Families of five firefighters who died or were critically injured in the infamous 2005 Black Sunday blaze in The Bronx were awarded a whopping $183 million in damages Monday. The jury found the city of New York and the landlord were responsible for the injuries — and assigned 80% of the blame to the city.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

The website for East County Fire & Rescue was hacked over the weekend, Interim Chief Al Gillespie said. An employee logged onto the website on Saturday morning and noticed that users clicking on a portion of the page were redirected to content he described as “inappropriate,” Gillespie said. The fire chief was in the office for a seminar at the time and was informed of the incident right away.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Columbian

Despite trying for a year to increase the number of volunteer firefighters on its roster, the Elkin Fire Department is seeing little reward to its recruiting efforts. If the department falls below 20 members on its roster, it could mean an increase in property owners’ fire insurance rates, and as of just more than a week ago, the roster had 21 members.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Elkin Tribune

After EMS response times for life-threatening emergencies jumped by more than 20 seconds last year, the FDNY plans to spend $5 million on two pilot programs to handle what it calls a record number of emergency calls. Starting this summer, the FDNY plans to use 10 “fly cars” — fire supervisor SUVs carrying a paramedic — to emergencies in the Bronx ahead of ambulances, fire officials told the Daily News on Monday.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Bad guys, beware. Woody Williams is not playing around when it comes to his neighborhood fire station. He will be there to protect the men and women who work there. A photo of Williams in his plaid jacket and pajama pants has gone viral after he went out to his local fire station to keep an eye on the place while firefighters were out on a call.
- PUB DATE: 2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMBF