Latest news with #InternationalAssociationofFirefighters
Global News
07-07-2025
- General
- Global News
Maritime firefighters sounding alarm about staffing levels
Firefighters from across the Maritimes are sounding the alarm about staffing levels in the region, with union representatives saying a lack of personnel is putting the public at risk. Dozens of firefighters gathered in Charlottetown on Monday as part of the 4 Firefighters 4 Your Safety campaign. Unions say departments throughout the Atlantic region are not meeting international standards. 'It's the notion of two in, two out. If there's two firefighters in the building, we need two firefighters that are outside the building, in case something goes wrong,' said Chris Ross with the International Association of Firefighters. 'They can constitute an initial rescue force to go get those firefighters.' He says at least four firefighters should be on shift to respond to an emergency, but due to low staffing, most municipalities in the region are sending only two or three firefighters to calls. Story continues below advertisement 'The firefighters have no choice but to (work) with the staff that they have on scene and work harder, and the science demonstrates that when you drop below four firefighters on a firetruck, it becomes inefficient,' Ross said. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Not only does it become inefficient, it becomes dangerous.' 1:49 Calls fore more firefighting resources in Moncton to keep up with growth He is calling on municipal governments to expand their professional firefighting staff. A study from the National Fire Protection Association recommends a minimum of four firefighters per truck. 'Four-person firetrucks are 30 per cent more effective completing fire-ground tasks than a two-person crew,' said Joe Triff, vice-president of Halifax Professional Firefighters. 'If you're not equipped with the right resources and you're still expected to do the job, you're set up for failure.' Story continues below advertisement Halifax Fire's deputy Chief, Dave Meldrum, told Global News he sees the advantage of having four personnel per firetruck, but declined an interview due to ongoing contract negotiations with the union. Meanwhile, Halifax Coun. Sam Austin, who represents District 5, says recent budgets have included investments in Halifax Fire; however, it has been a struggle to keep pace with the municipality's growth. 'It is something that we look at regularly. Whether or not it's adequate right now, I don't know. I take the union's concerns really seriously and that'll have to be something that we'll look at,' he said. — With a file from Rebecca Lau
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New contract includes cancer screenings for firefighters
ASHLAND City commissioners passed the first reading of new contract with the local International Association of Firefighters chapter that will provide city firefighters with additional benefits, including coverage for annual full-body cancer screenings and the same health insurance benefits already offered to other city employees. With statistics showing increasing cancer rates among career firefighters related to to their exposure to hazardous materials and carcinogens on the job, the contract between the City of Ashland and Ashland City Firefighters Local 706 will provide fire personnel with preventative full-body cancer screenings yearly. According to Tuesday evening's City Commission Agenda, the screenings can catch any disease before it progresses in most cases. The contract appears to include items to equalize the city's fire personnel with other city departments, while conditions like annual cancer screenings also aim to save the city money in the long run, City Attorney Andrew Wheeler said. The three-year contract re-establishes a $850 allowance for required uniforms for new employees, the same as the Ashland Police Department, and the contract provides the same health insurance premiums and policies for fire fighters as those of other city employees. Changes from the prior contract also include updated vacation policies to increase scheduling flexibility, updated promotional process and trade policies. In other action: • City commissioners approved the first reading of an ordinance permitting encroachment of the city's right-of-way to allow Sawstone Brewing space for outdoor dining outside their business at 224 15th Street. • An ordinance eliminating certain city positions and reassigning job duties to different departments passed, which Commissioner Tim Renfroe was a sign the commission is 'still trying to save every dime we can.' Positions eliminated include revenue administrator and its salary and benefits of $118,226 — now replaced with Accounting Assistant, resulting in nearly $20,000 in savings. According to the agenda, the ordinance includes various administrative changes in job descriptions. • Although Commissioner Sonny Martin said the 'yea' vote was 'with much reservation,' the board voted to pass the remaining change orders for engineering costs on the Winchester Avenue Streetscape Project. Michelle Veach, City Finance Director, said the good news, however, was those items are the final change orders associated with the project. Veach said the city is expecting two more invoices followed by construction invoices and 'then we'll be done with downtown.' Of the change orders and incoming invoices, the city expects to be reimbursed for all but $20,000.
