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.
 

"Firefighters Target McCain, GOP Senators on Health Care" (The Washington Post)
"New Union President Wants to Move Charleston Forward" (Charleston Post & Courier)
"Fire Fighter Among Winners in Canada's October 14 Election" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"IRS Postpones Change to Retirement Age" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Department of Homeland Security Adopts NFPA Standards for Emergency Responders " (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Local Fire Fighter Gets Vindication, Compensation" (New Britain Herald (CT))
"City, Fire Fighters Union Agree on Pact" (Philadelphia Inquirer)
"W-B Firefighters to Get Near $1M" (Times Leader)
"Budget Crunch Forces Redistribution of Atlanta's Firefighters" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
"Milwaukee Firefighters Union Protests Proposed Budget Cuts" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
"Prop. A Heads to Ballot Minus Fire Fighter Support" (Voice of San Diego)
"Court Sides With Bourne Fire Union Over Maternity Policy" (The Bourne Courier)
"Oak Lawn Fire Fighters Show Public How It's Done" (The Reporter)
"EMS Issue Is Just Heating Up in Hackensack" (Save HFD EMS)

Firefighters Target McCain, GOP Senators on Health Care
The Washington Post (10/22/08); O'Keefe, Ed

The International Association of Fire Fighters has launched its voter mobilization campaign in support of Barack Obama with a new ad that attacks John McCain's health care proposals -- and two vulnerable Senate Republicans. The ad stars four fire fighters concerned about how the Republican's health care proposals would affect their families' bottom line and pictures them in full work-gear in front of smoking ruins. The ad will air mostly during local cable ad breaks in Orlando, St. Louis, New Hampshire, Northern and Eastern parts of North Carolina, parts of Ohio and in Virginia's Prince William and Fauquier Counties and the Hampton Roads region
(Web Link)
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New Union President Wants to Move Charleston Forward
Charleston Post & Courier (10/21/08); Smith, Glenn and Menchaca, Ron

The new president of the Charleston fire fighters' union pledges to use his group's newfound clout to improve safety and help the fire department learn from the lessons of last year's deadly Sofa Super Store blaze. Bill Haigler, president of the Charleston Firefighter's Association Local 61, wants to "have a voice and be a voice for others." Engineer Bill Haigler, 37, assumes the presidency at the strongest point in the union's history. Some 95 percent of Charleston's 225 fire fighters belong to the union, about double what the group's size was before the fire.
(Web Link)
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Fire Fighter Among Winners in Canada's October 14 Election
International Association of Fire Fighters (10/23/08)

The IAFF is offering congratulations to all political parties and to all members of Parliament (MPs) elected in Canada's October 14 federal election, while preparing to ensure that fire fighter issues will be front and centre again when the new session of Parliament begins this fall. Canada's Conservative minority government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was returned to power as a result of the vote. Among successful election candidates was Glen Pearson, a former London, Ontario, fire fighter and member of London, ON Local 142. Pearson, who sits as a Liberal Party MP, was first elected to the House of Commons representing London North-Centre in a by-election in November 2006. The New Democratic Party, a perennial ally of the IAFF, gained seven seats in the House of Commons and now fields 37 members of Parliament. Led by Jack Layton, the NDP has been a consistently strong supporter of the IAFF's Canadian Legislative Agenda, and its members have introduced numerous pieces of fire fighter legislation in the past decade.
(Web Link)
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IRS Postpones Change to Retirement Age
International Association of Fire Fighters (10/10/08)

At the urging of the IAFF and other public sector groups, the IRS has announced it will delay implementation of a regulation that would change the rules for determining pension eligibility. Under a proposal issued last year, the IRS sought to do away with using years of service as a criteria to determine eligibility for a pension, seeking to replace it with a straight eligibility age.
(Web Link)
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Department of Homeland Security Adopts NFPA Standards for Emergency Responders
International Association of Fire Fighters (10/20/08)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has adopted two additional NFPA standards for first responders: NFPA 472, Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents and NFPA 473, Standard for Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents. These two standards set minimum requirements for personnel responding to incidents involving hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction. NFPA 472 sets minimum competency levels for personnel responding to such incidents, and NFPA 473 covers the requirements for basic life support and advanced life support personnel in the pre-hospital setting. In addition to these adopted standards, DHS previously adopted a number of NFPA standards for emergency responders. These adopted standards set requirements for all federal agencies and state and local officials responsible for procuring equipment and services used by emergency responders.
(Web Link)
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Local Fire Fighter Gets Vindication, Compensation
New Britain Herald (CT) (10/15/08); Guinness, Rick

A fire fighter in New Britain, Connecticut, whose lungs were damaged for life after his airpack regulator failed when he was combating a fire in 1992, got final vindication and compensation from the city. The Board of Fire Commissioners agreed to increase Bob Caffrey Jr.'s pension to 100 percent of his compensation, which was $52,000 at the time of the accident. He will receive a retroactive pay hike going back to 1992. Caffrey says he must take prednisone for life, a drug that harms the bones, adrenal glands, kidneys and other organs. Caffrey says he is ill with reactive airway dysfunctional syndrome, and also experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after the accident.

