Since the 2008 financial crisis, private equity firms have increasingly taken over public services like emergency care and firefighting, often with dire effects. A Tennessee woman slipped into a coma and died after an ambulance company took so long to assemble a crew that one worker had time for a cigarette break.
- PUB DATE: 6/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york times

Wildfires continued to burn in California Sunday, scorching nearly 60,000 acres and claiming two lives as 4,500 firefighters battled the six blazes, which stretched from the Klammath National Forest in Northern California to the Mexican border in San Diego County, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, The Los Angeles Times reported.
- PUB DATE: 6/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: fox news

It’s a rumor that started within a week of Congress passing the legislation that created FirstNet, and it’s one that just won’t die, particularly during in the heated political environment that exists during the months leading up to a presidential election. There are multiple versions with different wrinkles offered, but the basic premise is fairly straightforward: Republicans will want to kill FirstNet quickly, if the party gains control of the presidency and Congress in November.
- PUB DATE: 6/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: urgent communications

PHOTO - An FDNY truck responding to a fire collided with a MTA bus in Queens Sunday afternoon, leaving 14 people hurt, including 2 firefighters and bus passengers. The accident happened at the intersection of Ditmars Blvd and 21st Street in Astoria. The MTA bus ended up on the sidewalk, just feet from going into a storefront, and narrowly missing people eating at an outdoor café on the corner.
- PUB DATE: 6/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV 7online.com

The debate about how much overtime city firefighters receive will continue, even though the City Council voted to approve a new contract for the fire union. City Councilor Brad Lown, who cast the lone vote against the new contract, said this week he did so because of what he believes is excessive overtime paid to city firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 6/27/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: seacoast online