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		Forest Service still undecided on nighttime firefighting KPCC-FM    Share    Firefighters in Southern California are still waiting to find out whether the U.S. Forest Service will help them battle flames from the air, after dark. Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell says his agency is almost done reviewing its policy on night flying. In the interim, he says, the Forest Service will "work with our partners that do have the night flying capability, so that they're available to assist when we have fires in the National Forest. But we're going to complete our review and be able to sit down and look at what we need to do, whether to move forward or not." More  CSFA News Financial advisor: Keep stock market volatility in perspective Orba Financial Management    Share    CSFA-recommended Financial Advisor Curt Howard advises members to keep stock market volatility in perspective. More Fire Services Training Institute receives Motorola Solutions Foundation Public Safety Grant CSFA    Share    The Fire Services Training Institute has announced that it has received a $10,000 grant from the Motorola Solutions Foundation Public Safety and Security Institute. The grant supports the FSTI Basic Volunteer Fire Management and Leadership program developed by former California State Fire Marshal and CSFA Volunteer Committee Chairman Ronny J. Coleman. More  In The News Study: California pensions face $137.5 billion in liabilities The Association Press via San Francisco Chronicle    Share    Two dozen city and county governments in California face a combined $135.7 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, according to a study that also found the problem is growing. The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and a nonprofit group, California Common Sense, evaluated 24 local government pension systems that are not part of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the state's main pension fund. The funds ranged from those for smaller entities, such as Santa Barbara and Stanislaus County, to the largest local governments in California, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. The report found that none of the systems is at least 80 percent funded, which often is used as a benchmark for the minimum funding level of pension funds. More Expo features newest firefighting tools KSWB-TV    Share    A major firefighting convention held in San Diego featured the newest firefighting tools. The Firehouse World Expo was expected to draw about 5,000 people to the San Diego Convention Center for the three-day conference that includes hands on training sessions for fire personnel. Firefighters tested some of the newest tools in live fire conditions at the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Training Facility. The convention is focused in large part to helping firefighters do more with less. More Virginia firefighters question cancer rate The Virginian-Pilot    Share    Troy Tippin recorded his memories of firefighting in a thin, red volume that had been published to commemorate Portsmouth, Va.'s, department. On the last page, Tippin began writing the names of every firefighter he knew who had been diagnosed with cancer. In 1992, high blood pressure forced Tippin into retirement after 33 years. But he kept adding to his list. By August 2001, the column of names reached the bottom of the page. Tippin died of pancreatic cancer on March 21, 2004, at the age of 72. His wife, Joyce Tippin, wrote his name in his book. He was number 29. More Irvine leaders say they're being burned by OC Fire Authority Voice of OC    Share    The idea behind the Orange County Fire Authority, which provides emergency fire and medical services for unincorporated areas and 22 cities, is that by combining resources into a regional fire agency, everyone saves money. But officials in Irvine argue that their city is getting a lousy deal. They say Irvine taxpayers are subsidizing other cities' cost of services by $18.4 million. That claim is substantiated at least in part by figures provided to Voice of OC by the Fire Authority that show Irvine taxpayers pay more than $57 million, even though the services the city receives are valued at closer to $39 million. More Santa Ana approves outsourcing fire department The Orange County Register    Share    Santa Ana's City Council voted to outsource firefighting services to the Orange County Fire Authority, bringing the city's 128-year-old fire department to an end. The move will help the city close a budget deficit estimated at about $30 million, while keeping all 10 of the city's fire stations open. The OCFA will absorb the city's 192 firefighters and 12 non-sworn personnel when it takes over providing service in Santa Ana on April 20. Chris Roelle, president of the Santa Ana firefighter's union, said his members support the move. While some of