A Tearful Goodbye An emotional Richard Bowers announced via telephone conference yesterday that he would be leaving the department in the near future. WTOP reports that, “On Feb. 1, Bowers said he had no plans to resign.” He chose the teleconference, though he was speaking to no more than 1/3 of the members, because he “wanted […]

All About Town, 2015-2017 Harold Schaitberger, the nearly 20-year president of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), may have precious little of substance to show for his tenure, but one thing is for sure, he knows his way around a steakhouse, or rather, houses. He leaves his office around 5:30, arrives at the restaurant near […]

Timing is Everything In an act of exquisite timing last week, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department Battalion Chief Kathleen Stanley, the Women’s Program Officer there, tendered her resignation, replete with a scathing letter sent to Fire Chief Richard Bowers. By Friday afternoon Sharon Bulova, Chairman of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors, and […]

Valor, Patriotism, Honor “The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests—no party’s, no President’s, only Putin’s” Sen. John McCain John McCain served his country including 5 years in a horrifying POW camp where he was repeatedly tortured. Robert Mueller served his country under fire as a combat Infantry Officer […]

A few days ago in Kabul, Afghanistan, an ambulance made its way through two checkpoints and when stopped at a third, a massive bomb in the back was detonated by the driver, killing 103 and injuring 235. The Taliban, a religious extremist group, claimed responsibility as they have for other recent and horrific attacks. Afghan […]

US Court of Appeals Bats’em Down Pay attention to the history because getting there is half the fun. Cranston, Rhode Island (RI), firefighters have been covered by some type of municipal pension system since 1936. In the 90’s it was determined that the city could no longer afford the benefit, indeed it was a fiscally […]

White House Skewers Republican Graham   There is a lot not to like about Republican senator Lindsay Graham but he has sometimes emerged as a voice of reason and this is one of those times.   Yesterday Graham described the current shutdown as complicated by the White House staff having an agenda different from the […]

It Was Only a Matter of Time Cameras in vehicles are now so prevalent they shouldn’t attract notice much less interest. The combination of digital technology and portability now means that any activity can be recorded, including fire rig operations. Firefighters in Baltimore aren’t happy about that. Several years ago the department installed cameras in […]

Death of a Union The chief and crucial reason for labor unions is to fight or advocate on behalf of their members. It’s very simple, really. To employ collective strength to ensure that we have acceptable wages, benefits, hours and safe working conditions. Real unions remain vigilant, focused, unconflicted and unrelenting in that mission. The […]