Allentown's firefighters made a public plea to the City Council on Wednesday to invest in new firetrucks for the city, saying the current equipment shortage has reached a "crisis" level. Keith Pierce, the city fire department's safety representative, said that as of this week, all of the city's reserve fire equipment has been moved to the front line due to breakdowns with several pieces of the city's first responding equipment.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Allentown Morning Call

"Chief charged with embezzlement." "Paramedic takes her life." "Firefighters face discipline." It doesn't take a headline like those or a medical degree to realize the job of protecting lives and property takes a toll on firefighters. Cumulative stress, traumatic events and the pressure to live up to mythical standards set by us and the public results in firefighters making horrific personal choices.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

It has a Cummins ISC 350 HP with exhaust brake; Allison EV3000 5-speed transmission; 1,500-gpm Waterous CSU pump; 1,000-gallon polypropylene tank; 30-gallon foam cell; Onan 7.5-kW diesel generator; and two 1¾-inch preconnects, one 2½-inch preconnect, and an extended front bumper with trash line—all with foam

 

A drunken man with a lit cigarette passed out on the toilet in a Spanaway Walmart bathroom and caught his underwear on fire Monday, according to Central Pierce Fire & Rescue. Firefighters were dispatched to the store at 20307 Mountain Highway E. about 6:30 p.m. after fire alarms went off, Central Pierce spokesman Brian Levings said Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 8:43:31 PM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7

Fire Chief Gary Baar is wrapping up 35 years of firefighting with the city upon his retirement at the end of this month. He has been the chief since 2006 and assistant chief since 2000 through a period of great change in a small-city fire department. On Monday, Mayor Scott Korthuis stood — in a chamber that included at least 12 blue-uniformed career or volunteer firefighters — and read a long statement of all that Baar has meant to the department, from his loyalty to his compassion to his service in professional organizations.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 6:12:34 PM - SOURCE: Lyndentribune