Firehouse.com

Feuding emergency responders? Say it ain't so.

Actually, John Wilson, general manager of American Medical Response and Medic West Ambulance, says it is so, although not yet to the point of that 1976 comedy "Mother, Jugs & Speed," in which competing ambulance services wrangled over who would transport customers in Los Angeles.

Here it's not rival companies. It is public vs. private sector.

NEW YORK
--

A federal judge wants to hear from ground zero workers about a multimillion-dollar legal settlement for people sickened by dust from the World Trade Center.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein is trying to decide whether to approve a deal. It would pay $575 million to $657 million to about 10,000 police officers, firefighters, utility workers and laborers.

The judge has scheduled a Friday afternoon hearing on the settlement, which was signed last week.

MORGAN COUNTY, Ga. --

A Morgan County firefighter is recovering at Atlanta Medical Center after his vehicle rolled over Friday morning, officials said.

Morgan County Fire Chief Chris Byrd said firefighter Kevin Stephenson was on the way from home to the fire station when he was involved in a single vehicle crash. Stephenson was going to the station to respond to a call.

Today, Friday, March 19, the third round of FY 2009 Fire Prevention and Safety grants were announced.

Click here to view the list of announcements

--

Mar. 18--A tanker truck carrying 2,600 gallons of diesel fuel overturned about 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon on eastbound U.S. 40 near Contractor's Road in Rosedale, spilling "all or most" of its load, according to Baltimore County fire officials.

Motorists were advised to avoid U.S. 40 until further notice. Eastbound U.S. 40 was closed between Contractor's Road and Berk Avenue, and the accident also brought traffic to a standstill in the westbound lanes.

--

Mar. 18--A longtime boarder died and another was injured after a Detroit hotel fire investigators believe may have started due to an illegal electrical hookup.

Travis Marshall, 26, who has worked the front desk at the hotel for seven years, said he tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher when he spotted flames at about 4:30 a.m. When the fire spread, he tried to clear out the daily guests downstairs and the six boarders upstairs. At least two people jumped from the second story, leaving one in critical condition.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga.

--

Channel 2 Action News has discovered DeKalb County has missed out at least $500,000 from residents who are not paying fines when their home or business alarms go off accidentally.

For more than a year, the county has failed to bill anyone for having too many false alarms.

These violations are also wasting valuable time and resources for the police and fire departments.

--

Mar. 18--ST. LOUIS -- Joseph L. Washington, former board president and ex-chief of the embattled Northeast fire district, was sentenced to probation today in federal court for his role in the removal of asbestos materials from a fire district building.

NISOH has released the findings from the investigation into a natural gas explosion at a Forestville, Md. strip mall that injured two captains, a lieutenant, and five firefighters last year.

The report concluded that insufficient execution of the fire department's updated standard operating guidelines -- among other factors -- resulted to the injuries of the first responders.

The incident occurred on May 7 after crews were dispatched to a reported natural gas leak inside a business just before 1 p.m.