The City Council is rethinking the size and shape of the Everett Fire Department. Everett paid a consulting firm $66,400 to study the issue, and a draft report went before the council in August. The 216-page report did not make any final recommendations. Controversy, though, has stirred from suggestions in the document to close two of Everett's six working fire stations, reduce the number of firefighters on staff, and rework how firefighter shifts are scheduled.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:36:22 AM - SOURCE: Everett Herald

A 14-year dispute concerning overtime pay for D.C. was resolved Saturday after Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Fire Fighters Association signed an agreement. The agreement will result in $45 million to be paid to firefighters who worked more than 42 hours per week, dating back to Sept. 23, 2001. The mayor’s office said funds have already been allocated through surplus revenue in fiscal year 2015.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: nbcwashington,com

Firefighters used to have a good idea of what dangers they faced on a call. It was going to be smoke or flames. But as society has changed, so have the risk factors. Two firefighters taking care of a patient at a bus station are stabbed by a bystander this summer in San Diego. The firefighters survived the attack.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: woodtv.com

Eleven people who worked in rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have died in the six weeks since the most recent anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. Another Ground Zero worker, Roy McLaughlin, died Sept. 10, one day before the anniversary. McLaughlin, 38, was a Yonkers police officer when the World Trade Center was attacked.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ithaca Journal

After two high-profile mass shootings in Colorado in the last 10 years, Boulder County is working to change how firefighters respond to the scene of large-scale dangerous situations. In July, the Longmont department of public safety participated in a regional training exercise, called Operation Buffalo Shield at University of Colorado to prepare police officers and firefighters for a mass shooting situation.
- PUB DATE: 10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times-Call