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The IAFF has partnered with Pro-Calendar to produce and sell the 2010 Burn Foundation Calendar, which is available for $17.95, plus shipping and handling. To order, click here. The calendar features full-color photos from the annual IAFF Media Awards Contest. Your purchase helps the IAFF help burn survivors.

News from the IAFF

"IAFF Remembers 122 Fallen"
"Georgia Fire Fighters Respond to Deadly Floods"
"SAFER Update! Get Ready to Apply for SAFER Funding"
"Capitol Records Not Being Friendly to Fire Fighters"
"IAFF Welcomes Burn Survivors to International Burn Camp"
"Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Application Period Open "
"Economic Crisis News Headlines"

Fire Fighters in the News

"Thousands Honor Two Fallen Firefighters in Memorial Service at Dodger Stadium" (Los Angeles Times)
"Lancaster Fire Fighters Act Courageously With Wage Negotiation" (Lancaster Eagle Gazette)
"Maine Fire Fighters Campaign Against TABOR" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"East St. Louis Fire Fighter Jobs Saved" (St. Louis Business Journal)
"Mesothelioma a Risk for Firefighters Fighting for Workers Compensation in Pennsylvania" (Asbestos.com)
"Fire Fighter Layoffs Possible in St. John's County" (The St. Augustine Record)
"Prince George's County Budget Cuts Cited In Delayed Response" (WUSA 9)
"Audit: Firefighters Not Ready for Nuclear Lab Fire" (Associated Press)
"Tulsa Fire Fighters Save Jobs With Political Action" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Privatization for Grosse Pointe Woods EMS Fuels Public Outcry" (C & G News)


 

IAFF Remembers 122 Fallen
(09/21/09)

Thousands of family, friends and fire fighters from the United States and Canada made their pilgrimage to Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 19 for the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial observance honoring 122 fallen fire fighters. IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger presided over the memorial. He spoke of other observance traditions. “We recount stories of the saves they made, the jokes they pulled, and how we -- their extended family -- are going to look out for the loved ones they left behind. We tell their children and their children’s children that they didn’t just save people and property, but that they reunited loved ones when disasters tried to rip them apart.”

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Georgia Fire Fighters Respond to Deadly Floods
(09/22/09)

IAFF members across the state of Georgia are responding to flooding that has taken the lives of at least seven citizens and flooded homes, interstates and roads. IAFF 12th District Vice President Larry Osborne and Professional Fire Fighters of Georgia President Jon Dorman are reaching out to affiliates, especially those in the hard-hit metro-Atlanta area, to assess any potential membership needs.

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SAFER Update! Get Ready to Apply for SAFER Funding
(09/14/09)

Guidance for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants for FY 2009 and FY 2010 will be issued in early October and the grant application period will begin in November and remain open for 30 days. Once the application period ends, the peer review process will begin immediately. There is a combined total of $630 million in the FY 2009/2010 SAFER budget. The IAFF was successful in lobbying Congress and the Obama administration to approve the proposal to allow the use of federal funding through the SAFER grant program to rehire laid-off fire fighters and prevent reductions in force specifically related to this economic downturn.

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Capitol Records Not Being Friendly to Fire Fighters
(09/22/09)

County music artist Ronnie Milsap is joining fire fighters, police and their families to protest Capitol Records attempt to stop Bleve Entertainment Group in its promotion or sales of “My First Ride,” a single featuring Milsap and Capitol recording artist Trace Adkins. Bleve Entertainment is marketing the song, which hit airwaves September 1, to benefit the IAFF and Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) disaster relief funds. Milsap and some IAFF members in Tennessee will be picketing Capitol Records September 24. German/UK-owned Capitol Records is charging Bleve with the “unauthorized use and exploitation of Trace Adkin’s performance and name and dilution of the value of Capitol’s valuable property.” Bleve Entertainment CEO Mickey Milam, a retired Metro Nashville police officer, says the song was green-lighted through Adkin’s management company and that Capitol Records had full knowledge of the project. In a statement to the media, Bleve Entertainment says it will continue with the release and promotion of “My First Ride,” the lead single from a multi-artist CD due out November 1. Milsap supports Bleve in fighting this fight. “Make me a sign, and I will lead the picket line!” he says.

