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Getting the message out |
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Written by Laura King
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Thursday, March 18, 2010
For years,
the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs – with some help from outspoken Niagara
Falls Assistant Fire Chief Jim Jessop – has been pushing for sprinklers in
retirement homes. The deaths of two seniors in a fire in Orillia, Ont., in January 2009 bolstered
the cause but the Ontario government has failed to respond
with legislation.
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Success in Lethbridge |
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Written by Laura King
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Wednesday,
March
17, 2010
A big story out of Lethbridge, Alta.
After considerable lobbying by residents (and, no doubt, the Alberta Fire
Chiefs Association and Lethbridge Fire Chief Brian Cornforth), the province has
frozen plans to centralize ambulance dispatch operations to Calgary and Edmonton. In
addition, Lethbridge
firefighters will continue to provide paramedic service.
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Movin' on up can present new challenges |
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Written by Peter Sells
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March 17, 2010
I read with great interest this week that
Scott Marks, the president of Toronto's Local 3888, has accepted the position of assistant to the general president
(AGP) for Canadian operations of the IAFF. This represents a tremendous
career opportunity for Scott and validates the outstanding work he has done as
local president. In his letter to the membership announcing his pending
resignation, Scott mentioned that he will be “available to assist Local 3888 in
finalizing the current round of negotiations no matter what the circumstances.”
I'd like to focus on that as I believe that the history of labour/management
relations under his tenure will prove to be Scott's strongest legacy.
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Benefits of blogging |
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Written by Laura King
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
One
benefit of blogging is that you get to read other people’s blogs in the name of
research and expanding your blogging horizons. Tim Beebe, who writes the Spontaneous
Combustion column for our Canadian
Firefighter quarterly magazine, is the fire chief in Upsala, Ont. Ever been
to Upsala? Me neither. By all accounts (or at least by all Tim’s accounts)
Upsala is a snowy place hours north of Thunder Bay with lonely stretches of
highway, plenty of moose and far-flung mutual aid partners who arrive hours
after the call. Fortunately for Tim, his wit, sense of humour and writing
talent keep him sane and help him through the sometimes bizarre incidents to
which he and his volunteers respond. You can read about Tim’s exploits on his
blog. Bookmark it!
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Monday, Monday . . . |
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Written by Laura King
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March 15, 2010
It’s
fitting that Ottawa Fire Chief John deHooge focuses on residential sprinklers
in today’s interview with the Ottawa Citizen to mark his first 60 days on the
job. (You can read the story here.)
Sadly, as
the Citizen reports, here’s what the fire service is up against:
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In the news . . . |
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Written by Laura King
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March 12, 2010
Some big
new stories have surfaced in the last couple of days.
The B.C.
government announced yesterday – mere days after the Olympics ended – that it
is reorganizing the B.C. Ambulance Service. This is no surprise given that BCAS
had been on strike and was legislated back to work just weeks before the Games.
CUPE spokesman B.J. Chute called the reorganization “retribution by a
vindictive health minister” for the strike. Harsh words indeed. You can read
the story here .
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Back to blogging |
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Written by Laura King
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March 10, 2010
OK. Back
to blogging.
I took a
swing through Hastings County last week to speak to a
mutual-aid meeting for nine eastern Ontario fire departments. Public speaking
is not my forte so it was rather nerve wracking but I think I managed to
entertain and educate the 50-plus firefighters in the room from Marmora &
Lake, Stirling-Rawdon, Prince Edward County, Mohawk and other departments
about our magazines.
Here are
the guys from Marmora & Lake looking satiated after a fabulous meal (which is
part of the monthly meeting – who knew!)
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On Scene |
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Written by Paul Dixon
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Monday, March 1, 2010
The game’s
over. The Games are over. It’s Monday morning comin’ down from Sunday’s dramafest. Hockey fans
across Canada rode the emotional roller
coaster. In Vancouver, those who couldn’t afford a
second mortgage to buy tickets from scalpers started lining up at the three
major free viewing areas in downtown Vancouver at daybreak Sunday. Bars in the
downtown core were jammed long before they could legally serve refreshments. As
with the previous Canada-USA game, the streets were almost deserted when the
puck was dropped.
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