| IAFF Home | Local Scene | Fit to Survive | IAFF History |

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.
 

"Firefighters Are Not Rushing to Hand Out an Endorsement" (The Hill)
"Bargaining Bill Introduced in House" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Amid loss comes a search for answers" (The Baltimore Sun)
"New Orleans Fire Fighters' Battle Over Pay Continues" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"MSNBC Special Report Probes Fire Fighter Deaths" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Firefighters' Evaluate Safety Equipment Effectiveness" (KRISTV.com (Corpus Christi, TX))
"Capitol Hill and the Race for First-Responder Relief" (Telecom Policy Report)
"How Much Trans Fat Is Safe?" (International Association of Fire Fighters)
"Study: Could Firefighters Help Police in Saginaw?" (ABC12.com)
"Changes proposed for Arizona Sept. 11 memorial" (Mohave Daily News)
"Proposed Contract Turned Down" (WIBV TV )
"Montreal firefighters will become first responders" (CBC News)
"Devices Could Disable Terror Bombs" (San Francisco Chronicle)
"The Effects of Fighting the War on Terrorism Upon Public Safety, Public Health, and Other Emergency Response Professionals" (Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International)

"Frontline News Brief" is Sponsored By:

Firefighters Are Not Rushing to Hand Out an Endorsement
The Hill (02/07/07); Youngman, Sam

International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger has met with Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) and others, and plans to meet with other Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to determine the union's endorsement for the upcoming 2008 presidential election. During the 2004 election, the IAFF endorsed and backed Senator John Kerry (D-MA) well before Kerry's candidacy took off and he won the Democratic primary. The IAFF evenly comprises Democratic, Republican and independent voters, says Schaitberger. The New Hampshire affiliate has a strong network of people to work in the campaign, making the IAFF endorsement in that early voting primary state much sought after by candidates. Schaitberger says the IAFF will announce its endorsement in late summer or early fall.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Bargaining Bill Introduced in House
International Association of Fire Fighters (02/12/07)

The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Dale Kildee (D-MI) and John Duncan (R-TN). IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger has identified the Cooperation Act, HR 980, as the IAFF's highest legislative priority. "This new congress offers the best opportunity we've ever had to finally achieve our long-awaited goal of ensuring basic collective bargaining rights for every fire fighter in the nation," Schaitberger says. "Today I call on every IAFF local to help make HR 980 a reality. We need fire fighters in every community in America to contact their member of Congress to urge them to co-sponsor this historic legislation."
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Amid loss comes a search for answers
The Baltimore Sun (02/11/07); Olson, Bradley and Scharper, Julie

Officials revealed details regarding the death of Racheal Wilson, a Baltimore City Fire Department recruit who died during a training exercise February 9. Another recruit and a veteran fire fighter were also burned when they lifted Wilson through a third-floor window after she collapsed in a burning rowhouse. The 29-year-old mother of two died shortly after being taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center . The cause of death is unknown. Investigators from the Baltimore Police Department's arson detection squad, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Agency are assisting the Fire Department with the probe. No city recruit has died before during practice operations. Rick Schluderberg, president of the Baltimore City Local 734, says the union is focused on "paying respects to a fallen officer" and helping Wilson's parents fly in from Denver .
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

New Orleans Fire Fighters' Battle Over Pay Continues
International Association of Fire Fighters (02/08/07)

The Times-Picayune is reporting that a Louisiana state judge has ordered the City of New Orleans to recalculate how it will pay New Orleans Local 632 fire fighters for years of unpaid raises. This is the latest development in the fire fighters' longstanding pay dispute with the city. "It's time for the city and the mayor to honor its financial commitment to the fire fighters and compensate them as mandated by law," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "This has gone on too long." The salary dispute is arguably the one issue causing the most outrage among Local 632 members because fire fighters have grappled with it for decades.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

MSNBC Special Report Probes Fire Fighter Deaths
International Association of Fire Fighters

MSNBC issued a special report on 15 fire fighter deaths since 1998 that the report says were the result of PASS alarm failures. "It's a crime that that the Bush administration continues to propose budgets that cut funding for NIOSH year after year," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "We need NIOSH to be able to do more to safeguard fire fighters, not less." The IAFF alerted the fire fighting community to PASS problems in November 2005, immediately after it was notified by NIOSH that testing revealed flaws.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Firefighters' Evaluate Safety Equipment Effectiveness
KRISTV.com (Corpus Christi, TX) (02/06/07)

The National Fire Protection Association is about to introduce new standards for the Personal Alert Safety Systems that fire fighters wear on their backs. The systems sound a loud, beeping alarm when a fire fighter stops moving for 30 seconds, allowing those who hear the alarm to locate the fire fighter. The alarms can save the lives of fire fighters who are trapped in burning buildings, are incapacitated, or who are obscured by smoke and fire. A federal safety investigation has found that certain brands of the noise-based systems have malfunctioned when the systems are exposed to excessive water or heat, resulting in the deaths of 15 U.S. fire fighters since 1998.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Capitol Hill and the Race for First-Responder Relief
Telecom Policy Report (02/05/07) Vol. 5, No. 3

