The widow of fallen Los Angeles City Firefighter John Lawrence won delayed justice this week, thanks to the efforts of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City. AFLAC Insurance originally denied the death benefit for Lawrence's estate, claiming that his death by job-related cardiac arrest was not covered as a heart attack. After pressure from UFLAC, AFLAC reversed its stand and paid the benefit.
San Diego Fire Chief Javier Mainar told city officials Wednesday that a cost-cutting plan to temporarily remove fire engines from service has lengthened response times around the city, increasing the risk of property loss, injury or death.
In 2008, CDF Firefighters Local 2881 netted more than $140,000 for MDA in its statewide series of Fill-The-Boot fund raisers. For Local 2881, however, it appears 2009 was twice as nice.
When Larkspur fire captains Matt Cobb and Jim Clark saw the horrifying images of suffering coming out of Haiti after the January 12th earthquake, they knew they had to do something. What they didn't know was that, right up the road, San Rafael Captain Paul LeVeque - one of their brother firefighters from Local 1775 - was thinking exactly the same thing.
At the annual MDA "Boot Camps" in Southern and Northern California, departments from across the state came together to share best practices to ensure that the 2010 Fill the Boot Campaign is a huge success. CPF President Lou Paulson encouraged firefighters to support MDA and to continue filling their boots for the worthwhile cause.