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IAFF Welcomes Burn Survivors to International Burn Camp
(09/21/09)

More than 40 burn survivors from the United States and Canada are attending the 14th Annual International Burn Camp, organized by the IAFF Burn Foundation to help teenagers cope with their injuries. Burn survivors from 27 states and six provinces are participating in this year’s Burn Camp.

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Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Application Period Open
(09/14/09)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that the application period for the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (FIRE Act) Fire Prevention and Safety grant program began September 21, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Applications must be received by October 23, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Fire Prevention and Safety grants support projects that enhance the safety of the public and fire fighters from fire and fire-related hazards. Grant awards are made to mitigate high incidences of death and injury and to carry out research for improving fire fighter safety. Examples of the types of fire prevention projects that are supported by these grants include smoke alarm installation, fire prevention and public safety education campaigns, juvenile fire setter interventions, media campaigns and arson prevention and awareness programs.

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Economic Crisis News Headlines

The economy is affecting IAFF members throughout this union through staffing reductions, station closures, cost shifting and wage concessions as local governments lose revenue. To help IAFF members get a clearer understanding of the depth of the financial crisis, the effect it's having at every level of the economy -- including local and state budgets -- the IAFF has prepared the following summaries of and links to "economic crisis" news articles related to cuts in state and local budgets, fire fighter staffing, health care benefits, compensation, pension plans and other areas as a result of the economic downturn.

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Thousands Honor Two Fallen Firefighters in Memorial Service at Dodger Stadium
Los Angeles Times (09/13/09); Gold, Scott

A memorial service was held in Dodger Stadium for two fire fighters killed in a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest. Captain Tedmund Hall of San Bernardino County and fire fighter Arnaldo Quinones died after telling people at Camp 16, a remote prison where inmates were trained in wilderness protection, to find shelter while they made their way through flames to locate an escape route. Their truck fell 800 feet into a ravine, and because the "Station" fire has been classified as arson, their deaths have been deemed homicides. Approximately 15,000 fire fighters from as far away as Worcester, Massachusetts, attended the memorial service, where fire fighters arranged a "missing man" flyover formation featuring eight helicopters. Vice President Joe Biden said, "Two men tell others to hunker down and race out to find a way out -- it is above and beyond the call of duty. That's real courage."

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Lancaster Fire Fighters Act Courageously With Wage Negotiation
Lancaster Eagle Gazette (09/20/09)

Lancaster, OH Local 291 fire fighters again did a courageous thing by agreeing to accept a lower wage increase than their original contract had provided for. This is the second time this year the union has agreed to alter their already approved, agreed-upon and accepted contract originally providing a 3 percent raise in 2009 and a 3 percent raise in 2010. In January, the fire fighters agreed to give back the 3 percent raise for 2009, which saved fire fighters from being laid off this year. Last week, the union agreed to only take 2.5 percent of the 3 percent raise they contractually were entitled to. This reduction will allow city to avoid layoffs in the fire department, leaving the city with 90 working fire fighters, eliminating two currently vacant positions. The union action was an unselfish act because the older fire fighters in the department also supported the reduction in the pay raise.

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Maine Fire Fighters Campaign Against TABOR
International Association of Fire Fighters (09/21/09)

The Professional Fire Fighters of Maine (PFFM), in conjunction with the Citizens Unified for Maine’s Future coalition, has launched a campaign to defeat two ballot initiatives – Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and excise tax reductions. The passage of one or both these bills could devastate town and city budgets, forcing local governments to make deep cuts to life-saving services, including fire and EMS services.

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East St. Louis Fire Fighter Jobs Saved
St. Louis Business Journal (09/22/09)

A state agency has killed a plan to lay off 13 fire fighters in East St. Louis, Illinois. An East St. Louis Financial Advisory Authority official said the agency rejected the cost-savings plan backed by Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. because it violated the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the firefighters' Local 23 union.

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Mesothelioma a Risk for Firefighters Fighting for Workers Compensation in Pennsylvania
Asbestos.com (09/15/2009)

Pennsylvania currently does not recognize cancer as an occupational illness for fire fighters diagnosed in the state. The Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association (PPFFA) has proposed a bill that "actually mimics what 31 states currently have," said Art Martynuska, president of PPFFA. "If you are involved in the fire service and you come down with one of several types of cancer, the presumption is that you got that as a result of exposure on the job." The bill has been approved by the Pennsylvania House and must now go before the state senate. PPFFA represents more than 10,000 professional fire fighters statewide, and hopes to amend the current law so that it identifies the link between cancer and occupational exposure to certain health hazards. One of these hazards is asbestos, a toxic mineral known to cause multiple health conditions like the rare cancer mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma patients usually show no symptoms of the cancer until several years after the initial exposure to asbestos. This can make treatment difficult, which contributes to the overall poor prognosis associated with mesothelioma.

