A state commission has opened an investigation into the Houston Fire Department’s safety standards after the firefighters’ union accused the department of failing to protect its members from carcinogens to which they are routinely exposed. Texas Commission on Fire Protection investigators will examine whether HFD complies with state laws requiring departments to clean protective clothing, called bunker gear, and maintain a standard operating procedure to do so.
- PUB DATE: 7/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

City officials here and those of a fire district that serves part of the city both say a dispute over their longtime agreement could have dire budget consequences. In December, the city canceled its 23-year-old pact with the Robertson Fire Protection District, saying the contract’s rising cost was jeopardizing other city services.
- PUB DATE: 7/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Portsmouth Fire Lt. Russ Osgood was next to firefighter Sarah Fox the day she died from cancer at Concord Hospital when he learned another fire brother, Jeff Bokum, had the disease as well. The toll Osgood faced in that moment at the hospital was emotional, but a financial one came shortly after. Osgood and firefighters worked to raise thousands of dollars for Bokum’s out-of-pocket costs during his six-month battle as they had for Fox in the months before her death, cancer benefits not yet covered for fighters.
- PUB DATE: 7/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Foster's Daily Democrat

Just like in citizens, drinking and driving is not a new problem in public safety. For some volunteer fire companies, having volunteer firefighters show up at the scene of a fire while under the influence of alcohol is also not a new problem. Even organizations with career staff may have to deal with crewmembers showing up to a shift planning to firefight while under the influence (FFUI) or while intoxicated (FFWI).
- PUB DATE: 7/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Mesa firefighters rescued a woman whose car had plunged into a canal during a storm that blew through the area Monday afternoon. The woman's car veered into a canal near Alma School Road south of the Loop 202 freeway in north Mesa, according to the Mesa Fire Department. When responding units arrived they found the car submerged upright.
- PUB DATE: 7/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix