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LACFD: RE: L.A. County assistant fire chief Glynn Johnson puppy killing case

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 08:52 PM PST

To all Karley supporters: Letter released from animal cruelty victims
If you can, please tune into KTLA Channel 5 tonight at 10:00pm. They will be doing a news story on Glynn Johnson. He has counter sued us and wait till you here what he is claiming now!!! We have also heard that he officially retired from the Los Angeles County Fire Department two weeks ago. Here is what is posted on the KTLA website.
KTLA News
February 11, 2009
RIVERSIDE -- A retired L.A. County assistant fire chief charged with animal cruelty in the beating death of his neighbor's six-month-old puppy is turning the tables on his accusers.
54- year old Glynn Johnson has now filed a lawsuit against the owners of the puppy claiming the dog attack left him permanently disabled.
According to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, Johnson alleges he suffered physical and emotional trauma as a result of the "dog's brutal attack."
Johnson has pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty, with sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony in connection with the Nov. 3 beating.
Johnson, who retired from the fire department two weeks ago, remains free on $10,000 bail.
He's scheduled to return to Riverside County Superior Court for a felony settlement conference Feb. 20.
Johnson maintains he was attacked by the dog and hit it only to defend himself.

Thank you again for all your support!
Sincerely,
The Toole Family

SBCF: Wildfire preparation community information meetings

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 12:38 PM PST

Fire Department Holds Community Information Meetings

Santa Barbara County-- Santa Barbara County's Fire Department is responding to a warning from the governor to be prepared for fire season year round.

"Wild-Fire Safety" town Hall meetings will be held throughout the month of February.

The meetings include an open question and answer forum and tips on everything from creating defensible space to what to do if you become trapped in your home during a wildfire.

Meeting Schedules:
2/11/09
6pm-8pm
Solvang
Solvang Veterans Memorial Building
1745 Mission Dr.

2/16/09
6pm-8pm
Lompoc
Village Country Club
4300 CLubhouse Dr.

2/23/09
6pm-8pm
Goleta
Goleta Valley Community Center
5679 Hollister Ave.

2/25/09
6pm-8pm
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Fleischman Auditorium
2559 Puesta del Sol Rd.

Alameda Firefighters Issue Statement About Mothballed Fire Boats

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 12:29 PM PST

Without any notification to the community, the Fire Department Rescue Boat and Fire Boat have been placed permanently out of service.

Domenick Weaver, President
Alameda Firefighters IAFF Local 689 AFL‐CIO

The Ambulance assigned to Bay Farm Island and the Fire Truck that serves the Gold Coast, West Alameda, and Alameda Point that are being closed as daily staffing levels fluctuate are NOT the only pieces of Emergency Equipment affeted by the City of Alameda's financial decision making. Without any notification to the community, the Fire Department Rescue Boat and Fire Boat have been placed permanently out of service. Expensive and unfunded maintenance issues have placed the Fire Boat program, "on the rocks".

Home to one of the largest marinas on the West Coast, Alameda as an Island completely surrounded by water has many opportunities for water activities and the risks associated with them. On one side, you have a vast expanse of tidal flats and dangerous mud, and on the other, an estuary with many obstructions, debris, cold water and swift moving currents. The Alameda Fire Boat and Rescue Boat were cross-staffed pieces of equipment that when needed, either an Engine or Truck Company with qualified operators and crew members would respond to the appropriate boat and respond to the water based emergency. These types of responses included boats taking on water, water rescues for people in the water, boat and marina fires, and fires on piers and docks.

The boats are still in the water, and City Staff has given direction to leave them there as to not create a public perception that the Fire Department is being "picked on". Marina owners, boat owners, water enthusiasts and all citizens need to know that these resources are now un‐available to respond to water based emergencies. Not only has your safety been placed in jeopardy on land, but on the water as well.

These boats represent valuable resources that not only were there to protect you and your investments on the water day in and day out, but in the event of earthquake, supplied a means of obtaining a sea water pumping source for an emergency water supply. Being a neighbor to the Oakland International Airport, it is conceivable that water based rescue platforms could be necessary in the waters off Alameda, similar to the rescues affected on the Hudson River in NYC just last month.

The Alameda Fire Department will still respond on water rescues and to boat and marina fires, but all action will be limited to what can be accomplished from land. The United States Coast Guard will still respond for on the water distress and rescue calls, however the nearest Fire Boat located within the San Francisco Bay is operated by the San Francisco Fire Department, and may not be able to respond even if requested.

SFFD: The fifth of six San Francisco firefighters injured has been released from a hospital

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 12:09 PM PST

The fifth of six San Francisco firefighters injured last week in a suspicious early-morning blaze in the Portola neighborhood has been released from a hospital, but the sixth remains in intensive care with life-threatening injuries, officials said Tuesday.

Lt. James App was released Monday after being treated for burns at St. Francis Memorial Hospital, the Fire Department said. App, an eight-year veteran, suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns. Four other firefighters were previously treated and released.

Christopher Posey, a paramedic with the city and the Fire Department for more than 18 years, is in critical condition in the intensive care unit at San Francisco General Hospital with burns and serious respiratory injuries.

The firefighters were injured Thursday when the roof collapsed in a vacant, burning two-story home at 627 Felton St. The fire was reported at 12:30 a.m. Its cause remains under investigation.

Source: SF Gate - Link

SDFD: Firefighters forced into Gay Parade - lawsuit

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 11:19 AM PST

San Diego Firemen 'Forced' Into Pride Parade Claim Victim Status
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Contributor
Tuesday Feb 10, 2009

Four firemen who say they were forced to take part in a gay Pride parade and that they were subjected to cat-calls and the sight of semi-nude men carrying out "simulated sex acts" say that what they went through constitutes sexual harassment.

The case has been an ongoing saga that has already ended in one mistrial.

As previously reported at EDGE, the firemen were required to fill in for colleagues who had initially agreed to ride in a fire engine in a 2007 Pride parade, but then backed out.

The men expressed their reluctance, but were ordered to ride in the parade. Subsequently, the firemen said that the attentions of some men in the crowd, whom they assumed to be gay, caused them anger and anxiety. The men claimed that being forced to participate in the parade constituted a form of sexual harassment.

According to a Feb. 8 article at the San Diego Union-Times, the second trial in the case is now winding down.

The jury will decide whether the case has merit when they answer a series of ten questions put to them by the judge, the most pressing of which is whether the men were subjected to "severe or pervasive" sexual harassment by gays in the crowd.

The union Tribune story reported that attorneys for the city claim that that the plaintiffs are "money-hungry opportunists," as the article put it, whereas the men say that they were victims of a crowd that included gay men who whistled, gestured, and pantomimed sexual contact.

A central part of the men's argument is that they were forced to participate against their will. The article quoted Capt. Jason Heweitt, who told the court, "Nobody listened to us."

In the first trial, which ended as a mistrial, Charles LiMandri, lawyer for the firemen, had sought an award of one million dollars for each of the men: Capt. Hewitt, Capt. John Ghiotto, Alex Kane, and Chad Allison.

No specified amount was mentioned in this latest trial, the article said.

But the question of monetary damages depends on what the jury decides.

The article quoted University of San Diego School of Law professor Shaun Martin, who said, "The city's best defense is, 'Even if you were harassed, it was not severe or pervasive.'

"The law is unclear, and the fact that this is a hot-button issue makes this an even harder case," added Martin.

"It's going to be difficult to keep the jurors' prejudices out of the decision-making."

The article noted that the firefighters testified that they did not feel they were at risk, nor did the majority of the people in the crowd act in a sexually provocative manner, which calls into question how severe and how pervasive the purported "harassment" might have been.

Moreover, the article noted that the firemen seemed not to know themselves whether the crowd's allegedly harassing behavior was pervasive: the Union-Tribune said that Kane characterized the conduct he found offensive as both isolated to "pockets" and pervasive, while Allison said that it was "intermittent" as well as "pretty much throughout" the event.

The article said that it has been the contention of the defense that the firemen are homophobic.

The article reported that a lawyer for the city, in questioning Allison, had the firefighter read aloud from his written claim. The sentence that the lawyer asked to hear read to the court stated, "I believe that a person who does not support homosexuality should not be forced to participate."

LiMandri, in his turn, asked Allison to read further: "However, my complaint is that I was ordered into a nonemergency environment against my will and was subjected to sexual harassment as a result," the claim continued.

Though no specific amount was cited by the firemen's lawyer in this second trial, the claim makes it plain that the men seek monetary compensation as well as a policy to prevent firemen who object from being ordered to participate in such events.

Such a policy was implanted within a year of the complaint, the article said. Tracy Jarman, the Fire Chief, also apologized to the men in a meeting that took place a week and half after the men rode in the engine as part of the parade.

In 2008, Jarman was awarded Fire Chief of the Year, an honor bestowed upon her by the California Fire Chiefs Association.
Source: The Edge - Link

LBFD: Port of Long Beach Command and Control Center

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 11:02 AM PST

On February 9th, 2009 Long Beach port officials and other dignitaries officially opened the Port of Long Beach Command and Control Center, which will serve as the Port's Security Division HQ and as a coordination and communications hub for security agencies that protect the harbor complex

Safety and security are top priorties at the Port of Long Beach, which is always updating its plan for continued business operations in the event of an emergency. It is estimated that a shutdown of the Port complex would cost the U.S. economy about $1 billion a day.

The 25,000 square-foot, $21 million facility houses the Port's Security Division and serves as a base for the Harbor Patrol. About 125 people will work at the building and a helipad caps the three-story structure.

The center is one of the first or its kind at a United States seaport — designed for the new, post-9/11, multi-layered approach to port security. It also centralizes all video surveillance of the Port and enhances communication among the many security agencies.

LBFD was on hand to help with the opening and we used Fire Boat 15 to do a water display in the ceremony.

Source: LBFD News and views - Link

OCFA: Wildfire Action Planning Meeting tonight

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 10:07 AM PST

OCFA to Host Wildfire Action Planning Meeting in Yorba Linda

With the ongoing wildfires in Australia raging out-of-control and last year's Yorba Linda fire in mind, you might consider attend a wildfire workshop held by the Orange County Fire Authority on Wednesday: Fire season is a year-round reality, requiring firefighters and residents to constantly be on heightened alert for the threat of wildfire. The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) will hold a wildfire action planning meeting on Wednesday, February 11 from 6 - 9 p.m. at the Yorba Linda Community Center located at 4501 Casa Loma. The meeting will address various decisions that will affect you and your home before, during and after a wildfire.

The OCFA has been working to modify Australia's "Leave Early or Stay and Defend" program to meet the needs of the urban interface communities of Orange County. OCFA will introduce its wildfire preparation program on Wednesday. The tragic events of the current firestorms in Australia re-emphasize the need for community action and preparation ahead of the wildfires.

"Residents need to prepare their families for a quick and safe evacuation," says OCFA Fire Chief Chip Prather. "We will provide the necessary information needed to make those important decisions."

The meeting and vendor expo will cover defensible space, ignition resistive construction features, and the latest technology that could help your home. Residents can also learn about "trigger points" to leave early and evacuate.

Australia: Brushfires, 911 Operators Tragically Heard Callers Dying in Wildfires

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 09:59 AM PST

Feb. 10: Firefighters from the Department of Sustainability use a hose to quench embers after a fire near Healseville, Australia. Credit: AP

Emergency operators listened to terrified Australians "dying over the phone" at the height of the wildfire horror.

More than 4,200 phone calls were made to emergency services dispatch centers as victims across the state pleaded for help.

The sheer volume of calls was staggering, said Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority spokesman Wayne Debernardi.

"We are talking a number of calls this country has just never experienced like that before," he said.

"Our call takers had to listen to people dying on the phone and I am sure that is something that will live with them forever."

Fears were growing last night that another monster fire was building as two major blazes burning close together threatened to merge.

Fire authorities fear the extreme weather forecast for next week could rekindle killer blazes that blasted towns off the map and left at least 181 people dead.