them will take a pay cut at OCFA, they avoid the possibility of big layoffs if they had stayed with the city. More Budget woes prompt erosion of public jobs, changes to pension plans The New York Times    Share    The San Jose Fire Department laid off 49 firefighters two years ago, and the trucks that race to calls now carry only four firefighters instead of five. Pension costs consume more than a fifth of the city's general fund budget, officials said, and have risen to $245 million this year from $73 million a decade ago. Mayor Chuck Reed is now taking aim at pension costs, which rose after the benefits were improved over the last decade, with police officers and firefighters able to retire after 30 years with pensions worth 90 percent of their salaries. He supports a ballot measure this June that would require workers to go into far less lucrative retirement plans, or to contribute up to 25 percent of their salaries to keep their current benefits. More Is Anaheim Fire Department too white? The Orange County Register    Share    The Anaheim Fire Department is envisioning a staff more reflective of the cultures and ethnicities found in the city. That means recruiting more women, Latinos, Asian Americans and Arab Americans, among others, to mirror Anaheim's changing demographics, Fire Chief Randy Bruegman said. Anaheim's department is one of six in California that participated in a recent workshop aimed at better meeting the needs of a diverse community. Later this year, Anaheim will participate in a national workshop to continue leadership training and education on diversity. More Washington, DC, battalion chief to be demoted over beer incident The Washington Times    Share    The Washington, D.C., fire chief promised stiff consequences against firefighters after finding beer in a refrigerator at a U Street Northwest fire station. But the punishment for the two firefighters involved in the September incident apparently was not strong enough. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe is now seeking to demote Battalion Chief Richard Sterne, who reprimanded, rather than suspended, the men. The demotion order stems from a D.C. resident's delivery of two 12-packs of beer to Engine Co. 9 to thank firefighters who extinguished a fire at his home. Firefighters declined to accept the beer, but the man left it at the fire station. More A fire squad ordered to stop responding to emergencies The New York Times (blog)    Share    Members of the Aviation Volunteer Fire Department in New York routinely monitor a police scanner and respond to emergency calls, uninvited by city authorities. Such was the case until recently, when the struggling department was ordered to stop operating by the city's fire commissioner, Salvatore J. Cassano, who notified the unit that it was "operating without the proper training, equipment and authorizations," and putting the public and city firefighters at risk. Cassano told the volunteer squad to "immediately cease its operations and discontinue making any representations that AVFD is authorized by the City of New York or the FDNY to provide emergency medical and firefighting services," or face possible arrest of its members. More UPCOMING EVENTS Date Event More Information March 12-16 California Fire & Police Winter Olympics, Mammoth Lakes www.firepolicewintercolympics.com March 17-18 CSFA Rural Fire Leadership Retention and Recruitment Workshop, Sacramento Visit www.csfa.net or call Kate at 855-VOL-FIRE April 2-6 California Fire Mechanics Academy, McClellan Business Park, Sacramento www.cafiremech.com April 16-21 Fire Department Instructor’s Conference, Indianapolis www.fdic.com April 21-22 CSFA Rural Fire Leadership Retention and Recruitment Workshop, Redding Visit www.csfa.net or call Kate at 855-VOL-FIRE May 18-25 Firefighters Alaska Cruise For more information call 800-795-1008 or visit seacruises.com/csfa May 19-20 CSFA Rural Fire Leadership Retention and Recruitment Workshop, Graeagle Visit www.csfa.net or call Kate at 855-VOL-FIRE May 21-24 CFED West, Palm Springs www.cfedwest.com June 4-8 Investigation 1A: Fire Origin and Cause Determination, San Carlos Call 650-508-9008 July 15-20 California Firefighters Summer Olympics, Palo Alto firefighterolympics.org Sept. 4-7 Haz Mat Continuing Challenge, Sacramento hazmat.org Oct. 23-25 Fire Shows, Reno, NV fireshowsreno.com   To have your event listed here, send details to ggiacomo@csfa.net
CSFA Connection Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469.420.2601 Download media kit Jason Zimmerman, Content Editor, 469.420.2686    Gary Giacomo, CSFA Director of Communications, 916.410.1394 Contribute news This edition of the CSFA Connection was sent to %%emailaddr%%. To unsubscribe, click here. Did someone forward this edition to you? Subscribe here -- it's free! Recent issues Feb. 8, 2012 Feb. 2, 2012 Jan. 25, 2012

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