San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, the first woman ever to lead the department and the longest-serving big-city fire chief in the country, told her department on Monday she’s retiring. She has agreed to stay on the job until spring to give Mayor London Breed time to find her replacement. Her ideal retirement date, she said, is May 5, 2019, a “small tribute” to the late Mayor Ed Lee, who would have turned 67 that day.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

The first firefighters to arrive on scene of a house fire in Springfield where they were ambushed by a gunman are on leave while a Peer Support Team helps them and the department heal from the trauma. Battalion Chief Mike Caven with the Eugene Springfield Fire Department is praising those five firefighters for their efforts, calling them heroes.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KEZI-TV ABC 9

Citing the “extensive nature” of the request, the City of Scranton needs 30 days to decide if it will provide the employment application of the city fire chief’s son. The Times-Tribune requested a copy of Jacob DeSarno’s employment application earlier this month through the Right To Know Law, after the applicant’s father, Fire Chief Patrick DeSarno, directed the paper to do so.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

A firefighter claims his dreams of being on an elite FDNY rescue squad were crushed when his co-workers began suspecting he is gay. Jason Johnson, 40, a former National Guardsman, says in his Manhattan federal lawsuit filed Monday that he made it to a Special Operations Command unit in 2016, only to be kicked off the team several months later following a bizarre crotch-grabbing incident while riding a firetruck, which resulted in Johnson being branded as “gay.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

Toledo firefighters worry they might have to temporarily close a firehouse if one more back-up fire engine winds up in the repair shop, but councilmen hope a slight budget reconfiguration will help alleviate those fears. Fire Chief Brian Byrd this month told council that crews have been consistently using rigs meant to be in reserve as their front-line equipment when they respond to fires.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade