FirstNet provided the city of Whiteville, N.C., with critical voice and data communications throughout Hurricane Florence and subsequent flooding in the area, passing a “big test” regarding the resiliency and flexibility associated with the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN), according to a Whiteville official.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Urgentcomm

Former Fire Chief Mark O’Brien says he will fight his firing by the town manager, and will likely seek a public hearing before the Board of Selectmen, saying in an interview Thursday he “has nothing to hide.” Town Manager Pat Finnigan confirmed O’Brien’s employment was terminated Sept. 18, but would not provide further details, citing personnel privacy laws.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seacoastonline.com

Easton's firefighter union says it does not want the city to start hiring part-time employees. The union laid out its grievances with possible part-time hires in a Facebook post on Monday. In the post, the union says hiring part-timers would equate to a cut in staffing and says the city isn't willing to send-part time employees to the Allentown Fire Academy for training, something Mayor Sal Panto denies.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFMZ-TV Channel 69

Bellingham Fire Department personnel made 15 training attempts to intubate a dead man as he lay in a body bag on the floor of the apparatus bay at Station 1, according to an investigation into the incident submitted Sept. 4 by a Seattle law group and released by the city Wednesday to The Bellingham Herald.
- PUB DATE: 9/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald

Like their colleagues in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago, firefighters in Buffalo believe there's a link between hearing loss and the sharp, piercing sounds of the sirens that accompany them to fires. But four years later, the lawsuits they filed against the siren maker are ending and no one on either side is claiming victory.
- PUB DATE: 9/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Buffalo News