Harford Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Chip Chidester died Sunday from injuries sustained while battling a 30-acre brush fire.

The fire took place on March 11 in Lenox Township, with Harford on scene providing mutual aid. Chidester suffered a serious leg fracture while battling the fire, and died from complications of the injury, WNEP reports.

Flags across Susquehanna County were lowered to half-staff Tuesday in honor of Chidester, following a directive from Governor Josh Shapiro.

Just a day before his passing, the department held a benefit to support Chidester as he recovered from his injuries.

A public viewing will be held Saturday at the Hartford Volunteer Fire Company.

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Shelly Bradbury – The Denver Post

For the first time in 16 years, the Denver Fire Department won’t train new firefighters this year because the agency is fully staffed, a spokesman confirmed Monday.

Fire officials last week decided to postpone the start of a new training academy until 2026 because the department is at 99.4% of its fully authorized strength of 1,114 employees, spokesman Luis Cedillo said.

The last time the department went a full year without holding at least one training academy was in 2009, he said.

The city’s Civil Service Commission notified applicants on Friday that the emergency medical technician training expected to start in May and the firefighter training expected to start in July were both postponed until 2026, executive director Gracie Perez said.

The commission will continue to move people through the hiring process so that the city has a pool of qualified applicants when the training academies reopen next year, Perez said. The commission has about 55 people in the running for the EMT training academy and 196 potential recruits for the firefighter academy, she said.

Another 600 applicants for the jobs at the fire department have already been screened out, she said.

The city had expected to hire eight EMT recruits and 24 firefighter recruits in 2025, Perez said. The number of recruits in each academy class and the number of classes per year regularly vary depending on the fire department’s staffing needs.

The Denver Fire Department expects only 11 retirements in 2025, which would put the agency at about 98.4% of its full staffing at the end of the year, Cedillo said.

“It has nothing to do with budget, it’s all related to staffing needs,” he said.

The pause on new firefighters comes as both the Denver Police Department and the Denver Sheriff Department have struggled to maintain full staffing in recent years.

The Denver Police Department is just over 90% staffed, with 1,532 officers and cadets of an authorized strength of 1,639 sworn officers. The Denver Sheriff Department is at about 71% of its full staffing, with 611 sworn staff out of a maximum 859.

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Corrected 3:37 p.m. April 28, 2025: This story was updated to correct the name of the Denver Fire Department spokesman.

©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at denverpost.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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A bill that establishes a statewide inventory of firefighting equipment won final approval in Texas Wednesday, texastribune.org reported.

The bill, a response to the historic wildfires in the Texas Panhandle last year, now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, the report said.

The bill creates a database of statewide firefighting equipment that is available during a wildfire. The inventory will include descriptions of the equipment, allow for searches by location and equipment types, and have contact information for fire departments, according to the report.

The database will be operated by Texas A&M Forest Service, a state agency that manages Texas’ forests and natural resources. The agency already tracks emergency response equipment at fire stations, according to a state official. The bill makes that information widely accessible to fire departments statewide, including volunteer fire departments, which often operate on shoestring budgets and old equipment in rural areas. The agency would also be required to update the database annually.

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THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (April 29, 2025) – Leaders of The Woodlands Township gathered with representatives from Harris County and the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization for a blessing and unveiling of the nation’s newest Baby Box. Blessing of the 338^th Safe Haven Baby Box took place at The Woodlands Township Fire Station No. 6 Monday, April 28, 2025, the city said in a press release. 

This life-saving device provides a secure, anonymous option for mothers in crisis to surrender their newborns safely, legally and compassionately. Installed on the exterior wall of The Woodlands Fire Station No. 6, the Baby Box ensures that surrendered infants are immediately cared for by medical personnel, with a silent alarm system that alerts first responders the moment the door is opened.

“Installing this Safe Haven Baby Box represents our community’s unwavering commitment to preserving life and offering hope,” said Township Vice Chairman Craig Eissler. “This box is more than a piece of equipment—it’s a symbol of compassion, second chances and the power of providing a safe option when it’s needed most.”

The Woodlands Fire Chief Palmer Buck opened the ceremony that included remarks from The Woodlands Township Vice Chairman Craig Eissler, Township Director Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, along with Landon Reed, representing Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey, Pct. 3, and Monica Kelsey, Founder/CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes. Deacon Joe Mignogna of Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic Church gave the blessing for the Baby Box in honor of the children and families it may serve in the future.

“Last summer, six newborn infants were abandoned in the Greater Houston area. Two babies did not survive. This year, The Woodlands Township has provided mothers in crisis with a better option, a choice that is lifesaving for the baby, while being legal and anonymous for the parent,” said Township Director Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.   “The Township is honored to be the first in what will hopefully become a network of Baby Boxes blanketing Southeast Texas.”  

For more information about the Texas Safe Haven Law or the Safe Haven Baby Boxes, please visit shbb.org.

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R. Christian Smith
Chicago Tribune
(TNS)

A committee of the Aurora City Council last week moved forward a nearly $35 million project to build a new headquarters for the Aurora Fire Department after holding it for questions and discussion through multiple meetings.

It is now set to go before the City Council Committee of the Whole at its next meeting on May 6.

The proposed new fire department headquarters would go on city-owned land next to the current Aurora Police Department headquarters at 1200 E. Indian Trail Road, expanding the site into a public safety campus. It would hold not only the administration of the fire department but also a relocated Fire Station 4, moving it from its current location at 800 Michels Ave., and space for the Aurora Emergency Management Agency.

The building is expected to be two stories, roughly 29,800 square feet and hold four bay doors for the building’s firefighting side, according to past reporting. Significant site work is also expected, including new parking areas, entrances and exits to the site and a plaza.

The Aurora City Council’s Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee previously approved resolutions establishing a public safety campus subdivision and setting a plan for the site.

Over three meetings in the last few weeks, the Infrastructure and Technology Committee has been reviewing two more resolutions related to the project: one to approve the $29.5 million construction of the new Aurora Fire Department headquarters, and another that roughly doubles the dollar amount of a contract with Cordogan Clark of Aurora for architectural, design, engineering and construction services to a total cost of around $2.2 million.

In total, the project is expected to cost the city $34.9 million, according to a presentation given by Aurora’s Chief Financial Officer Chris Minick at an April 15 meeting. Additional costs include the purchase of technology and furniture for the new headquarters as well as utility connections, builders risk insurance and contingencies.

The contract with Cordogan Clark is proposed to be increased because the amount was negotiated as a percentage of the construction cost, which rose from an original estimation of around $15.5 million to its currently proposed amount.

The estimated price to construct the project rose because of inflation and the scale of the project, which increased in part because a space for the Aurora Emergency Management Agency was added to the proposed building, Aurora Assistant Fire Chief Mike Kaufman told the Infrastructure and Technology Committee at its April 7 meeting.

He said the building is expected to last 50 to 70 years, and that staff has done a lot of work to make sure the department’s needs and future growth were considered without unnecessary spending.

The proposed new combined fire department headquarters and fire station offers a number of benefits, Kaufman said at the April 15 committee meeting, which include reduced response times for area residents, rooms for fire department training and events, secure fueling areas for fire and police vehicles as well as more of