A D.C. firefighter was critically injured after he was struck by another fire department vehicle late Wednesday night. The accident happened as firefighters were responding to a rowhouse fire on the 800 block of F Street NE at 11:30 p.m. Fire officials say 28-year-old Dane Smothers Jr. was preparing hose lines and other equipment when he was struck by a ladder truck arriving at the scene.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Washington

The St. Paul fire chief recently suspended a captain for five days, saying he “engaged in fraudulent and deceptive conduct related to requests and use of sick leave with pay.” The city said Mike Hamburger’s use of sick time cost it $14,000. The figure doesn’t include the cost of having firefighters fill the open posts, which is frequently at overtime rates.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Paul Pioneer Press - Twin Cities.com

The Orange County Fire Rescue Department is attempting to reduce response times with a new GPS technology that uses locations of its vehicles to dispatch firefightersThe department started using Automatic Vehicle Location for dispatch in June to make its operations more efficient, Fire Rescue Chief Otto Drozd III said.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel

When the ATF held a press conference in West, Texas more than a year ago to announce a big finding in the 2013 fertilizer plant explosion, there was a lot riding on it. Hundreds of lawsuits had been filed against the fertilizer manufacturer. Much further reaching, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was working on a rewrite of one of two major sets of federal rules governing chemical plant safety.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

People tell their doctors about family history of cancer, heart disease and other common conditions that have a genetic link. But when Dr. Matilde Castiel, Worcester’s commissioner of health and human services, asked seven city firefighters attending a training on opioid addiction Tuesday whether any of their relatives had an addiction, none raised his hand.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram & Gazette