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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://daily.iaff.org/frontline/morenews.html.

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

"IAFF 2006 Election Scorecard" (International Association of Fire Fighters )
"Rural-Metro Training Questioned in Florida" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Mayor moving to increase tolerance in fire department" (The Florida Times-Union)
"Denis Leary's Real Fire Rescue Plan" (Wall Street Journal)
"Cancer Risk Twice as Bad for Firemen" (New York Post)
"Florida Fire Fighters Fight to Maintain Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Contract" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Mayor Reopens Gloucester Stations" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Firefighters Train for Major Disaster" (Inside Bay Area (CA))
"Unions' Push Pays Off in Wins by Democrats" (Wall Street Journal)
"New Orleans Fire Fighters Win Longevity Case" (International Association of Fire Fighters )
"New York Fire Fighters Assist With 9/11 Families Toy Drive" (International Association of Fire Fighters)

"Frontline News Brief" is Sponsored By:

IAFF 2006 Election Scorecard
International Association of Fire Fighters (11/08/06)

The IAFF and its affiliates across the country made an unprecedented effort November 7 to support its political allies and oppose its enemies, regardless of party affiliation. "Our members worked hard from coast to coast," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "At every level of government, the IAFF signature gold-and-black 'Fire Fighters For...' shirts and signs dominated the political landscape, showing support for our Republican, Democratic and Independent friends."
(Web Link)
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Rural-Metro Training Questioned in Florida
International Association of Fire Fighters (11/20/06)

Six weeks after Rural-Metro took over fire service from 14 members of Suncoast, FL Local 2546 at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, the private provider faces numerous challenges, including maintaining minimum staffing and finding state-certified fire fighters. "They have a pretty broken system over there now," says Michael Stephensen, president of Local 2546. "The airport had 14 of our guys - all state certified - with decades of valuable experience. It was a proven, safe system. Now, there appears to be major holes in the protection airport customers are receiving."
(Web Link)
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Mayor moving to increase tolerance in fire department
The Florida Times-Union (11/17/06)

Jacksonville, Florida Mayor John Peyton says there will be "zero tolerance" for discrimination or harassment in the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. According to Peyton, a ctions  "will be taken to change the culture in the department and the department's leadership will be held accountable for results." At a  news conference he also reviewed ideas and suggestions made by a group he had assigned to respond to a Jacksonville Human Rights Commission report that was highly critical of the department. The  steps the mayor plans to take include increased l eadership and managerial training, diversity training for all department employees and consistent discipline measures.  Peyton also noted that Jacksonville, FL Local 122 is "among the best" as far as doing its job of rescue and fighting fires. " What needs to change," Peyton said, "is how we behave when we are not fighting fires." The  U.S. Attorney's Office will soon release its findings in the investigation of noose incidents that prompted the Human Rights Commission report. "I suspect that the results of the investigations by the FBI and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will be inconclusive as to who planted the nooses in the work areas of two black firefighters," said Peyton. "Pardon the pun, but we need to hold their feet to the fire."
(Web Link)
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Denis Leary's Real Fire Rescue Plan
Wall Street Journal (11/14/06) P. D8; Yost, Mark

Actor Denis Leary's Leary Firefighters Foundation, created after six fire fighters -- including a cousin and a classmate -- died combating a Worcester, Massachusetts, warehouse blaze in 1999, has raised more than $1.6 million to equip and train fire fighters in central Massachusetts. Although the foundation's initial goal was to raise money for the widows and children of the tragedy's victims, it has since distributed more than $6 million to fire departments across the nation, including those affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. According to Leary, the foundation is necessary because although many departments are severely underfunded, fire fighters are often reluctant to complain. Leary has also been a vocal supporter of fire fighters during his professional life, and currently plays an embattled fire fighter on the Emmy-nominated television show "Rescue Me."

