A former division chief for the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District who alleged in a lawsuit he was fired due to his age has been awarded $704,000 by a jury. Following a monthlong trial in San Bernardino Superior Court, the seven-woman, five-man jury announced its verdict Monday, determining George Corley’s age was a “substantial motivating reason” for his termination, court records show.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Redlands Daily Facts

We regret to pass on the Line of Duty Death of Freeport (IL) FD Firefighter/EMT Michael D. Pontius (IAFF Local 441). Firefighter Pontius, 58, passed away 2 says ago, on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 from Line of Duty injuries sustained from exposure to toxic substance while operating at a house fire. It’s important to note that the fire that killed him was in 2001.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firefighter close calls

The Las Cruces firefighter whose wife was pictured breastfeeding their infant son while wearing his uniform, and the union that represents city firefighters, defended the Las Cruces Fire Department on Wednesday, saying the agency is not against breastfeeding. The support for LCFD came a day after the controversy surrounding the photo made national news.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Cruces Sun-News

By now you’ve probably seen the video: A CHP helicopter hovers over Morro Rock while an emergency responder dangles and spins on a rope as he’s lowered down to a stranded, wetsuit-clad man frozen in a tiny crevice on the 600-foot-tall volcanic mound. The trapped man was Michael John Paul Banks, 27, of Fresno, who reached viral notoriety last week after his plan to scale the Rock to propose to his girlfriend via the FaceTime video app reached a snag when he got stuck coming down the east side of the cliff.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the tribune

Corpus Christi is serious about the most recent contract offered to the local firefighters' union being the "last, best" option, and the City Council wants to make sure everyone — namely the union members who are set to vote on the offer — knows it. Still, union leaders are expected to encourage members to reject the offer, which was delivered last month, next week.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: caller times