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City, Fire Fighters Union Agree on Pact
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/18/08); Schaefer, Mari A.

The City of Philadelphia settled the last of its four municipal-employee contracts when an arbitration panel awarded a one-year contract to fire fighters. The fire fighters' contract, similar to the Fraternal Order of Police agreement in July, includes a pay raise and cuts the city's contribution to health care. "It is fair and reasonable," Brian McBride, president of Local 22 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said of the new contract.
(Web Link)
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W-B Firefighters to Get Near $1M
Times Leader (10/12/08); Longslong, Shelly

Fire fighters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, will now receive the same pay for state-mandated training that is given to city police officers, after the local union won a grievance with the city. Arbitrator Robert Light sided with Wilkes-Barre, PA Local 104, which said the extra funds are an increase in salary, and the union's agreement with the city requires that any increase given to the police department must also be given to the fire department. The city has been ordered to provide back and current pay to fire fighters in the amount that police officers receive.
 
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Budget Crunch Forces Redistribution of Atlanta's Firefighters
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10/12/08); Redmon, Jeremy

Some fire fighters in Atlanta will be redistributed to other departments due to a $13 million budget cut that leaves no room for overtime pay and a loss of 130 department positions, according to Fire Chief Kelvin J. Cochran. He says he will not close any stations, but adds that the ladder trucks will have to travel longer distances which will likely increase response times. So far the change only affects ladder trucks, but if the department eventually begins shutting down some fire engines there will be a more dramatic decline in response times.
(Web Link)
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Milwaukee Firefighters Union Protests Proposed Budget Cuts
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (10/14/08); Sandler, Larry

Union leaders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, say fire fighters there face a greater threat of dying and getting injured on the job due to staffing cuts. They cite the 2009 city budget of Mayor Tom Barrett as an example of how staffing cuts are diminishing the safety of fire fighters. In the budget, Barrett proposes closing a downtown pumper engine company and reducing ladder truck crews from five fire fighters to four in all companies that have not had staffing cuts. Barrett says a second company is on the chopping block, too. "How much is too much to pay for public safety?," asked Milwaukee, WI Local 215 President Bobbie Webber in an appearance before the Council's Finance & Personnel Committee. "We know that we have budget problems.... However, we cannot afford to have a bottom-line-driven budget for this department when men and women put their lives on the line." She noted that the city has eliminated 147 fire fighter jobs since 2000.
(Web Link)
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Prop. A Heads to Ballot Minus Fire Fighter Support
Voice of San Diego (10/15/08); Carless, Will

As fire season gets into full swing, the lackluster campaign for Proposition A, a ballot measure that would impose a parcel tax on county residents to pay for increased fire protection, would be given a much-needed boost by support from local fire fighters and fire fighters' unions. But the county's fire fighters are reluctant to support the measure, according to representatives of local fire fighters' unions. Local fire fighters have a deep-rooted distrust of the county Board of Supervisors, which approved the measure for the ballot. And, fire fighting unions were ignored in the creation of the proposal and are therefore reluctant to support it.
(Web Link)
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Court Sides With Bourne Fire Union Over Maternity Policy
The Bourne Courier (10/20/08); Gately, Paul

A Suffolk Superior Court judge has sided with Bourne Professional Firefighters Union 1717 and the Joint Labor Management Committee against the town in the protracted negotiations for a 2001-04 contract. The issue involves maternity leave policy and what pregnant fire fighters should be afforded in terms of duties before and after delivery. The union argued light duty should be in order prior to delivery with guidance and direction by the physician involved and fire chief. The town said light duty for a pregnant fire fighter is not easily delineated.
(Web Link)
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Oak Lawn Fire Fighters Show Public How It's Done
The Reporter (10/16/08); Piechalak; Matthew

In conjunction with Fire Prevention Week, Oak Lawn fire fighters conducted a Fire Ops demonstration for the public. The event was created and organized by the fire fighters in less than three weeks. Fire fighters began by extricating a "victim" from a crushed Ford Taurus. A paramedic demonstration walked the audience through a patient assessment. Two men in Level A Hazmat suits -- the highest level of protective gear -- then put on a hazardous material demonstration. The fire fighters also performed a high-angle rescue and a sprinkler demonstration, the latter to show how overhead sprinkler systems can prevent fires.
(Web Link)
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EMS Issue Is Just Heating Up in Hackensack
Save HFD EMS

Bergen County Superior Court Judge Robert Wilson has announced that he will not issue a ruling on the contempt charges that Local 2081 filed against the City of Hackensack. The Union is seeking sanctions against City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono, Mayor Michael Melfi and all City Council members for defying a September 12 court order that prohibited the City from transferring fire department-based EMS to Hackensack University Medical Center.
(Web Link)
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