Free Republic

This year, judges in California and Michigan approved the exit plans of two of the largest municipal bankruptcy filings in the country’s history. In California, Stockton upheld its obligations to the state’s pension system behemoth, Calpers, while paying its other creditors as little as pennies on the dollar. Detroit, meanwhile, was able to restructure its obligations to all of its creditors, including city pensioners. While the exit plans differed, both judges ruled similarly: public pension obligations could be shortchanged like any other debt. Stockton and Detroit aren't alone. Cities and states across America are facing catastrophic budget shortfalls. After decades...

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a victory to the city of Reno in its decision in May to lay off 32 firefighters after federal funding that supported their positions ran out. The court, in a unanimous decision written by Justice James Hardesty, found that a Reno District Court did not have the authority to grant a preliminary injunction in the labor dispute because the underlying grievance was not arbitrable under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. A District Court judge in Reno issued the preliminary injunction in June preventing Reno from completing scheduled layoffs. The order...

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has thrown out lawsuits brought by two Providence firefighters who said their constitutional rights were violated when they were ordered to drive a truck in a gay pride parade despite their religious objections.The firefighters, Theodore Fabrizio and Stephen Deninno, argued that they are Roman Catholics and therefore do not support or condone homosexuality. Justice William Robinson, writing for all five members of the high court this month, said the men appeared in the 2001 parade as public servants who were “relatively anonymous.” He called it a legitimate work assignment. …

A Jacksonville firefighter was injured in a shooting incident Tuesday night on the city’s Southside when police say an unknown shooter in a vehicle targeted a group of about six firefighters. Lt. Jackson Short of the Sheriff’s Office said the firefighters were fueling a ladder truck behind Fire Station 28 in the 9200 block of Hogan Road at about 7:35 p.m. when a vehicle drove up and someone fired five or six shots, striking one of the firefighters in the arm after the bullet ricocheted. “It appears the firemen were targeted,” Shorts said. “Because they are firefighters, they were on...

Four Maywood firefighters have been relieved of duty, and more could be suspended Wednesday, for refusing to remove American flag decals from their helmets and lockers. The four refused to comply with an order issued last week by Chief Craig Bronaugh to remove all stickers from their helmets and lockers. The four drew the line when it came to the flag decals. ... Adam Rosen said he is “shocked” that an agency of first responders would enforce such an order the week of Sept. 11. The four suspended firefighters said they were told that the order was issued because of...

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. —Officials with the Midwest City Fire Department said ammunition went off during a house fire at 1609 McGregor Drive. Officials said everyone was evacuated from the home, but two dogs died in the blaze. Investigators said they believe the fire started in the garage and spread. The homeowner said ammunition was stored in the garage, and heat caused it to ignite. Stay with KOCO-TV and KOCO.com for further details.

Paul Joseph Watson July 24th, 2014 The federal government is asking paramedics and firefighters to be on the lookout for “extremists” as part of a program that aims to uncover “suspicious activity.” A bulletin released in March 2014 by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center, obtained this week by Public Intelligence, contains details of a program entitled “Emergency Medical Treatment Presents Opportunity for Discovery of Violent Extremist Activities.” The bulletin, which was sent out to firefighters, emergency medical service personnel and other first responders nationwide, encourages these groups to watch for “indicators of violent extremist...

A special delegation of firefighters from across the US arrived in Israel with one goal: To help firefighters from Israel's rocket battered south deal with ongoing rocket fire. Fire fighters in the south have been working ceaselessly to since fighting began ten days ago, and their mission include searching for the rockets as well as extinguishing the resulting blazes. Between the rockets attack from Gaza and rumors of ceasefire, little attention has been paid to the plight of Israel's firefighting forces in Sderot and other southern communities, however a group called Emergency Volunteer Project aims change that and work with...

Yvette Childers was driving to work in her RV one afternoon earlier this month, when the hood started smoking. She quickly stepped out just as the vehicle burst into flames. As she waited for help to arrive, all she could think about was her 1-year-old Chihuahua named My Little Pony, trapped in his crate in the back. Metdker headed to the RV to rescue the dog, with Ledet right behind him. So he started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation – something he never does on a human, let alone a dog – in addition to the CPR.

**SNIP**The group searched for hours, and just before dusk Tuesday, one of the firefighters found the ring. The Globe reported that the firefighters formed a convoy and rushed the ring to Walsh's wake at a nearby church. The widow was seated a few feet from her husband's casket when she was handed the ring. The Boston Globe reported, "Kristen Walsh took the ring and slid it on her finger. It was big, real big, but it fit in all the ways that matter."

Firefighters are seeking changes to ObamaCare and are taking their fight to Capitol Hill. The President of the International Association of Firefighters Harold Schaitberger joined Jenna Lee to discuss how the Affordable Care Act’s reinsurance fee will have a negative impact on the health benefits of firefighters. “The problem with ObamaCare right now is that it puts many of our plans in jeopardy,” said Schaitberger. “It doesn’t treat us on a level playing field with the plans that are available in the private insurance industry.” …

by Susan Frommer | Top Right NewsKindness and consideration is something to be admired especially when helping firefighters who have spent hours in subzero weather battling a local fire.  So when McDonald’s Manager Heather Levia saw a way to help them by donating food and paying for it out of her own pocket for them, being fired never occurred to her.  But that is exactly what followed for the New York former manager at an Olean, NY McDonalds, according to Fox 44. Total disbelief is one of the motions that had to have come across the young woman’s face when her...

TFD confirms 2 firefighters killed in line of duty Posted: Jan 26, 2014 3:39 PM EST Updated: Jan 27, 2014 12:49 AM EST TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo Fire Department has confirmed two firefighters were killed while fighting a fire at a convenience store Sunday afternoon. The fallen firefighters have been identified as: Stephen A. Machcinski, 42, with 16 years of service. James A. Dickham, 31, with approximately 6 months of service "Our thoughts and prayers are with the fallen firefighers and their families," said Toledo Fire Chief Luis Santiago at a press conference Sunday night. Both men were assigned to...

77-year-old collapsed across street from DC firehouse (Newser) – Marie Mills' father collapsed Saturday afternoon in a shopping center parking lot across the street from a Washington, DC, firehouse—but firefighters didn't rush to his aid, despite repeated pleas for help, and Medric "Cecil" Mills, 77, died of a heart attack. Marie Mills tells WTTG that bystanders were "screaming and hollering" at a firefighter across the street, and three people even ran over to Engine 26, but they were told rescuers could not respond until 911 was called, the Washington Post reports. Sources say that when 911 was called, an...

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration will grant a waiver exempting volunteer emergency departments, mainly fire departments, from the Affordable Care Act's requirement that employers with more than 50 workers working 30 hours or more per week provide health coverage. The announcement came from a Treasury Department official in a blog posted over the weekend. It means that on January 1, 2015, when employers with 50 or more workers are required to provide health coverage to their workers, volunteer fire department and ambulance companies will be exempted. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who joined some other congressional members in asking for the...

The Affordable Care Act forces companies with more than 50 workers to buy them all health insurance or pay hefty fines The IRS says volunteer firefighters are 'employees,' even though the Department of Labor says they're 'volunteers' Out of more than 1 million fire departments in the U.S., 87 per cent are staffed entirely or mostly by life-saving volunteers Members of Congress are weighing in, but the Obama administration hasn't taken any action yet to carve out a fire-fighting exception

San Francisco's fire chief has explicitly banned firefighters from using helmet-mounted video cameras, after images from a battalion chief's Asiana Airlines crash recording became public and led to questions about first responders' actions leading up to a fire rig running over a survivor. Chief Joanne Hayes-White said she issued the order after discovering that Battalion Chief Mark Johnson's helmet camera filmed the aftermath of the July 6 crash at San Francisco International Airport. Still images from the footage were published in The Chronicle. ... Critics, including some within the department, questioned the chief's order and its timing - coming as...

Arizona's top politicians blasted the Obama administration and federal officials over the denial of aid in the wake of the state's deadly wildfire. The Yarnell Hill blaze killed 19 firefighters, called "hotshots," in late June, when it changed directions and engulfed them. The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the state's request for assistance based on insurance rules, it said in a statement Friday. It determined that not enough uninsured private individuals had become victims to warrant a payout. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer directed her criticism directly at the president. "I am deeply troubled by the Obama administration's decision to deny...

The young widow of a firefighter who died with 18 others while battling an Arizona wildfire in June has reportedly been denied the lifetime benefits she sought to raise the couple’s four children. Juliann Ashcraft, 28, said she will receive workers’ compensations and a one-time federal payment of $328,000 in the death of her 29-year-old husband Andrew, who was among the Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed on June 30 while fighting a wildfire near Yarnell, CBS reports. “I want to be able to just be mourning my husband, be supporting my children, be figuring out what our new normal...

Nineteen firefighters died fighting a forest fire in Arizona earlier this summer. Curiously, almost no one is talking about why it happened, only that it was a tragedy. Arizona Deputy State Forestry Director Jerry Payne has been the only one to speak out about the cause, and he backtracked immediately afterwards, apologizing for what he said. He claimed that the superintendent of the Granite Mountain Hotshots violated wildlife safety protocols while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30th, 2013, 60 miles north of Phoenix. According to Payne, the superintendent’s violations allegedly included not knowing the location of the fire,...