Tag Archives: International Association of Fire Fighters

The IAFF Presidential Forum is the first big event for everyone to see who is running and what they are all about. Many will drop out prior to the Democrats and Republicans picking their candidate. One thing we have learned in the past is that anything can happen.

Some of the families of 19 firefighters who died in the line of duty in Prescott, AZ are being denied benefits they thought they would be getting. Is the City of Prescott to blame, or did the Fire Service fail them?

On June 30th, 19 Prescott, AZ Professional Firefighters died while operating as a part of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. They died while fighting a fire in Yarnell Hill, AZ. On July 9th, a very fitting memorial service was held to honor the lives of our fallen brothers.

Watch live coverage of the Memorial on FireCritic.com: On Tuesday, all 19 firefighters will be honored at a memorial. The Granite Mountain Hotshots survivor, Brendan McDonough is slated to read the Hotshot's prayer during the service at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley.

As a fire service, we have a duty to make sure every attempt is made to utilize these grants. If we do not, the funding might not be there next year. Plus, free money? Who doesn't want that. Maybe you don't even know where to begin when writing a grant. There are several grant writing firms out there. Some offer customized grant writing, others offer samples of successful grants. What is $50 - $2000 (the higher for custom grant writing) when you could recieve thousands and maybe tens of thousands of dollars in grant money?

So many firefighters have been fighting for collective bargaining for years...and now that fight has swayed to keep collective bargaining for the ones who already have it. Now our pensions are under attack. Our pensions, and our salaries are being scapegoated as the reason for budget deficits. We are the problem according to some.

Rescue Me was a hit. Many firefighters enjoyed it. I thought it showed how dysfunctional firefighters can be...not all of us, but some of us. It started out being pretty heavy on the firefighting and light on the drama...it ended up being very heavy on the drama and light on the firefighting. Trauma was just way over the top...and too many ambo drivers! The question now is what will be the next network show or movie about firefighting... Here are some of the options...

3 banger in Alexandria, helmet sticker controversy in Albuquerque, application woes in Austin, fire service product reviews, the Firemom weighs in on Ohio Senate Bill 5, Hosed humor on volunteer firefighters, bonus fire footage from Westerly, Rhode Island,firefighter fired after stealing, and Ed Schultz and Harold Schaitberger weigh in on firefighter pension attacks....check it out!

While there is probably little the applicants can do in this situation, if indeed they were not notified until showing up or already on their way the fault lays in the lap of the Fire Department. This is something that should have been addressed way before tickets were bought or travel arrangements were made. If they were told they were welcome to take the test, the door should not have been shut in their face.

Oh wait...the controversy... Albuquerque's Mayer is Richard Berry. Some people apparently think that this "FMB" has a derogatory connotation. I think what they are getting at is that it means "F&^$ Mayor Berry". I just don't see it, that is one heck of an imagination!