The September 30 deadline for distributing interoperable communications grants to first responders will not be affected by the Interoperable Emergency Communications Act. According to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) and Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), who introduced the legislation, the bill was crafted to offer the National Telecommunications and Information Administration "more guidance on the award of $1 billion in interoperable emergency communications grants to police, fire fighters and emergency response medical personnel." Congress set the deadline for releasing the funds in the Call Home Act, which was enacted in December 2006. Meanwhile, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is likely to revive the "Public Safety Broadband Trust" plan of a year ago, which called for licensing another 30 megahertz in the upper 700 MHz band for a next-generation public safety network for the entire country, in an effort to further the cause of interoperable communications. The Federal Communications Commission opposed the plan, but McCain says now is the time to press the issue, considering a firm date has been set to make the spectrum available. "That is why I support the allocation to public safety and the creation of a Public Safety Broadband Trust and will introduce legislation in the near future to provide this spectrum to these valiant police officers, fire fighters, sheriffs and other first responders," says McCain.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

How Much Trans Fat Is Safe?
International Association of Fire Fighters (02/01/07)

We are what we eat, and one of the biggest threats to your health comes from trans fats, artificially made fats that clog arteries and increase levels of bad cholesterol in your body - and which are linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Study: Could Firefighters Help Police in Saginaw?
ABC12.com (02/05/07); Borrasso, Jennifer

A new 28-page report from a criminal justice consultant group recommends that fire fighters in Saginaw, Michigan, help local police with data entry, police reports and similar tasks. The report claims that local fire fighters have plenty of time to perform these tasks between response calls because they are at a fire scene for only two hours per day. The report indicates that Saginaw's crime problems necessitate greater collaboration between fire fighters and police, with fire stations becoming mini precincts. However, the report does not recommend that fire fighters take on the full responsibilities of police. Police union officials criticized the report's recommendations.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Changes proposed for Arizona Sept. 11 memorial
Mohave Daily News (02/05/07); Davenport, Paul

Months after the dedication of Arizona's September 11 memorial sparked controversy over its design and contents, citizens and state officials continue to consider what changes, if any to make. Critics maintain that the concrete-and-steel memorial dedicated on the five-year anniversary of the 2001 attacks isn't focused enough on the victims of the attacks. They also argue that some of the 54 laser-etched inscriptions either are inaccurate or could be seen as anti-American.The memorial commission's chair, Phoenix, AZ Local 493 President Billy Shields, has proposed changes that include putting up new plaques near the entrance to describe the attacks and to provide explanatory information about the memorial itself.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Proposed Contract Turned Down
WIBV TV (Niagara Falls, NY)

Buffalo, NY Local 282  fire fighters have voted to turn down a proposed contract that would have given them their first raise in more than five years. Local 282 President Joseph Foley says , "We're going to work to negotiate a contract, and when the city's ready to come back to the table again and when we're all ready, I don't see any reason not to continue to try to negotiate in the future." Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, "The agreement was negotiated in good faith and it provided our fire fighters with an opportunity to vote to lift the wage freeze. Unfortunately they chose not to."
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Montreal firefighters will become first responders
CBC News (02/01/07)

Montreal fire fighters can now respond to emergency medical calls and provide emergency treatment, thanks to a new deal with the city. Montreal fire fighters  reached an agreement with the city of Montreal to provide what is called "first responder service" at every fire station on the island.  be equipped to provide first response care over the next three years. The deal has angered some in the demerged city of Cote St. Luc , where a volunteer first response team has been providing service for years.  
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

Devices Could Disable Terror Bombs
San Francisco Chronicle (02/07/07) P. A3; Davidson, Keay

Police, fire fighters, FBI agents and other first responders could eventually have access to devices capable of disabling nuclear weapons and dirty bombs, according to an announcement from the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). These Render Safe devices, which are still classified, would be used by authorities in the field in the event that nuclear experts are unable to reach a threat-scene in time. The Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST), based in Nevada, is the first U.S. line of defense against nuclear-based terror attacks. Researchers have spent years creating the Render Safe devices; the NNSA says it will soon begin field-testing the gadgets. Security reasons prevented NNSA officials from detailing how the devices work. In related news, California officials have been proactive about the threat of nuclear terrorism, holding a preparedness meeting in January and working with federal authorities on a statewide plan. The San Francisco Fire Department is using federal funding to purchase 150 radiation-detection devices.
(Web Link)
Return to Headlines

The Effects of Fighting the War on Terrorism Upon Public Safety, Public Health, and Other Emergency Response Professionals
Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International (02/01/07) Vol. 13, No. 1; Everly Jr., George S.; Castellano, Cherie

Terrorism inflicts psychological effects on a population, and while fire fighters are more resilient than the general public, they too may be affected by a major traumatic event such as a terrorist attack. In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine surveyed and evaluated 1,138 first-response workers. It found that 20 percent reported symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Interestingly, only 3 percent sought mental health services before being contacted by Mount Sinai for this screening. In Kuwait, a survey of 2,387 fire fighters in 1996 found that 18.5 percent showed PTSD symptoms four-and-a-half years after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In a 1991 survey, 28.8 percent of those involved with a mass shooting incident in Kileen, Texas, displayed PTSD symptoms. After one year, 17.7 still displayed PTSD. No cases of delayed PTSD were discovered. About 50 percent of those with traumatic disorders recovered after three years.

Return to Headlines
 

© copyright 2006 International Association of Fire Fighters