Category: firefighters

2,300 NYC Firefighters Out Sick as Vaccine Mandate Kicks In; Force Stretched to Cover Gaps

About one-fifth of New York City’s firefighters were unavailable to report for duty on Nov. 1, most of them because they weren’t in compliance with the city’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement. While training and maintenance had to be suspended, the fire department (FDNY) still ended up understaffed, while claiming that operations weren’t affected. As of Nov. 1, when…


Firefighter Photographed Reading Storybook to Little Girl at Scene of Accident, Goes Viral

In a moment of trauma, a calm voice can be as invaluable as any medical care first responders can provide at the scene of an accident. In Billings, Montana, one firefighter on Sept. 29 encountered a little girl at the scene of a motor vehicle collision near the intersection of Broadwater Avenue and Second Street;…


Firefighters Say Florida County’s Vaccine Mandate Causing Rifts Among First Responders That Compromise Public Safety

ORLANDO, Fla.—Firefighter, paramedic, dispatcher, and EMT morale in Florida’s fifth most-populous county is so low due to a vaccine mandate that public safety is being compromised, first responders say. About 500 of the men and women who fight fires and rush to medical 911 calls are receiving written reprimands in their employment files for refusing…


Dallas Apartment Blast Injures 8, Including 4 Firefighters

DALLAS—Eight people, including four firefighters, were injured Wednesday morning in an explosion at an apartment complex in south Dallas, authorities said. Three of the firefighters were critically injured. Firefighters were investigating a report of a natural gas leak at the two-story complex and had reported smelling gas just before the explosion partially collapsed the building,…


9/11 First Responders and Victims’ Families Recall the Tragedy 20 Years Later During Wreath Laying Ceremony

NEW YORK—The International Association of Firefighters conducted a wreath-laying ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center memorial site. Pipers played a melody neither joyous nor sad over the underlying drone sound. They marched before the main body of representatives and waited for the priest to throw his blessing…


Newark, NJ Firefighters and Police Unions Demand Negotiations on Vaccine Mandate

Firefighters and police unions in Newark, New Jersey, held a rally on Wednesday to demand that the city government negotiate with them on the change in their work conditions due to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate imposed by the mayor. More than a hundred people demonstrated in Newark against the forced vaccination order by holding signs, shouting…


Susanville Scores Small Win in Fight to Save California Correctional Center

A court has granted the city of Susanville, California, a preliminary injunction to pause current attempts at closing California Correctional Center (CCC), a prison in Susanville that the state wishes to shut down. Many people from Lassen County gathered in front of the California State Capitol on Aug. 27 to rally against closing CCC. The…


Spanish Rescuers Pull Body From Collapsed Building, One Still Missing

PENISCOLA, Spain—Firefighters in the Spanish coastal town of Peniscola found the body of a teenager early on Thursday in the wreckage of a collapsed building and said they were still searching for another missing person. Peniscola’s mayor Andres Martinez told Reuters the boy was around 15 years old and had been staying in the three-story…


No Containment, New Threats From Northern California Fire

PLACERVILLE, Calif.—A wildfire burning for a week in Northern California continued to grow out of control, one of about a dozen big blazes in the drought-stricken state that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate. There was zero containment Sunday of the Caldor Fire, which had charred nearly 154 square…


Early, Intense Wildfire Season Makes Canada U.S. Resource Sharing Impossible: Ottawa

The federal government says neither Canada nor the United States can lend each other any extra firefighters as they deal with one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent memory. Last year, Canada sent 529 front−line crew members, 62 supervisory teams and a number of aircraft to help the U.S. battle rampant wildfires in…