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Fire Fighter Layoffs Possible in St. John's County
The St. Augustine Record (09/15/09); Smith, Chad

The possibility that some St. Johns County (Florida) fire fighters will be laid off will likely be a step closer to becoming reality when the County Commission discusses the proposed 2010 budget that includes the fee that funds a large chunk of the fire department. The county and the firefighters' union are at odds over the 3 percent pay raise the county is contractually obligated to give the roughly 200 union employees. Paul Apfelbach, vice president of IAFF Local 3865, said three union members left the department last week for jobs in Jacksonville with the possibility of layoffs looming.

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Prince George's County Budget Cuts Cited In Delayed Response
WUSA 9 (09/19/09)

Kenny Lowe's neighbors became so frustrated when fire fighters were slow in responding his burning home that they used a garden hose and fire extinguisher in an effort to keep the fire in check. Prince George's County officials confirm that the first fire engine showed up at the home 11 minutes after Lowe's girlfriend Becky Shook first contacted 911. When that engine arrived it was only staffed with two fire fighters. Andrew Pantelis, vice president of IAFF Local 1619, says there were significant staffing problems at the closest fire stations that made for a slow response. He says recent budget cuts have left only two career fire fighters on duty during nights and weekends at the Bowie Volunteer Fire Department, a little more than two miles from Kenny Lowe's home. Those two fire fighters were already on an ambulance call, leaving no one else in the station to immediately respond to the house fire.

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Audit: Firefighters Not Ready for Nuclear Lab Fire
Associated Press (09/16/09); Holmes, Sue Major

Los Alamos County, New Mexico, fire fighters do not have sufficient training to handle the fires they could encounter at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to the Department of Energy's inspector general. For 20 years, the fire department has held a contract to protect the laboratory, which has areas of radioactive and explosive materials. The inspector general's report reviewed the past 11 years of agreements between the Los Alamos Fire Department and the laboratory. Officials from both the laboratory and the fire department say the report was too focused on past problems rather than what has been done to fix them.

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Tulsa Fire Fighters Save Jobs With Political Action
International Association of Fire Fighters (09/11/09)

With the support of Tulsa, OK Local 176 fire fighters, two city council members – one incumbent and one newcomer – won their seats in the recent primary election. Neither the incumbent Bill Christianson nor newcomer Chris Trail will be opposed in November’s general election. Local 176 revved up its political machine after learning some city council members were supporting a budget plan that included a $7.5 million cut to the fire department budget, which could have meant more than 100 fire fighter layoffs. “The bottom line is that you need fire fighters to keep the public safe,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “When our brothers and sisters in Tulsa learned severe cuts to their resources could be on the horizon, they took action. I am very proud of what they have been able to accomplish.”

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Privatization for Grosse Pointe Woods EMS Fuels Public Outcry
C & G News (09/23/09); Moran, Michelle K.

With her adult son, Joseph, at her side to steady her balance, Woods resident Jean Puleo told the City Council she has the city’s in-house paramedics to thank for saving her life. “If we were privatized, I would not be talking to you: I would be dead,” said Puleo, noting that Woods paramedics arrived within three minutes to begin life-saving measures, whereas an outside company would have likely taken 15 minutes to get to her home. Puleo — who suffered a massive heart attack several years ago — was one of a couple dozen residents and workers on hand to voice opposition to a rumored proposal to privatize EMS services.

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Archives (2005-2008)

© copyright 2009 International Association of Fire Fighters

September 23, 2009

The IAFF represents more than 295,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 80 percent of the nation's population. More than 3,100 affiliates and their members protect communities in every state in the United States and in Canada. In addition to city and county fire fighters and emergency medical personnel, the IAFF represents state employees (such as the California Forestry fire fighters), federal workers (such as fire fighters on military installations), and fire and emergency medical workers employed at certain industrial facilities.

The Frontline News Brief includes summaries of news articles related to fire fighters, emergency response and the fire service. It is distributed twice a month to IAFF affiliate leaders and members.

For more information, contact:

Jane Blume
Director of Communications
International Association of Fire Fighters
1750 New York Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 737-8484