New Westminster firefighters to look at restructuring
Members of Local 256 of the International Association of Firefighters ratified a collective agreement that includes a 2.5 per cent annual wage increase for each year of the contract, as well as some moves to restructure the department. New Westminster Fire...
The art of burning old growth in Banff
The Sawback area was burned in 1986, 1993 and 1998 — fires that would clean up woody debris and help to knock down any small pines before they started to develop cones and regenerate. In 2014 two more fires were set in the area. There’s a lot of complications but it...
Better ways to fight fires
Central Ohio has benefited greatly from a long-standing arrangement among 34 independent fire departments resulting in a metropolitan-like fire department. But it is beset with inefficiencies: It lacks economies of scale and mass purchasing power and it skips...
Ontario fire department wins prestigious marketing association award
The Canadian Marketing Association has honoured the London Fire Department and its analytics partner Environics Analytics with a prestigious national award. Using customer segmentation and data analytics expertise provided by Environics Analytics, the fire...
Botched probe of California forest fire should worry the public
The 2007 Moonlight Fire in California claimed 65,000 acres. The idea was that government officials — state and federal investigators and prosecutors, could be counted on to conduct an honest investigation and ethical prosecution of those responsible for starting a...
Non-electric elevator has potential to save lives in building fires
A group of researchers in Beijing are testing a new kind of equipment that, if successful, could significantly add to the chances of survival in a high-rise fire. The equipment, now installed in a 15-story, 40-meter-high, university dormitory, can carry four to five...
Ontario case sets precedent for charges against landlord for fire code violations
On Nov. 3, 2014 a fire in London, Ontario claimed the life of group home tenant Dave MacPherson, 72. Property owner Dharma Meetun and group home operator Keith Charles face 26 Fire Protection and Prevention Act charges between them. The fire department was headed to...
Extinguish fires yourself city fire chief says
The fire departments of The Hague, Amsterdam and Rotterdam are calling on citizens to first try extinguishing fires themselves over New Year’s before calling the fire department. This is because they are too busy during the turning of the year to help everywhere. On...
Jasper fire chief gets charity effort rolling across Canada
To keep a promise, Jasper fire chief Greg Van Tighem plans to cycle across the roof of Canada in March. “In early 2013, I set the target of raising $93,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada in each of the next three years by making an annual epic bike...
Home fires in the US kill 125 people in just two weeks
One hundred and twenty-five people in the United States died in fires during the 14 days from November 9 through November 22. At least 33 were senior citizens and 20 were children under 14 and another 33 are listed as their age unknown. This brings to over 2,050 the...
Is Hydro playing smoke and mirrors over smart-meter fires?
B.C. Hydro insists its spiffy new smart meters have not caused any fires even though the technology has been blamed for blazes in other jurisdictions. That includes Saskatchewan, where the government just decided to get rid of smart meters after a series of electrical...
Hoarding Education and Action Team deals with clutter problems in Victoria
Formed by the Fire Prevention Officers Association, HEAT is a conglomerate of organizations, including local fire departments, Island Health, SPCA and various non-profit organizations. "From the point of view of fire departments, when you have so much property in a...
Ottawa firm’s emergency response portal could help first responders
Security expert Mark Macy was showing off his company’s remote building monitor system to a colleague over breakfast in Gatineau on Oct. 22 when news broke that a lone gunman had killed a soldier and attacked the Parliament Buildings. Though the portal is designed for...
Report warns of soaring risk of ‘mega-fires’ in B.C.
Firefighting won’t be enough to stop devastating fires; report calls for new emphasis on prevention. “During these events, suppression response cannot be relied upon to protect communities or natural resource values. The only protection provided will be the protection...
Cameras might circle Lake Tahoe to help warn of fires
Like an automated version of the manned fire lookouts used for decades to protect vulnerable forests from fire, the cameras are designed to alert officials that a fire has started, allowing them to send firefighters to the scene before it gets big. Had the camera...
Landlord given 3 year sentence after fatal fire
The owner of a rooming house in Etobicoke has been sentenced to three years in prison and will have to pay a fine in connection with fire that claimed one person’s life more than three years ago. The landlord was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death,...
Why lithium-ion smartphone batteries keep exploding
The last thing you may consider to be a fire hazard in your home is your smartphone. But if recent events are any indication, our trusty devices may have a hidden danger – their batteries. Hope Casserly is the latest Canadian to go public with a story about her...
Coroner’s inquest begins in fatal senior’s home fire
A coroner's inquest into the fire that killed 32 people at a Quebec senior’s home in January began Monday. Flames gutted the mostly wooden structure of the Residence du Havre in L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, about 230 km northeast of Quebec City, on January 24, 2014....
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