Federal investigators have concluded the Georgia Department of Transportation is partly to blame for the fire that destroyed part of I-85 in Atlanta and crippled the region’s traffic for weeks. Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board released a report that found the department’s decision to stockpile construction materials under I-85 contributed to the inferno that destroyed a section of the highway in Buckhead.
- PUB DATE: 4/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Harvey police and fire department employees were hit with major layoffs Tuesday, one day after an adverse court ruling spurred city officials to convene an emergency meeting with workers. Officials did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday but the lawyer who represents both Harvey’s police and fire unions said 18 rank-and-file firefighters and 13 patrolmen are believed to have been let go.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

Capt. Jeanette Woldseth thought of herself as just a firefighter. She didn’t want to be remembered as a female firefighter, even though she was the first in the state. She also didn’t want the attention or focus on her, even when cancer consumed her body. Yet, it’s clear part of Capt. Woldseth’s legacy is that she paved the way for other women to not only join the firefighting ranks, but to succeed in the male-dominated profession.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seattle Times

A former treasurer for the Gladstone, Missouri firefighters union pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to embezzling more than $26,000 from the union. Charles Duddy, 58, of Platte City, Missouri, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to information that charges him with the embezzlement and theft of union funds.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSHB-TV NBC 41 Kansas City

Most fire departments are still doing regular performance reviews, and a few of them may still be happy with the process. However, many departments are clearly not. Some fire departments have even gone so far as to eliminate the performance review process altogether. What’s wrong with the way many fire departments do performance evaluations? And how can the process be improved as to be truly meaningful and valuable for those who use it? When I became a firefighter, decades ago, the performance review process worked like this: Every six months or so, someone in a position of authority would fill out a form which rated individual department members on different characteristics on a scale of one to 10.
- PUB DATE: 4/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1