The president of the Syracuse police union said it's ridiculous that Ted Ackerman would fear police officers might shoot him as he hid after a fatal hit and run last year. Ackerman, a city firefighter, fled the scene of a fatal accident he witnessed, then hid in the basement of Pastime Athletic Club while police banged on the door upstairs.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Syracuse Post-Standard & Syracuse.com

It took a legal battle lasting more than two years for Tanja Vidovic to return to her job as a Tampa firefighter in early April. But after only three months back at Tampa Fire Rescue, her future at the department is in doubt again. Vidovic, who won a federal discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the department in December, is now accused of being untruthful and creating a hostile work environment, her husband Jared Vidovic told the Tampa Bay Times.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Tribune and TBO.com

A recent fatal house fire in Bartonville drew attention to a little known but vital system of inter-agency agreements that help firefighters get help when they need it. Mutual aid is nothing new. Most people know that if a fire is too big, a department will call in reinforcements or backups. But how those additional resources are called and in what order remains a mystery to most people not involved in firefighting.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Peoria Journal Star

Las Vegas Paramedic/Firefighter Matthew Driscoll knew he had transported human trafficking victims in an ambulance. So when an injury forced him into light duty, he had an idea about how to spend that time: he started working on a training program to help first responders, hospital employees, counselors and social workers recognize signs they were encountering trafficking victims.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Riverside Fire Authority is seeking to recoup a six-figure amount in lost revenue from a discrepancy over levy collection, and it’s breaking new legal ground with a lawsuit against Lewis County and the Washington State Department of Revenue. At issue is whether levy limits — state laws governing the amount of property taxes that can be collected for a given levy — can be ignored when correcting a previous “underlevy,” a year in which the taxing authority failed to collect the proper amount from taxpayers.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Centralia Chronicle