CBC
27-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
First responders shouldn't have to prove jobs caused illness to WSCC, says MLA
Northwest Territories MLA Kieron Testart is proposing a private members bill that would make it easier for first responders in the territory to access workers compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, cancers and heart disease. At a press conference Monday, Testart said he'll table a private members bill this week proposing amendments to establish "presumptive coverage" for sick and injured first responders instead of requiring them to prove their job made them sick. He says the proposed amendment would bring the N.W.T. in line with other jurisdictions in Canada, by recognizing the inherent risks of occupations like firefighting. "Despite spending years asking for support, the process has always moved too slowly to actually result in the changes these heroes need when they get sick," he said. Christian Bittrolff, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 2890, which represents Yellowknife firefighters, says the amendments would protect workers from the trauma of repeating their medical concerns to multiple people to obtain Workers' Compensation coverage. "You already told your story to the registered psychologist or the doctor, and you don't have to go through a bureaucratic process of reliving the thing that is causing you post-traumatic stress and putting you in crisis continuously," he said. Bittrolff says the amendments that would expand cancer care coverage bring recognition to the International Agency for Research on Cancer's classification of firefighting as being a carcinogenic occupation. "It's even more important in a small northern community where the access is limited, where the resources are limited, to have that presumptive legislation that streamlines the whole process," he said. Bittrolff says firefighters often know the people they are helping and these stressors are amplified in small communities. Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon says there are volunteer firefighters in communities like Fort Resolution, and he has constituents who are going through some of the challenges address by the bill. "We want to make sure we get coverage for them," he said. Expanding covered cancers Bittrolff says the late Gregg Pratt, a Yellowknife firefighter, was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer not covered by WSCC. "When you have that kind of news, those kinds of conversations, having that fight or even going down the WSCC route to look and see if this is going to be covered, is the last thing you want to be thinking about," he said. "His focus was on fighting cancer, and that's where it should be." The proposed amendments would require firefighters to work for two years to be eligible for the presumptive coverage. Bittrolff says house fires put out 256 known carcinogens, but firefighters respond to industrial fires too. Pratt was the first one in on the Fitzgerald Carpeting fire in 2016 where flooring, paints and solvents burned. "The exposure on that single event alone is concerning," he said. The changes proposed by the bill would cover firefighters, police officers, nurses, paramedics, correctional officers, sheriff's officers, emergency dispatch operators, and continuing-care assistants.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CT firefighters are dying from cancer likely due to their gear. Lawmakers want to help
With cancer the number one cause of death for firefighters, Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would allocate $3 million to replace fire apparatus thought to be causing cancer. Studies have shown over the years that perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), a class of fluorinated chemicals known as 'forever chemicals' have been linked to cancer and other serious health effects, according to the International Association of Firefighters. The IAFF found in studies that all three layers of firefighter turnout gear, the protective clothing and equipment firefighters wear, contain PFAs. 'We feel very strongly that PFAS is a significant factor in those increased cancer rates,' Brown said. 'We are hopeful that we will never have to put gear on that contains PFAs and that we will see a reduction in cancer rates in the next generation of firefighters.' But though the state has been taking steps to eliminate PFAs from turnout gear and from the firefighting foam used to put out fires, the process is costly, deterring some departments and taking a toll on others who were eager to get potentially safer gear. Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, wrote in his testimony in support of the bill that in 2021 the state 'took an important step by banning the use of firefighting foams containing PFAs. 'However, fire departments that acted early to comply with this law have faced financial burdens as previous reimbursement programs only covered removals completed after July 1, 2023,' Kissel wrote. HB 7120 aims to address the epidemic of cancer among firefighters and also help departments shoulder the cost of replacing PFAs-containing firefighting gear. The bill would establish a pilot program to screen Connecticut firefighters for cancers common to firefighters and require municipalities to provide additional sets of turnout gear to firefighters who are diagnosed with cancer or are at an increased risk of developing cancer. It would also provide grants to departments that still need to replace PFAs-containing fire apparatus and provide reimbursement to those that replaced turnout gear prior to July 1, 2023. Peter Brown, president of the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, said with firefighters getting cancer at a higher rate than