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Florida Firefighters Could Work as Correctional Officers to Save Jobs

ppeluso0 — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:50:51 +0000

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The Volusia County Council is recruiting 18 of its firefighter to become correctional officers in order to avoid further layoffs, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

The county's jail system is experiencing a shortage of workers and the council has agreed to pay close to $1,700 to train the firefighters as correctional officers. The taining and certification process would take the recruits 14 weeks to complete.

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Round 2 '09 AFG Awards Announced

ppeluso0 — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:16:21 +0000

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Today, Friday, Feb. 3, the second round of the Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) awards for FY '09 were announced.

Click here to view the list of announcements.

The primary goal of the AFG funds is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical services organizations.

Another goal of the program is to target high-risk populations and reduce injury and prevent death.

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Financial Hard Times Means Layoffs for Firefighters

FHEditor — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:41:07 +0000

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Ed Ballam

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Editor's Note: An abbreviated version of this article appears in the February 2010 issue of Firehouse Magazine, starting on page 60. Also read "Telling it Like it Is - Doing less with less. When will we learn?" and respond with your thoughts and concerns.

If there's any silver lining in the staffing crisis the fire service is facing currently, it's the fact that the federal government is preparing to open the spigot on $420 million in federal grants aimed at getting firefighters back to work.

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IAFF Staffing Survey Report

NVFC Wants Change in Distribution of Funds

ppeluso0 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:23:40 +0000

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Organization calls current disbursements of federal training funds by DHS unfair.

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BY SUSAN NICOL KYLE

Firehouse.com News

The National Volunteer Fire Council is calling for changes in the way federal funds for training are disbursed by DHS.

In a white paper on volunteer training released yesterday, the organization called the current disbursements unfair, stating that changes would help keep volunteer firefighters abreast of ever-changing methods and technology.

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Telling it Like it Is - February 2010

FHEditor — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:01:39 +0000

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Doing less with less. When will we learn?

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Firehouse Magazine Editorial Staff

Budget cuts. These words have become an integral part of the daily lives of most fire service leaders. As many municipalities, both big and small, are forced to deal with declining revenues and shrinking financial reserves, they are left with little choice but to cut into all aspects of municipal operations, including public safety. This seems to inevitably set off a chain of events that ultimately leads to the use of the ubiquitous yet equally aggravating phrase: "They are asking us to do more with less."

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Calif. City Mulls Contract Out Fire Dept.

cygnus — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:35:58 +0000

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Michael J. Sorba

San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

Feb. 3--COLTON -- In the latest effort to find better -- and cheaper -- ways of operating, Colton officials are exploring the possibility of disbanding the city fire department and contracting with an outside agency.

The City Council unanimously approved contracts totaling $187,570 with San Francisco-based consulting firm Harvey M. Rose Associates, LLC to perform "operational performance audits" of the Fire Department and Colton Electric Utility.

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Blaze Near Closed Mass. Station Reignites Debate

cygnus — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:08:22 +0000

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The station is six doors away from a house where a fire left 15 people homeless.

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BY JILL HARMACINSKI

The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- A late-morning fire caused by an electric space heater left 15 people homeless yesterday and reignited debate over why the Prospect Hill firehouse, just six doors away, remains closed.

"We've already had this one tragedy. We don't need another," said District A City Councilor Sandy Almonte, who spent the day helping the fire victims.

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Obama Proposal Cuts AFG, SAFER

Susan Nicol Kyle — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:27:07 +0000

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President Obama's proposed 2011 budget calls for cuts to AFG and SAFER, and a slight increase for the USFA.

The spending plan includes $305M each for AFG and SAFER. In FY '10, AFG received $390M and SAFER, $420M..

The proposal, posted Monday on the Office of Management and Budget website, also includes $45.9M for the USFA, which received $45.59M last year.

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We Reap the Harvest We Sow

FHEditor — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:41:11 +0000

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Budget cuts will have lasting impact on residents and responders

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Azarang ozzie M...

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When the frequency of an occurrence is drastically increased, the exposure is prolonged or when the magnitude and impact of an incident are quite significant, people impacted tend to adjust and become desensitized after a while.

It has a numbing impact, and right, wrong, or indifferent, we just get used to it. Maybe not at first, but then gradually.

With the increased frequency of occurrence of an event, people simply adjust their norms and accept it as a non-event regular part of life.

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Phil Mele's Letter of Intent to Retire (PDF)

Tulsa FFs OK Pay Cuts to Avoid Layoffs

cygnus — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:38:36 +0000

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BY SHANNON MUCHMORE

Tulsa World, Okla.

Tulsa firefighters voted overwhelmingly to save 147 jobs by agreeing to a 5.2 percent pay cut and other benefit concessions, union officials announced Sunday night.

"There's nobody else trained to do what we do," said Stan May, president of Tulsa Firefighters Local 176. "If we took 147 firefighters off the streets, we would put this city in serious risk."

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