Medical Center to privatize daytime ambulance services violated contract laws and should be struck down. But Superior Court Judge Menelaos W. Toskos says he will not rule on the EMTs' request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the transfer of daytime ambulance service until the lawyers return to court September 12.
(Web Link)
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Fire Union Feels Burned
The Capital-Journal (09/09/08); Elliott, Kevin

Jeff Davis won't start his job at the Topeka Fire Department for nearly a month, but some fire fighters are already predicting an icy reception for the Fort Scott resident who will be the department's second in command. One day after Davis' hiring was announced, local fire fighters union president Kent Dederick accused Topeka Fire Chief Howard Giles of sending a message of no confidence to longtime department employees.
(Web Link)
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Indiana Fire Fighters Launch Community AED Program
International Association of Fire Fighters (09/05/08)

As part of their ongoing efforts to improve public safety in their community, South Bend, IN Local 362 fire fighters are launching a new program to place Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in churches. 
(Web Link)
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Sorry Situation: Hancock EOC Has First Responders Worried
Sun Herald (09/09/08); Welsh, J.R.

First responders who stayed on the job here during Hurricane Gustav did so under difficult conditions, perhaps putting themselves at risk of injury. At the height of the storm about 200 people, including police, fire fighters, county emergency management agency workers, 911 dispatchers, National Guard soldiers, news reporters and personnel from FEMA and MEMA, rode out Gustav in an ancient building that is ill-equipped for its role as an emergency operations center in hurricane country.
(Web Link)
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Firefighters Stymie Cost Cuts
Detroit News (08/29/08); Lynch, Jim

The city council of Harper Woods, MI, proposed in May to cross-train fire fighters and police officers in an effort to reduce costs. The training was scheduled to start on September 2, but city fire fighters and the union have criticized the proposal. The training is intended to train participants as public safety officers and would entail them going outside of their areas of expertise. Some of the instructors tapped to provide the training at Oakland Community College are fire fighters as well as union members, and they have decided not to teach at least one session.
 
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Home of Toledo Fire Fighter to Get 'Extreme Makeover'
Toledo Blade (09/07/08)

A Toledo family of 13, including eight adopted children, will be the recipients of a brand new home through the reality TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Aaron Frisch is a city of Toledo fire fighter and his wife Jackie is an ordained minister. They've adopted five children from a Haitian orphanage and three other children. In addition, they have three biological children of their own. Mrs. Frisch has been diagnosed with a soft tissue disease called Ehrlers-Danlos Syndrome. She has suffered a series of strokes that left half of her body paralyzed.
(Web Link)
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Dad and Daughter Firefighters Making History at TFD
Tucson Citizen (AZ) (09/05/08); Gargulinski, Ryn

The Tucson Fire Department in Arizona has its first-ever father-daughter pair. Christa Clayton joined the department where her father, Tim Clayton, has been working for 34 years, after graduating from the Tucson Fire Department's Public Safety Academy in June. Of the 640 uniformed fire fighters with the department, 35, including Christa Clayton, are female. The department has welcomed Christa Clayton, who works at a different station than her dad, but she is still the subject of some jokes. "I'll hear 'Daddy's on the phone,' when he calls," she said. "It's all in good humor."
(Web Link)
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