Cliff Pinckard – cleveland.com COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former Columbus firefighter cadet who says she was sexually harassed by an ex-battalion chief will receive $250,000 in a settlement of a lawsuit. WCMH Channel 4 reports the settlement of the lawsuit includes a $25,000 payment to the woman from former Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Joe Richard, who was accused of sexually harassing the cadet. The cadet is one of three female cadets who accused Richard of inappropriate behavior, the Columbus Dispatch reports. In the lawsuit that was settled ..read more

By Phil Jose The first, and overarching, learning point in the Art of Reading Smoke curriculum is the concept that smoke is fuel. The reason is to help firefighters, company officers, and command officers understand their enemy, smoke. Now smoke is not a thinking, reasoning enemy with a will of its own, but it is still our adversary in the battle to save lives. A comprehensive understanding of smoke is necessary for the reading smoke process and to apply that process in the rapid decision-making environment of the modern fireground. To understand the concept of smoke is fuel a little better, w ..read more

By Christopher Feder When it comes to technical rescue, I live and work in two worlds: standby rescue and emergency response. My full-time position allows me to oversee a division for a private third-party consulting firm that delivers standby technical rescue and rope access teams for high angle, confined space, challenging access, and special work at height projects. In this capacity, I am tasked with visualizing the rescue job prior to deploying a team to support the project. Over the years, I have found various tools and techniques that have helped a great deal in not only the standby resc ..read more

By Al Duffy Congratulations! You studied hard and finally received the promotion you’ve been waiting for, company officer! Now is the time for you to step up and lead the crew assigned to you, along with molding them into the fine-tuned fire company you want them to become. One of the greatest challenges you will face in your new position of company officer is that of gaining the respect of your crew. The biggest thing to remember when it comes to gaining respect is that it must be earned and not given. You should not force your respect on your crew just because you now wear a bugle or bugles ..read more

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Apr. 3—Honolulu firefighters extinguished a fire that broke out at a home in Hawaii Kai today. Ten units with nearly 40 firefighters responded to a 911 call of a fire in the 200 block of Ainahou Street at about 8:25 a.m. When crews arrived, they saw smoke and flames emanating from a single-story residence, the Honolulu Fire Department said. Crews brought the blaze under control shortly after 8:35 a.m. and extinguished it about 20 minutes later. No injuries were reported. The American Red Cross was contacted to assis ..read more

New technology is constantly emerging to help keep first responders healthier and safer. To give more volunteer firefighters access to this innovative equipment, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has partnered with MSA Safety to award three NVFC members a personalized MSA Cairns® XF1 Fire Helmet in 2023. The jet-style design of the Cairns® XF1 Fire Helmet reduces snag hazards, provides a personalized fit, and houses its own integrated light module. Plus, the soft goods are removable, washable, and replaceable, helping firefighters align with cancer awareness programs as written by th ..read more

Emily Holshouser – The Orange County Register Authorities were investigating what caused a fire to rip through a Garden Grove strip mall Thursday night, March 30, causing an estimated $1.25 million in damage. More than 40 firefighters responded to the blaze in the 12500 block of Valley View Street at about 8:40 p.m. It took an hour to knock it down. The building’s roof partially collapsed and four units suffered damage ..read more

Rosenbauer America is pleased to announce the appointment of Randy Brummel as President. Randy’s extensive history in the fire industry and previous leadership roles at Rosenbauer over the last three years has prepared him to lead Rosenbauer America into the future. The company’s purpose remains unchanged, Rosenbauer exists to support the mission of saving lives and protecting property. Randy’s focus continues to be building the industry’s best custom fire trucks, operational excellence, dealer development, financial discipline, customer satisfaction, and serving first responders. “I would lik ..read more

Two D.C. Fire and EMS firefighters are accused of stopping at a Chick-fil-A for a meal while they were responding to a medical call on Friday. Ambulances were called to a Kaiser Permanent clinic for a 57-year-old female suffering chest pains just after 4 p.m. While on the way, NBC 4 reports the ambulance detoured into a Chick-fil-A for a meal. The firefighters said the meal had been pre-ordered on a hectic day, and they stopped for no more than a couple minutes at the restaurant, which was a mile from their destination. They say the stop did not delay patient care because another medic unit wa ..read more

The fire chief in the town of Hundred has resigned after complaints surfaced that he was a registered sex offender, but town officials hope to keep him on the job. The issue was raised by anonymous letter writers who pointed out that Chief Tom Powell was listed on the West Virginia Sex Offenders registry for a 1997 case in which Powell was convicted of five counts of second degree sexual assault-contact Wyoming. The victim was a female between the ages of 13 and 17, and Powell was 38 years old at the time of conviction, WBOY reports. The letters also pointed out that it is illegal for people w ..read more