Westbrook has settled a lawsuit filed by its fire chief and deputy fire chief that alleged the city retaliated against them after they complained about a volunteer firefighter who had been hired as a city fire inspector. The city agreed to pay Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte and Deputy Chief Stephen Sloan $25,000 for their legal fees and other expenses associated with the suit.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Press Herald

Members of City Council are questioning whether a controversial new policy that treats some city fire runs as lower priority is warranted amid concerns over its rocky implementation. Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones led a presentation Monday on the policy he put in place in August that has emergency dispatchers coding runs as emergent and non-emergent, a classification that now deploys crews to some scenes without lights and sirens.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit News

The City Council’s investigative body is moving forward with its own probe into the misuse of $8.2 million in emergency public safety dollars to cover payroll and other expenses. The probe, in part, seeks to determine which employees at city hall were aware of the misuse, according to Councilwoman LaVetta Sparks-Wade, who originally made a request last month to the mayor’s office for financial records and correspondence related to Fund 224.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Indiana Times (nwitimes.com)

A Jacksonville fire captain testified Monday in federal court about what he calls discrimination and retaliation by his fellow firefighters. "I felt rejected and dejected," Capt. Eric Mitchell testified before a jury. Mitchell filed a lawsuit against Division Chief Gail Loput, Fire Chief Kurt Wilson and the city of Jacksonville.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJXT-TV CBS 4 Jacksonville

One year after the mass shooting in Las Vegas hit home the dangers faced by first-responders, Mesa leaders voted to spend $262,000 to equip firefighters and medical teams with body armor. The protection already is available in Chandler, Scottsdale and Tempe, and will be in place in Gilbert this year.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix