Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department firefighters at a Moreno Valley station were ordered Monday, July 18, to take down a pro-law enforcement flag from one of the engines. The flag - which was black and white with a blue stripe through the middle - features the "thin blue line," which is commonly used to commemorate fallen police officers.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the press enterprise

A Commonwealth Court panel has ruled the widow of a Williamsport fire chief who died from gastric cancer is not entitled workers' compensation benefits that would amount to about $40,000 a year. The panel Monday in a 2-1 decision found the October 2011 death of Platoon Chief Jeffrey Cole was not related to cancers suffered by firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pennlive.com

Augusta’s personnel board has upheld the terminations of two firefighters who admitted picking up items from a Columbia County wreck scene. After a two-hour hearing Wednesday, the board quickly voted 8-0 to affirm. Member J.R. Riles said the board wanted to send a message. “The fire department and the police department, you’ve got to be able to trust them to take care of your personal stuff when you’re in a difficult situation,” Riles said.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: augusta chronicle

In the latest volley involving a two-year contract dispute, the city and the firefighters’ union are squabbling over whether firefighters were forced to work on a new community garden located behind the South Massey Street fire station. The Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191 filed an improper practice charge with the state Public Employees Relation Board against the city, claiming firefighters were told by the city that they must work on the vegetable garden behind the city’s Emma Flower Taylor Fire Station.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: watertown daily times

A Nashville district fire chief is in trouble after several of his Facebook posts were published on a local blog. District Chief Tim Lankford has been pulled from the field and is now doing administrative work while the Nashville Fire Department continues its investigation. In a letter to Lankford from Deputy Director Steve Holt, the department began investigating when the posts were published on the blog EastNashville.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKRN-TV ABC 2 Nashville