Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Utica fire Chief Russell Brooks will take the city to court. Brooks has sought to be recognized by the city for compensatory benefits due to a medical condition he says is a product of his response to ground zero in New York City following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch

In the early hours of the most destructive firestorm in California history, officials in Napa and Sonoma counties knew their local first responders would be overwhelmed and turned to a statewide mutual-aid system designed to swiftly brinThey got help, but they didn’t get what they asked for — not nearly.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

In August 2015, a firefighter broke protocol and went outside his chain of command to email then Division Chief Jace Kohan. In a regimented organization like Tampa Fire Rescue, chain of command is part of daily operations. But Kohan told a judge and seven-person jury Wednesday that firefighter Mark Pattison wasn’t reprimanded for his email, or even scolded.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Bay.com

A North Carolina county has given a rural volunteer fire department an ultimatum after its refusal to take down a Confederate flag waving over its station. The Charlotte Observer reports that Montgomery County commissioners have decided to restrict funding for the Uwharrie Volunteer Fire Department if it will not take the flag down and end a dispute that has simmered for months.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Charlotte Observer

The 80 new firefighters Columbus plans to hire next year could be among the first to really understand the risk of cancer they face on the job. For the 50 city firefighters who are expected to retire in 2018 and thousands of others, it could be too late. For years, firefighters have shed their masks and other gear after flames were knocked down, not knowing they were breathing carcinogens and exposing their skin to chemicals that could lead to cancer.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1