Free Republic

Watchdogs have slammed California local government for spending billions in overtime pay – with police officers, firefighters, linemen and utility workers earning up to $792,000 in a single year. Short staffing, poor planning, generous union deals and expensive hiring costs all contribute to civil servants relying heavily on overtime, experts told DailyMail.com. It has given frontline workers a golden opportunity to earn several million dollars since 2019. But tax watchdogs say it is a raw deal for the taxpayer. Senior Los Angeles fire captain Jason Getchius had a salary of $169,764 in 2022, the latest figures provided by the city....

Ladder 11 had a black US flag with a red line in a firetruckNew York firefighters are in the midst of a controversy over a black United States flag with a red line on it that they were forced to remove for reportedly being considered "fascist" by New York officials following a constituent's complain. According to Ladder 11, the black US flag honors the six brothers who were killed on 9/11, however, a person representing Democratic Manhattan Councilwoman Carlina Rivera demanded it was taken down. According to Lisander Rosario, some constituents complained about the symbol "He called it a "fascist...

Mayor John Whitmire proposing a 5% cut across the board, except for fire and police departments.. Tax hikes and increased fees for parking and city services are likely .. The Mayor of Houston says the city is 'broke' after overspending for decades. Experts say the problem has existed for years, but COVID handouts from the federal government helped mask them. ... A tax hike through a bond is expected in November. ... The city has been struggling to make firefighters whole, from meeting its contractual obligation to their pension, to paying backpay and wage hikes that have been promised years...

FDNY leaders backed down on their ‘hunt’ for firefighters who booed Marxist tyrant AG Letitia James after major backlash. Last week a group of FDNY firefighters booed Letitia James as she gave a speech during a promotion ceremony. After honoring FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, Letitia James’s speech was effectively drowned out by LOUD pro-Trump chants in the crowd. According to leaked memos, any FDNY firefighter who booed Letitia James will be punished and face reeducation. The firefighters were asked to turn themselves in or risk being hunted down.

NEW YORK, NY — After being viciously booed at an FDNY promotion ceremony last week, New York AG Letitia James has announced she will be issuing $355 million-dollar fines to the perpetrators. "Last week, I was cruelly assaulted and insurrected by racist Trump supporters," said the Attorney General in a statement. "Our democracy is no place for firefighters to express their displeasure with the weaponization of the justice system against their preferred candidate. I will not rest until every guilty party has been tracked down and brought to justice. With a $355 million-dollar fine. And maybe also prison. Thank you."...

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh has been given a not-so-nice name after she said officials would try to identify firefighters that erupted in jeers on Thursday at New York Attorney General Letitia James, who previously vowed to take down former President Donald Trump. The Daily Mail reported Saturday that Kavanagh has been labeled a “fascist pit bull” for planning to go after the first responders.

Members of the New York Fire Department (FDNY) who are fed-up with Trump-hating fascist attorney general Letitia James during a recent promotion ceremony are now facing severe consequences. The Gateway Pundit first reported the incident wherein a wave of boos and chants supporting President Trump overshadowed the event. A large group of firefighters made their stance perfectly clear during Thursday’s New York Fire Department (FDNY) promotion ceremony regarding James’s inquisition of President Trump. After honoring FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, James’s speech was effectively drowned out by LOUD pro-Trump chants in the crowd. She struggles a bit to find her words...

New York’s partisan Attorney General Letitia James was loudly booed at a ceremony for the New York Fire Department on Thursday. While speaking at the event, James is heard praising FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, right before a large number of individuals in the audience begin shouting former President Trump’s name. When James began her lecture, several in the audience booed, leading her to reply, “Come on, we’re in a house of God…simmer down.” NY Firefighters Loudly Boo Letitia James FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said in a statement, “Today’s ceremony was about one thing: the accomplishments of the members...

New York Attorney General Letitia James was booed and drowned out by chants of "Trump" on Thursday while delivering a speech at the New York Fire Department promotion ceremony. While speaking at the ceremony, James is heard thanking FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh just before numerous people in the crowd are heard chanting former President Donald Trump's name. Upon beginning her speech, many in the crowd booed James, prompting her to say, "Come on, we're in a house of God...simmer down." SNIP

What was a routine food run for the firefighters of Pierce County Fire District 13 Monday turned into a troubling crime when their firetruck was robbed. While inside a Tacoma grocery store, customers alerted the crew a group of people pulled alongside the truck in a U-Haul and ransacked it. “I was in disbelief for a second,” firefighter Alandra Swords said. “It took me a minute to comprehend what they were saying, and then I immediately raced out of the store.” Expensive, lifesaving equipment was stolen, the crew reported. “They got away with all of our saws – our chainsaw,...

The mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, told reporters on Wednesday her city had offered the provincial government of Quebec firefighters to help control the over 100 wildfires spreading in the region and engulfing the American Northeast and Midwest in smoke – but Quebec refused them. The remark is particularly shocking as the premier, or top provincial executive official, of Quebec claimed this week that the province only had enough firefighters to address 30 wildfires, emphasizing, “we need all the help possible.” Quebec is reportedly receiving firefighters and supplies from America and France, while the Canadian government is in talks with...

An effort to restore the jobs and back pay of firefighters who lost their jobs for refusing or even criticizing the COVID-19 vaccine was defeated when four Senate Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat the measure. Senators voted 54-45 against U.S. Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) “Support the Reinstatement of Trained and Effective Firefighters” amendment which “makes funding available to fire departments that terminated firefighters for refusing vaccination or voicing opposition to COVID-19 mandates only if they offer full reinstatement and backpay to those who lost their jobs.” The amendment was considered as part of S.870, the Fire Grants and Safety...

A former Seattle firefighter issued a stark public safety warning over the department's massive staffing shortage as it allegedly refuses to rehire those fired over the COVID vaccine mandate. Andy Pittman worked for the city of Seattle for more than six years before he was fired for refusing to take the vaccine. He joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss how the shortage is impacting public safety in the Emerald City. "The city administration and Chief Scoggins are definitely gambling with the city's lives," Pittman told Ashley Strohmier on Tuesday. "It's been shown before that one to two units out...

Two of a Chicago firefighter's children have died from injuries sustained in a house fire that also claimed the lives of their mother and brother earlier this week, according to authorities. The four relatives were seriously injured when a fire broke out at the family home Tuesday night in the 2500 block of North Rutherford Avenue in the city's Montclare neighborhood. When the initial call of the blaze came through, a Chicago firefighter overheard his home address on dispatch, raced to the scene with a Battalion Chief and found his house on fire. He performed CPR on his wife and...

A one-year-old dog swept away in California floodwaters was rescued and returned to his owner thanks to firefighters – and technology. Seamus, an Australian shepherd, was on a walk with his owner in San Bernardino and broke away Monday, the fire department said in a news release. His owner tried to catch him, but Seamus went into a storm drain and began to float away.... ...An employee at an RV facility stopped a fire crew, saying they heard a dog barking and then saw one floating down a channel....

by Jim Clayborn | RNNThe dramatic moment a brute on a bicycle punched an unsuspecting 60-year-old woman in the face was captured on surveillance video. More shocking than the unprovoked attack, however, is what four firefighters who witnessed the assault decided to do about it, and that was all caught on camera too.Daniel Biggs swerves onto the sidewalk on his bike after spotting a woman walking on the sidewalk.Daniel Biggs, a 53-year-old New York man who’s no stranger to police, launched an unprovoked attack while riding his bike in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn on a Wednesday evening. Biggs made...

In a major victory for members of the NYPD’s largest police union, a judge ruled Friday cops who were fired for not getting vaccinated against the coronavirus have to be reinstated. In the stunning decision, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank wrote that the city’s vaccine mandate on the Police Benevolent Association was invalid “to the extent it has been used to impose a new condition of employment” on the union. The mandate was also invalid because it issued enforcement beyond “monetary sanctions” prescribed in the law, Frank wrote — ordering that all PBA members put on leave or canned...

Fire department officials are raising awareness of the dangers of electric vehicle battery fires, calling on regulators to increase electric vehicle safety standards for emergency responders. One fire department chief called electric cars “trick birthday candles” due to their tendency to reignite even after the fire has been put out. The Regulatory Review reports on the dangers of electric vehicle battery fires, which behave very differently from traditional car fires. One fire department chief said that electric vehicles that catch on fire are “trick birthday candles,” due to their tendency to reignite even after the fire seems to be out.

Ten out of 13 members of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department quit at a fire district board meeting on Monday night after a convicted arsonist was appointed acting fire chief. The Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Protection District Board of Trustees met in East Carondelet on Dec. 20 and fired Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Chief John Rosencranz, KTVI reported. The board gave no reason for the termination as they replaced Chief Rosencranz with Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Assistant Chief Jerame Simmons, who was sitting at the same table. In a statement released after the meeting on...

NYC has issued a state-wide call for firefighters from both Long Island and Upstate New York as one-third of city firefighters remain unvaccinated ahead of the November 1 deadline, leaving 26 firehouses shuttered. About 72 percent of FDNY workers have been vaccinated ahead of the November 1 deadline, meaning that up to 4,000 workers may be terminated from the department. The message was sent through email as nearly 350 potential volunteer firefighters were tagged.