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The deadline for New York City firefighters to get vaccinated was yesterday. Enforcement of the vaccine mandate is anticipated to begin Monday. Today, the New York Post is reporting that 26 FDNY firehouses are currently closed due to short staffing directly related to the vaccine mandate. But the vaccine mandate is all about the public health, right? New York – The FDNY shut down 26 firehouses across the Big Apple as of 7:30 a.m. Saturday because of staff shortages caused by the vaccination mandate, The Post has learned. […] “Twenty six companies out of service is an unconscionable number,” said...

Hundreds of firefighters were battling to protect several groves of giant sequoias in California, warning the enormous ancient trees were at risk from out-of-control blazes. A number of separate fires were converging on the California woodland that is home to the huge trees, highlighting the terrifying power of wildfires to consume everything in their path.... ...Further north, the KNP Complex fire continued to threaten the renowned Giant Forest, home to General Sherman, the world's biggest tree by volume, and standing at 275 feet. General Sherman, which is estimated by the National Parks Service to be 2,200 years old, was wrapped...

In the days leading up to mandatory evacuations in South Lake Tahoe, the owners of Frescana Mexican Bistro in Meyers were busy fixing hundreds of burritos for donations to emergency responders battling the raging Caldor Fire. Owners Tim and Kristi Cain quietly began offering fire crews, the El Dorado Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies meals that included burritos, sandwiches and coffee late last week as a small token to their community. ABC10 first reported news of their contribution. They worked against the clock until they were forced to halt all operations at the bistro, and their other business Freel...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says unlike other states trying to defund their police departments, he is offering bonuses to every police officer, firefighter, paramedic, and emergency medical technician (EMT) in the state. During a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis announced that as part of the state’s budget that he will sign into law, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs in Florida will each receive a $1,000 bonus following a year of unrest spurred by the Chinese coronavirus and anti-law enforcement riots. “Some want to defund the police. We’re funding the police and then some,” DeSantis said: The other thing that...

DENVER (AP) — As Western states prepare for this year’s wildfire season, the world’s largest firefighting plane has been grounded and could be converted to help fight against another crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. After investing tens of millions into upgrading the Global SuperTanker and its technology, the revenue coming mostly from contracts with the U.S. government and California did not produce enough profit for the company to continue the funding the tanker, said Roger Miller, managing director at Alterna Capital Partners LLC, the investment company that owns the plane.... ...Other Very Large Airtankers can carry up to 8,000 gallons (30,283...

New York City's EMTs and paramedics are being 'targeted' by anarchists who are smashing ambulance windows, a union leader has said - as he blasted the FDNY for leaving crews to fend for themselves. Bricks were hurled through the windows of four FDNY vehicles and 'FTP,' which stands for 'F**K the police,' was painted on the sides of two ambulances in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, according to Oren Barzilay, president of the Local 2507. There's been at least one of these types of attacks every month since January, all within blocks of each other, said Barzilay, who heads the...

Finding the perfect parking spot is the bane of every driver’s existence and but sometimes the desire for the closest spot can put others in danger. You’ve seen it, people illegally parking in front of fire hydrants for easy access, but firefighters are teaching these inconsiderate parkers that this is a matter of life and death. Yesterday New York firefighters had to smash a car’s windows as it was blocking a fire hydrant. The driver was also given a ticket by the New York Police Department. The video has been viewed more than 90,000 times and has sparked a debate...

The NAACP was referring to photographs of items allegedly related to the San Diego Fire-Rescue, which the association said were racist symbols and images. The NAACP included a Thin Blue Line Flag on a station bay door as one of the racist symbols.

Late last year, firefighters were the first city workers given access to the shots. After an initial burst of activity, the number showing up to get the vaccine has plummeted. This past week only 143 firefighters visited one of the department’s vaccination centers, according to data released by the city Friday night. So far, 1,944 of the agency’s just under 3,400 members have been inoculated, leaving four in 10 vulnerable to the highly infectious coronavirus. The reluctance of L.A. firefighters adds to the list of healthcare workers in the state who are declining to take the vaccine... In a bid...

New York City medics and firefighters will be among the first in line for the new COVID-19 vaccines as early as mid-December — but they will not be required to take it. The FDNY told its members, including Emergency Medical Service workers, in an internal order Friday that it would soon provide the eagerly-awaited vaccine to first responders

Firefighters in Silicon Valley were sent out to enforce statewide business restrictions as the state faced a Thanksgiving shadowed by an out-of-control coronavirus surge and health officials begged people to avoid large family gatherings that could become “superspreader” events. Black Friday sales that typically draw enormous crowds also are in the spotlight. The holiday season leading into Christmas can account for a large chunk of store profits. But stores must follow COVID-19 safety orders such as requiring employees and customers to wear masks and observe social distancing, health officers warned. Compliance officers were to fan out throughout the county starting...

Earlier in October, the union representing Philadelphia firefighters voted to endorse Donald Trump. This was no small undertaking, given the overwhelming support of most unions for Joe Biden. When some union members complained about the process, a second vote was conducted. Trump won that vote by a two-to-one margin, with a final tally of 1,444 votes to keep the endorsement in place to 782 votes to rescind the endorsement. “It’s a huge win for Trump,” a source in the department told PJ Media. “Firefighters are overwhelmingly sacrificing future contract increases with a Democrat-run city to try and get Trump re-elected....

Unions are supposed to protect the little guy, but we’ve allowed the bigwigs to start exploiting members for political interests, or for their own gain. With the announcement that the 20-year general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters will abruptly end his re-election bid, the organization’s reputation as a political force is in trouble. On Aug. 28, federal investigators served the IAFF a flurry of subpoenas, which the Wall Street Journal reports are part of a criminal probe focused on illicit payouts to Schaitberger from the firefighters’ pension fund. IAFF President Harold Schaitberger is, indeed, feeling the heat.The...

The story is at first aggravating to hear but the more we learn about it the better the outlook for this country becomes. A pair of high school football players in Morrow, Ohio, ran out on the field before a game holding a Blue Lives Matter and Red Lives Matter flag. They were later suspended over the display, for introducing a political message to the game. It was a sign of pregame social signaling, and as we have come to learn there is a glaring set of double standards on such issues.  For years we have been lectured that Colin...

An assailant is being held accountable for allegedly punching a 60-year-old woman on the street, right in front of a New York City fire station. The firefighters inside made sure he didn’t get away. Surveillance video shows a 60-year-old woman in a blue shirt walking down the sidewalk when a man on a bicycle swerves over and punches her in the face, knocking her down. He speeds off as four firefighters run after him. The chase continued around the corner, where the firefighters struggled with the suspect and eventually took him to the ground. Police say while trying to restrain...

New York City — Dangling 16 stories over a Harlem sidewalk, Brian Quinn may look like a Hollywood stuntman, but this is no movie. The New York City firefighter was caught on camera trying to save a woman trapped on a ledge outside her burning apartment. "She was very frantic. She was screaming she was going to die," Quinn told CBS News. "She did not want to let go." It's the first time in years the department has resorted to a dangerous technique called a rope rescue. "I was scared," Quinn explained. "When you're up that high, it's scary." The...

When Daisy the bulldog showed up at the doorsteps of a North Central Fire Protection District Station 58 in Fresno, California in late April, she was extremely dehydrated and skinny. The bulldog camped out at the back of the station for about a week, sleeping on the doormat that leads right into the fire station. Although suffering from poor health, the dog made sure to greet the firefighters as they left for their calls. Eventually, the firefighters realized they had to help their new friend find a home... but it became difficult to find the dog a permanent home with...

Two Marin County, California, firefighters were rescued Friday after becoming trapped while battling the Woodward Fire in northern California, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday. The California wildfires have burned more than 1 million acres, CNN reports.

A total of 5,627 inmates have been released early since July 1, according to the CDCR. The early releases have meant there are 600 fewer inmate firefighters available this fire season compared to last year. Inmate firefighters “are an integral part of our firefighting operations,” Cal Fire Resource Management Communications Officer Christine McMorrow said. Inmate crews are assigned to a wide range of duties. When not assigned to fires, inmate crews work on fuel reduction projects near their camp location. During fires, inmate crews are assigned to initial attack, fire line creation, and mop up’s to make a fire safe...

A dog owner was left panicked when her labrador swam out of sight while chasing ducks - and fire crews found her one kilometre away, still happily paddling in pursuit of the birdsA labrador who really likes chasing ducks had to be rescued by firefighters after swimming in pursuit the birds for more than half a mile - and showed no signs of stopping. A crew from Victorian Fire and Rescue in Australia were taking part in a routine exercise on the Maribyrnong River when they were approached and asked to help out with a real-life situation. The distressed...