A federal analysis of a May 2013 fire at the Southwest Inn that killed four Houston firefighters is in "alignment" with earlier local and state reports that cited communication failures and tactics used at the scene of the blaze, Houston Fire Department officials said Monday. The recently released report, from the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is intended "to educate not just the Houston Fire Department, but the entire American fire service," HFD officials said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: houston chronicle

The director of New Hampshire Fire Standards and Training says bullying and a rigorous physical entrance exam are the principle reasons why only one percent of New Hampshire's 8,000 full-time firefighters are women. Director Deb Pendergast told the Portsmouth Herald that the agility test is given once a year for men and women.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMUR-TV ABC 9 Manchester

A college student gets very drunk at a party and posts a video to Vine. A young woman tweets a racial joke. A young man makes explicit claims of sexual conquests on Facebook. Should a fire department take these things into account when conducting a hiring process? Employers in all professions increasingly look at applicants' social media and web presence as part of the hiring process.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

Jarring video showing a man stabbing two San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) firefighters was shown in a courtroom Friday during a preliminary hearing for the accused attacker. The short, 10-second clip – captured on a body camera worn by a security guard for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) – shows the chaotic moments when suspect Ryan Allen Jones, 34, lunged at firefighters Benjamin Vernon, 37, and his partner, Alex Wallbrett, 32, on June 24 in East Village in downtown San Diego.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNSD-TV NBC San Diego

Several Columbus firefighters are under investigation for damage to city property, and a supervisor has been reassigned after an unauthorized, alcohol-fueled party at a Downtown fire station. Fire Chief Kevin O’Connor ordered the investigation this week after city workers discovered empty alcohol containers and damage at Station 2, 150 E.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: columbus dispatch