When Vincent J. Bollon became a New York firefighter and IAFF member, Ike was in the White House, Elvis was in the army and Barack Obama hadn't been born. Today, General President Harold Schaitberger announced that Bollon was retiring from his post as IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer, effective January 15. Bollon served more than two decades as IAFF's chief financial officer, and nearly 35 years as an active IAFF leader.
Years of neglect, complicated by undocumented modifications, are believed to have played a role in the disastrous Modesto fire which left two firefighters injured ... one of them with burns over nearly half of his body.
The story of property loss to major fires in the United States begins and ends in California. In its annual report on Large Loss Fires in the United States, NFPA says that California wildland fires caused a collective property loss of nearly $950 million in 2008. That means 40 cents of every dollar of major fire loss in the US in 2008 occurred in the California wildlands.
California’s firefighters and other hard-working public employees have a new voice for retirement security on the CalPERS Board of Administration. In a close runoff election, CalPERS investment officer J.J. Jelincic won the election for the CalPERS Board seat being vacated by retiring Charles Valdes.
Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 and the Cosumnes CSD Fire Department are deeply saddened to announce the loss of firefighter Richard Emmanuel Ibarra due to a sudden illness, considered job-related by the department. He was 42 years old.