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Cancer Risk Twice as Bad for Firemen
New York Post (11/11/06); Gallahue, Patrick; de Kretser, Leela

A study by University of Cincinnati researchers indicates that fire fighters are more prone to die from certain cancers compared to other workers. The study involved 110,000 fire fighters and was recently published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Researchers led by Grace LeMasters found that fire fighters are up to twice as likely to die from some forms of cancers, including testicular cancer and multiple myeloma, which affects bone marrow. Overall, 10 types of cancers were found to occur more frequently among fire fighters, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prostrate cancer. LeMasters said while fire fighters' protective clothing safeguards them from heat and carbon monoxide, they do not block the chemicals that trigger cancer. Moreover, exposure to heat causes fire fighters to sweat, which enlarges their pores, allowing more chemicals to be absorbed, she said.
(Web Link)
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Florida Fire Fighters Fight to Maintain Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Contract
International Association of Fire Fighters (11/21/06)

Public safety is at issue as the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Town Council decides the future of its fire service. Town commissioners called a special meeting to consider whether to sever ties with the Broward Sherriff's Office Fire Rescue - and members of Broward County, FL Local 4321.
(Web Link)
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Mayor Reopens Gloucester Stations
International Association of Fire Fighters (11/15/06)

Following persistent pressure from Gloucester, MA Local 762 and a string of tragic events, Gloucester Mayor John Bell has conceded to reopen two of the City's fire stations. Two years ago, the City closed the stations for budgetary reasons. Public concern escalated following the death of Bridget Cleary on October 1. Fire fighters were called to the scene, but arrived 13 minutes later - too late to rescue Cleary, who died from smoke inhalation. The fire station just three minutes from Cleary's home was closed.
(Web Link)
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Firefighters Train for Major Disaster
Inside Bay Area (CA) (11/17/06); Simerman, John

Hundreds of fire fighters from California's Bay Area engaged in a disaster response drill at a local fire-training facility as part of a two-day exercise across the state. The fire fighters rescued dozens of volunteers in a scenario modeled after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that simulated a large earthquake and aftershock along the San Andreas fault. The drill was funded using $2.7 million from a Homeland Security grant, and though the annual exercise has been conducted since 2004, this was the first time the situation involved a natural disaster instead of a terrorist attack. The fire fighters extracted victims from rubble, stabilized their surroundings, controlled a fire, and coped with a sudden loss of water. One main focus of the drill, which state Homeland Security czar Matt Bettenhausen described as "the most comprehensive and complex" in California's history, was to improve communication between first responders and others.
(Web Link)
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Unions' Push Pays Off in Wins by Democrats
Wall Street Journal (11/08/06); Fields, Gary and Maher, Kris

The mid-term elections went well for many unions, which got out the vote through phone calls and other means on November 7. Now, unions are focused on getting the newly elected on board with an agenda that hopes to bring stability back to American families via affordable health care, secure retirement funding, and better pay. Clark University Professor of Industrial Relations Gary Chaison notes that labor groups will likely push for changes to pension and bankruptcy reforms as well.
(Web Link)
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New Orleans Fire Fighters Win Longevity Case
International Association of Fire Fighters (11/13/06)

A Civil District Court Judge has ruled in favor of New Orleans, LA Local 632 in a legal dispute between the fire fighters and the City of New Orleans. Judge Kern Reese ordered the city to immediately begin paying the fire fighters the state-mandated longevity raises or be found in direct contempt of the orders of this court. "This is the ruling we have been looking for," says Nick Felton, president of Local 632. "But, the fight for fair compensation is not over."
(Web Link)
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New York Fire Fighters Assist With 9/11 Families Toy Drive -
International Association of Fire Fighters (10/11/06)

More than one year after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, retired and active New York City fire fighters are helping affected families recover.  Members of the Unformed Fire Fighters Association of New York Local 94 and New York Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854 organized the "Mission of Hope" to provide truckloads of supplies for those in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone. Today, the Mission of Hope is focused collecting toys to make sure children victimized by the hurricane enjoy a proper holiday season this year.
(Web Link)
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© copyright 2006 International Association of Fire Fighters