The Syracuse firefighters union says the city is refusing benefits to a firefighter who had a heart attack after battling a blaze. Firefighter Bill Adsitt was denied a disability claim regarding a quadruple bypass surgery he had earlier this year. A doctor hired by the city determined the bypass an "elective procedure.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Syracuse.com

Canton Safety Director Andrea Perry told City Council on Monday that the city will rehire 10 firefighters by Sept. 3. The city laid off the firefighters April 29 as part of an effort to reduce a $5.1 million budget deficit, attributed to decreasing income tax revenue and state budget cuts. A Federal Emergency Management Agency Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant awarded earlier this month will bring Fire Department staffing from 134 to 144.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CantonRep.com

When Fairfax County firefighter Nicole Mittendorff hanged herself in April, a fellow firefighter likened the suicide to a “fire bell in the night” demanding an urgent response. It is not known why the 31-year-old took her life, but Mittendorff’s death stirred anger about lewd and harassing comments that had been made about her in a popular online forum.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Washington Post

Four minutes. That could mean the difference between life and death. When Kennewick city officials were considering spending $4.7 million to build and equip a fifth fire station, they talked a lot about getting more quickly to fires and medical emergencies. The last fire station in Kennewick was built 20 years ago.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tri-City Herald

Oak Lawn is hailing a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision in its longstanding litigation over staffing with the village's firefighters union as a significant victory for taxpayers. On Aug. 12, the appellate court upheld a 2015 Illinois Labor Relations Board's ruling that found Oak Lawn not liable for $3.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune