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Little did I expect to see the bombed out buildings in New York that week.It reminded me of Belfast and of Fr. Mike.I guess when I heard that a priest had died giving the last Sacrament to a firefighter, I was not surprised to hear that it was Fr. Mike. Neither was Fr. Mychal I am sure. He was ready.He died the way he lived, as a saint and an instrument of peace. We now know that he removed his hat to honor his fallen comrade and as he pronounced the prayers of the Church he joined him in the...

The city of New Haven, Connecticut, went to great lengths to devise a firefighter test that would not have "disparate impact" on minority applicants, but when the results of the 2003 test-taking came in, applying the city's "Rule of Three" which required selection from among the highest scorers, "no blacks and at most two Hispanics would have been eligible for promotion to captain and no blacks or Hispanics would have been eligible to make lieutenant". So the city civil service board vacated the results, frankly acknowledging that it was in search of better minority hiring numbers. White applicants sued and...

5/20/2008 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Eleven Afghan National Army Air Corps student firefighters tested during an unexpected training exercise held May 12 here. The exercise was the culminating event of a four-month course designed to prepare the members of the ANAAC for emergencies of all types. The course has been conducted under the sole mentorship of Master Sgt. Michael Marascia, a Combined Air Power Transition Force instructor, who is deployed from the Civil Engineer Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va. "Initially, they had some basic knowledge of fighting fires," Sergeant Marascia said. "But before we arrived, they did...

One day after Boston fire union officials stormed out of talks with the city over drug testing, a uniformed jake was arrested in Dorchester when cops spotted him allegedly smoking a joint inside a department car, police said. Anthony Gaston, 47, a 25-year veteran of the Boston Fire Department, was arrested for possession of marijuana, and illegal possession of prescription drugs, police said. Gaston is a fire prevention officer and is assigned a Fire Department car for his job inspecting gas stations and oil tanks to ensure code compliance, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. MacDonald said Gaston was...

Attacks on firefighters rising, says union Firefighters are being subjected to an increasing number of violent attacks despite Government claims to the contrary, new figures show. The FBU wants better protection for fire crews Crews are regularly being spat on and pelted with bricks, bottles, burning wood and stones as they try to save lives across England and Wales. The Fire Brigades Union has revealed that assaults increased by 15 per cent last year, although government statistics show a fall of 68 per cent. Figures obtained by the union under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the number of attacks...

A fire brigade has been accused of pursuing a policy of discrimination after it excluded white men from part of a recruitment drive. Only women and people from ethnic minorities are allowed to attend four of the five open days being held by Avon Fire Service to attract new recruits. The brigade has been criticised after recruitment days were restricted to women and ethnic minorities The fire brigade said it was targeting specific groups because currently 97 per cent of its 921 employees are white men. But MPs, serving firefighters and race relations groups questioned whether it was acting illegally...

Judge Rules for Bearded DC Firefighters By SARAH KARUSH – 21 hours ago WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday struck down a requirement that firefighters in the District of Columbia be clean-shaven. A group of firefighters who wear beards for religious reasons first sued in 2001 to challenge the fire department's "grooming policy." That policy was replaced with a safety policy in 2005 that held that beards are not compatible with breathing units because they make it impossible to form a tight seal around the face. U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that the district did not meet...

t has always been a burning question for me: does size matter to lesbians. Unfortunately for the lesbian fire chief of San Diego, Tracy Jarman, we know the answer is yes because when she ordered that four straight firefighters to endure hours of sexual harassment for the enjoyment of the gays lining the gay pride parade route all bets were off. After all, she did not want her fire department to be outshined by the gaily marching San Diego police chief. So now we know the answer, but it is going to be an expensive lesson to learn because while...

Four firefighters are suing the city of San Diego for being forced by their superiors to attend the annual "Gay Pride" parade where they endured a barrage of sexual taunts and lewd gestures. San Diego's fire chief, Tracy Jarman, is an open lesbian who called the July 21 parade a "fun event" in which "all employees are encouraged to participate." But the firefighters said, unlike previous years, they were ordered into uniform to participate in the parade in their fire truck, despite repeated their protests. The firefighters' legal counsel, the Thomas More Law Center, said the men were "left with...

The search is underway for as many as seven missing firefighters at the scene of a West Ashley fire. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley told reporters that several firefighters from three different local agencies were unaccounted for after the Sofa Superstore collapsed, but provided no further details. The fire broke out late Monday afternoon, shutting down part of Highway 17 near Wappoo Road. Flames were spotted shooting from the roof and thick black smoke billowed into the sky and could be seen as far away as James Island. Local residents and bystanders attempted to assist firefighters contain the fire. Some moved...

Police investigating incident at North Austin station. Authorities are investigating an incident in which a recently promoted Austin firefighter found human excrement smeared on her locker at a Duval Road fire station. Firefighter Rebecca Farris discovered the waste when she showed up to work Dec. 21, about four months after being promoted to drive the fire engine at Station 25 in Northwest Austin, fire officials said Tuesday. Officials said she also found urine in a shampoo bottle. Assistant City Manager Mike McDonald said police investigators might require the 15 firefighters assigned to the station to provide DNA and fingerprint samples...

Firemen and police usually stand united as fellow civil servants. Not in Paris, where a stand-off between thousands of fire fighters and their police counterparts resulted in injury, property damage and chaos in the French capital.A demonstration of firefighters in Paris turned violent on Tuesday. And vulgar. Police say fifteen officers were wounded and two are in serious condition after protesters hurled flares, street signs and other heavy objects at them. A police vehicle, another car and several trash cans were also set ablaze. Thirty-five firemen have been taken into custody.

A Canadian city under pressure for alleged sexual harassment within its fire department has ordered firefighters to wear only boxer-style underwear. Richmond, British Columbia will spend C$16,000 (7,600 pounds) to buy six pairs of underwear for each firefighter in a bid to make firehalls in the suburb of Vancouver more gender neutral, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. "We supply firefighters with various pieces of gear such as gloves, now it's underwear," city official Ted Townsend told the Vancouver Sun, saying it was part of the "integration of the sexes in the workplace."A recent investigation of the department described its workplace...

CABAZON, Calif. -- A fast-moving fire killed at least three firefighters, prompted mandatory evacuations and burned more than 4,000 acres in Riverside County this morning, officials said. The Esperanza fire in Cabazon, some 90 miles east of Los Angeles and about 20 miles northwest of Palm Springs, was reported at 1:12 a.m., Becky Luther, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Fire Department, said in a telephone interview. "It's a very serious fire," Luther said. "There are Santa Ana conditions and the fire is fast moving." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters that three firefighters were killed fighting the blaze. The U.S....

Fire fighters from the Al Benook Fire Station in eastern Baghdad run toward a mock fire during a media visit Oct. 3. Photo by Norris Jones. BAGHDAD -- As a fire fighter, he’s working in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the world. Jwaad Mohammed, chief of the Al Benook Fire Station in East Baghdad, has 15 years of experience as an emergency responder. He says his 52-person squad gets three or four calls daily, as they’re responsible for a 12-sector area involving some 60 streets and several hundred-thousand residents. They also provide mutual support to nearby fire stations when...

"As I sat and watched the horror unfold on 9/11, I could smell the acrid smoke drifting south from the Pentagon. There was a never ending line of cars heading away from Washington. With the rest of the world I watched the towers come down and among the victims were 343 New York firemen. I'll never be able to look at a fireman or woman again without knowing that he or she would lay down their lives for me without ever knowing my name. We can never thank them enough." The first plane hit the other tower Right after I...

At the CONCERT FOR NEW YORK, shortly after 911, fireman Mike Moran took the stage for an announcement. He lost his older brother, Batallion Commander and FReeper John Moran -- BCM. For the whole world to see and hear, he told Osama bin Laden to "kiss my royal Irish ass." This song was the inspiration for the song that has been played around the world. DOWNLOAD IT HERE - THE BALLAD OF MIKE MORAN

The entire volunteer fire department in a Newfoundland town has resigned, following a new policy that forbids drinking alcohol in the local fire hall. The Point Leamington fire hall had doubled for years as an unofficial bar for the community of about 700 on the island's northeast coast. Fire Chief Fraser Stuckless said he complied with a town order this spring to stop selling booze to the public. However, he said the force of a dozen firefighters should still be allowed to enjoy a drink on special occasions. "The other fire departments, they do have alcohol …. The alcohol is...

Fire forced a women to climb out of a window on the 25th floor of an apartment building. As she dangled 250 feet in the air, her husband and firefighters struggled to pull her to safety. It happened at 1700 Bedford Avenue in the Crown Heights, section of Brooklyn. That's where we find Eyewitness News reporter Stacey Sager, live with the story. It is not a time when you want to look down, that's for sure. In fact it's hard to believe anyone could stay clam when they're hanging off the roof of a high rise building. There's no doubt...

MOULTON, ALABAMA — Two firefighters died Tuesday when the wall of a commercial building collapsed on them shortly before 10 p.m. Lawrence County Coroner Greg Randolph identified them as Moulton Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Lloyd McCulloch and Justin Jones.

from "Hannity & Colmes," ... SEAN HANNITY...from San Francisco tonight, the board of supervisors here overwhelmingly voted to reject a plan last year that would bring the historic World War II Iowa battleship right here to San Francisco harbor, as a museum and tourist center. We're now joined by one of the supervisors that voted against that plan, Gerardo Sandoval is with us. You don't want a symbol of war in the harbor. Is what you said to me. GERARDO SANDOVAL: That's right... it's a warship and it's got guns on it. It fires things. You know, you can't deny...

An early morning break-in to a Nicetown home resulted in an off-duty firefighter returning gunfire after being fired upon. One intruder is dead, two are wounded, and one suspect escaped.

Fri Jul 22, 8:17 PM ET ALBANY, N.Y. - Albany firefighters were tearing apart a minivan as part of a training exercise when someone noticed the personal items inside. That's when they realized they had trashed the wrong vehicle. This week, Albany officials approved the city's share of the $12,000 bill for the 2002 Dodge Caravan that was mistakenly ripped open during a drill at a junk yard a year ago. Officials say the firefighters routinely practice accident scene rescue techniques by tearing open donated junked cars. In June 2004, they were supposed to practice on an older vehicle located...

Those who serve and those who have served, the men and women of the US military along with our police and firemen deserve to hear from us this weekend. Let them know how much you appreciate their committment to our freedom and protection. Visit americasupportsyou.mil

The recent events in Atlanta are yet another example of how feminism and affirmative action are failing society. For those who may have forgotten, an accused rapist named Brian Nichols was brought before a judge in an Atlanta courtroom, guarded by a deputy sheriff. In the courtroom, the accused, a 200 lb former college running back, overpowered his guard, a 5-foot tall female deputy, who was also a grandmother, relieved her of her side arm and killed 4 people, including the grandmother. Since this has transpired I have heard very little from the media about the advisability of having 100-lb....

...I am voting for George W. Bush because he has shown me that he has the resolve and the strength to fight and win the war against terrorism. In this year's presidential election, the first held since the attacks of 9/11, the most important election in our lifetime, these qualities have never been more critical. I'm voting for President Bush because I was the commissioner of the New York City Police Department on 9/11 and I watched the planes crash into the World Trade Center, and take the lives of 23 of my cops, 37 Port Authority officers, 343 firefighters...

WATERLOO --- About two dozen Cedar Valley firefighters this morning announced their pick for president --- George W. Bush. The firefighters said they're united behind President Bush despite the international firefighters union's endorsement of Democratic nominee John Kerry. The firefighters made their announcement at a rally outside Veterans Memorial Hall. "Nationally and locally, it's been put out that firefighters are for Kerry --- we're for Bush," said Steve Jordan, a Waterloo firefighter and former Republican state legislative candidate, who organized the rally. He is the brother of Republican Black Hawk County supervisor candidate Scott Jordan. Kurt Graven, a Waterloo firefighter...

BLM Signs Alternative Consultation Agreement for National Fire Plan Projects on Endangered Species The BLM signed an Alternative Consultation Agreement (ACA) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on March 3, 2004. The ACA was required under the joint counterpart regulations to the Endangered Species Act that the FWS and NMFS developed jointly with Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The joint counterpart regulation to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides alternative procedures that may be used to comply with the federal agency...

WASHINGTON (AP) Confusion about whether the Endangered Species Act allowed water to be taken from a river delayed a water drop on a wildfire that killed four firefighters. The amount was relatively small and did not lead to the deaths. The Forest Service's report is due out Wednesday on last summer's deaths in the north-central Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Sources with knowledge of the investigation said there was a delay of almost two hours as Forest Service personnel sought guidance about whether the Fish and Wildlife Service needed to give permission to get water from the Chewuch River, ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a statement on Friday February 8th blaming the U.S. Forest Service for willfully disregarding the safety of firefighters in the 30 mile fire that broke out in Washington State's Okanogan National Forest last year. The statement echoed the Forest Services own report that claimed that the fire managers violated 10 of the basic safety rules of fire fighting and ignored 10 out of the 18 basic warning signs for danger. These were all factors that resulted in the deaths of four forest firefighters, but the report seemed to have left out one ...

Bernard Kerik, former NYPD Commissioner, said it best when he told the 9/11 Commission that “no perfect radio exists” and “God help New York” if it should get attacked a third time. Most importantly, he cautioned that we must “remain preemptive,” because if we think we are safe from terrorism, and that our war is almost over, then we are sadly mistaken.

Firefighters for Bush On March 4, 2004, President Bush released the first television campaign ad of the season. It was a powerful, upbeat, forward-looking message of hope, containing images from his presidency and a vision of a better future. It was also attacked immediately in the press as "exploitative" because the President had included some brief images from 9/11 which featured the crumbled towers and weary firefighters. IAFF president Howard Schaitberger joined the attack, claiming that the President was trying to "capitalize on the image of great heroics and a great tragedy." But other firefighters, incensed at the IAFF's statements,...

First came the teasing: one man made a crack about another's sexual orientation. Others may have laughed. The target of the teasing responded with a taunt, a firefighter familiar with the case said, and then, in a flash, a metal chair sailed through the air, shattering bones in the teased man's face and partly severing his nose. In that horrifying instant last Wednesday, a verbal fight swiftly escalated into violence in a Staten Island firehouse, officials say, leaving one firefighter on a respirator in a hospital and another under arrest, his career in peril. While the details are still under...

<p>At least a dozen of New York's Bravest - some of them assigned to look after Sept. 11 widows - have left their wives for the spouses of their comrades killed in the terror attacks, sources told The Post.</p> <p>"It's disgusting, heartbreaking what they've done," said Mary Koenig, whose husband, Gerry Koenig of Staten Island's Rescue 5 squad, ditched her and their two kids for Madeline Bergin, the widow of his friend and firehouse mate, John Bergin, after the World Trade Center attacks.</p>

...and there has not been a busier day at Channel Five of the Gates, not ever. And it was different to almost all the busy days at any of the other Channels over the last sixty or seventy years. Usually the busy days are the days when armies of great powers are in action Down Below and then all that arrive in the Channels are alike in that they are young men in their prime, all aged between sixteen or seventeen and the late thirties, all in uniform. ...but this was different. There were babies, babies of every colour of...

Fire rigs at retiree's party draw complaintsTuesday, July 1, 2003MIKE THOMPSONTHE SAGINAW NEWS Saginaw on-duty firefighters took turns Friday driving and riding their rigs from the city's four stations to a co-worker's retirement party. They also sounded their sirens as they approached the home of Leonard K. Jurek on Ardmore near Congress, in what Jurek and other firefighters described as a "tradition" on a retiree's last day. Their actions drew criticism from City Councilman Dennis D. Browning, a retired police officer who lives six blocks from Jurek, during and after Monday's meeting. He said firefighters risked a slower response if...

Firefighters set drug house on fire 06/11/2003 By MARK BOONE / 6NEWS A known drug house in north Charlotte goes up in flames and it's no accident. Firefighters set the fire at a house near Statesville Avenue and I-85 Wednesday morning. Police say the house has been a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes. The problem is so bad, the owner of the rental house agreed to let the city burn the building down. Neighbors say the house has been a nuisance for several years, attracting all kinds of criminal activity. The demolition is also a training exercise for Charlotte's...

Portland Fire Bureau officials Monday ordered U.S. flags removed from downtown fire engines, concerned that their presence might provoke dangerous confrontations with antiwar demonstrators. "This policy will continue until we no longer have sustained close contact interaction with protesters and demonstrators," Deputy Chief Gary Warrington wrote in a memo to the city's three downtown companies. "Protesters have threatened our personnel and are burning flags in the street," the memo said. "We do not want extremists attacking our apparatus or our personnel." The order immediately proved incendiary with firefighters, who angrily complained. "Taking the flag down hits a lot of nerves...

After voting in favor of the war with Iraq right before the November elections, Sen. Hillary Clinton never had another kind word to say for the war. Just a few weeks ago, Sen. Clinton gave an interview on Irish TV in which she said she opposed precipitous action against Iraq. She said Bush should give the U.N. weapons inspectors more time. Hillary did not object to precipitous action against Iraq when her husband bombed it on the day of his scheduled impeachment. President Clinton attacked Saddam Hussein without first asking approval from the United Nations, the U.S. Congress or...

Blaze, smoke engulf victims within seconds 02/22/2003 BY JENNIFER LEVITZ and ZACHARY R. MIDER Journal Staff Writers WEST WARWICK -- A fireworks display exploded into flames at a small-town nightclub, killing at least 96 people, injuring another 180, and turning a carefree night of rock 'n' roll into the worst disaster in Rhode Island since the Hurricane of 1938. There were up to 360 people in The Station in West Warwick around 11 p.m. Thursday as the band, Great White, launched into its first song, "Desert Moon." Pyrotechnics ignited on the back of the stage. Within 20 seconds, the club...

Updated: 12-03-2002 04:24:54 PM Anguish, Tributes Expressed At Oregon Memorial Service LARRY BACON Courtesy The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon The close-knit community of firefighters joined hundreds of mournful townspeople Sunday in an emotional salute and farewell to the three Coos Bay firemen who lost their lives in a burning building last Monday. The ceremony followed a procession through the twin communities of Coos Bay and North Bend that included more than 275 fire vehicles from about 100 fire departments across the Northwest. To the strains of a bagpipe band made up of police and fire officials from the Portland area, nearly...

New York firemen demonstrated yesterday over a book accusing officers of looting at the World Trade Centre before the twin towers collapsed on September 11. They picketed a bookshop signing session, chanting "liar, liar" and calling William Langewiesche's American Ground "disgusting" and "a travesty". The journalist claimed that a fire engine was recovered from the debris, its cab full of jeans from a branch of Gap clothing. He writes: "It was hard to avoid the conclusion that the looting had begun even before the first tower fell and that while hundreds of doomed firemen had climbed through the wounded buildings,...

TWO union chiefs who led firefighters out on strike went to Iraq and returned spouting Saddam Hussein’s propaganda, The Sun can reveal. Bob Pounder and Howard Western BLASTED Britain and our allies over sanctions against Iraq after their Baghdad jolly. The hard-Left stooges were unmasked as Britain’s 50,000 firefighters walked out at 6pm last night despite fears of terror attacks. With the strike only an hour old a woman died in a house fire as RAF firefighters raced to the scene. But two striking fire crews broke their stoppage to dash to their aid. Pounder, fire union boss in Manchester,...

September 11, 2002 8:00 a.m. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. — Shakespeare's King Henry V, addressing his men before the battle of AgincourtThis is the time to remember, to recall where we were and what we were doing when we first heard...

GLOUCESTER CITY - Three-year-old twins, their five-year-old brother and three firefighters tried to rescue them died early today when a multi-story home caught fire and collapsed. One of the victims, a 39-year-old firefighter, proposed to his girlfriend at a Fourth of July fireworks display hours before the fire started, sad Gov. McGreevey, who visited the scene at midday. City firefighters passed directly in front of the duplex last night during a holiday parade. The roof of the home collapsed trapping eight firefighters inside, but five were dug out by their comrades, Acting Camden County Prosecutor James P. Lynch said. The...

NEW YORK, Mar 12, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The bodies of five firefighters were pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center on Tuesday as workers continued to discover pockets of human remains even in the last stage of the recovery effort. The bodies, draped in American flags, were pulled from an area where the south tower once stood, said Pat Cleary, a fire department spokesman. About 100 firefighters lined up to salute as the bodies were carried to an ambulance. Three of the bodies were pulled from the wreckage this morning, followed by the discoveries...