the general population it is imperative to protect them. John Carew, Connecticut State Firefighters Association legislative representative and past president of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association, also said the bill is integral. But Carew also cited concerns with the bill. First, PFAs-free gear is hard to get because just one manufacturer currently is making it. Second, it's expensive. A set of PFAs-free gear costs roughly $4,000, he said. There are concerns also about the durability of the gear. Conventional gear containing PFAs lasts approximately 10 years, Carew said, while PFAs-free gear may last only up to two years. Last year legislators passed SB 292 which bans the manufacturing, selling or distributing of products containing PFAs beginning on Jan. 1, 2028, according to the bill's analysis. The products include apparel, carpets or rugs, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, children's products, menstruation products, ski wax, textile furnishings, and upholstered furniture, according to an analysis of the bill. There are concerns about the PFAs-free turnout gear, too. The National Fire Protection Association has found through testing of the PFAs-free gear that it is 'less breathable and offers less thermal protection, which could lead to higher heat stress among firefighters.' Brown has also learned of those concerns, he said. Waterbury Assistant Fire Chief Javier Lopez said his department decided not to move forward at this time with PFAs-free gear after testing the gear for three months. Lopez said they also cited concerns about heat-related issues related to the gear, which could include potential cardiac issues. Brown said since the legislature passed a law providing firefighters with occupational cancer job protection, there have been 30-35 cancer claims. But he believes that number is higher at around 50. To protect the next generation, PFAs in turnout gear must be addressed. 'They don't have to put the agent back on their body that could have caused their initial claim,' he said.
CBS News
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Nationwide fire truck shortage impacting Mass. departments. IAFF asks for investigation.
The Quincy Fire Department secured funding for new fire trucks in 2022, but now three years later they still don't have them. Manufacturing delays are forcing them to buy used trucks from other cities. Now, the International Association of Firefighters is asking the U.S. government to step in and investigate the companies who build the vehicles. "We are waiting on an engine and a ladder right now, and it has been three and a half years," said Quincy Fire Chief Joe Jackson. "The build times to actually get these trucks built has quadrupled. It's a huge problem being able to plan. Some of these trucks that I'm ordering now, are likely to be received by another fire chief, and I think about that, and it's so weird." Constant maintenance on old trucks The fire department has some trucks in service that are more than 20-years-old. They are only able to keep them in service because they have two maintenance workers who constantly work on them. This is only made possible because car dealer Dan Quirk donated the department a large maintenance space on his property. Without the space, Chief Jackson says they wouldn't be able to keep this going. "Most communities have to send their apparatus to the dealership to be worked on," explains Chief Jackson. "If one of these old trucks needs a radiator that's $10,000. That's ten-grand on a 30-year-old truck, and you have no choice." "This is a 2003, so we are looking at 25-years-old right now," said maintenance worker Kevin Mellor, pointing to a truck he's working on. "After a certain time, to be compliant with the NFPA standards, after 20 years the truck should go into a reserve." Increased cost of fire trucks The department bought one of their trucks 10 years ago for $900,000. Their latest ones cost $2 million with a potential 4-year wait time to get. "Prior to COVID, it was 10 months for an engine, 12 months with a ladder," explained Chief Jackson. The chief says there are only a few major companies that manufacture fire trucks. He says those companies tell him the delays are due to global supply issues, increased costs, and a struggle to find workers at the factories. The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) says the lack of competition in the fire truck marketplace has led to billions of dollars in backlogged trucks from around the globe. "We contacted the Department of Justice and the FTC to investigate this, and to make sure that what is happening can either be halted or mitigated," said Jay Colbert with IAFF. Spike in demand, labor shortage Chief Jackson and Colbert say there are three large companies who manufacture the majority of the trucks. WBZ reached out to all three, with one of them, the REV Group, getting back to us about the delays. They gave WBZ this statement. "An unprecedented spike in demand and ongoing skilled labor shortages have contributed to increased costs and delivery times across the industry," said a spokesperson for the REV Group, "We take our responsibility to deliver for America's first responders seriously and have increased our fire and emergency vehicle production by nearly 30% in the last two years, and developed new lines of semi-custom trucks that deliver in under a year." The company says they also do not use dynamic or floating pricing. Once they agree on a price with a fire department, they stick to that price even if the costs to build increase before it's built. REV Group says data from the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association shows that fire truck demand from 2011-2020 increased by 43% from 2021 to 2023.
