It's been about six years since Jon Sprague's career with Spokane Valley Fire came to an end because of a disagreement over religious emails he sent to fellow firefighters with his work account. That disagreement resulted in a six-year legal battle which eventually made its way to the state supreme court.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXLY.com

A 40-year-old corporate jet pilot, is the new chief of the city’s 115-member volunteer fire department. Mayor Richard Dziekan administered the chief’s oath to Robert Laskowski, Jr., a 22-year member of the East End Hose company, before more than 100 people Saturday morning at Derby Middle School. Laskowski’s wife, Melissa, pinned the chief’s badge on her husband’s uniform.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Connecticut Post

As Engine 33 of the Buffalo Fire Department battled an intense fire in the attic of an East Side home Thursday night, a firefighter became separated from his hose, disoriented and couldn't find his way out. He tried to press the "man-down" button on his portable radio but was unable to. He took his gloves off in an effort to activate the button but could not, causing severe burns to his hands and wrists.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Buffalo News

Paramedic Rob Ravndal went on hundreds of emergency calls before the one response that ultimately ended his career at Lincoln Fire and Rescue. The trauma of that call, a 3-year-old's drowning in 2015, sent the father of young children into a spiral. Nightmares. Breakdowns. A general sense of fear. Even after his bosses pulled him off the ambulance, Ravndal struggled at work and at home as he grappled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lincoln Journal Star

A city medic is temporarily off the job after being bitten, kicked and spit on by a 17-year-old girl with reported mental issues, while police officials and the president of the Detroit firefighters union dispute whether there was a proper police response to the incident. Police on Tuesday were called about a woman causing a disturbance in the 16000 block of Washburn on Detroit's west side.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit News