Check Out Real Sports on HBO Tonight for This Amazing Story
A New York City firefighter completes an Ironman Triathlon. Special enough, but Matthew Long did it after being hit, no, rolled over by a city bus. With less than a 1% chance of survival and 40 surgeries later, Long accomplished this amazing feat.
Not many people can complete an Ironman, and it’s hard to imagine anyone completing an Ironman after going through what Long went through. But Long is an inspiration, and the Real Sports segment on HBO is a good look at a man who refused to quit.
Pennsylvania Fire Department Suffers an Axing of Over Half the Fire Department- See Why:
According to information from certified public accountants, poor accounting practices and questionable transfers under prior administrations are blamed for the fiscal nightmare that resulted in the axing of 7 of the 13 firefighters in Uniontown, PA. Fire Chief Chuck Coldren pleaded with the council to avert the layoffs, repeating earlier assertions that the safety of both firefighters and residents will be endangered with the scaled-back staff.
“With the six guys who are left, it’s going to be a real nightmare for me to figure out how we’re going to operate. It’s a scary situation,” Coldren said.
My question is: what should happen to those responsible for the financial mess if someone gets hurt or killed now? City Clerk Kim Marshall said some of the deficiencies uncovered in the audit have been referred to state police and the state attorney general’s office for investigation.
Here’s more on the story from The Pittsburgh Tribune Review, and a video story from WPXI.com.
Puppy Resuscitated by Firefighters is Their New Mascot
A Dalmatian she’s not, but the 11-week-old Labrador mix puppy aptly named “Smokey” is the new mascot of the Jacksonville (IL) Fire Department. At a house fire nearly a month ago, firefighters found the pup lying near the back door and successfully resuscitated her with special oxygen kits for animals donated to their department.
Smokey’s learning to become a part of the crew as firefighters are teaching her to show children how to stop, drop, and roll. More on how this all came together here with a story by Maria Nagle of the Jacksonville Journal-Courier. More positive PR for firefighters….
Firefighter Curt Rueter plays with Smokey as driver engineer Jim Williams cooks after returning to the Jacksonville Fire Department substation after a day of training.
photo by Robert Leistra
Also on Fire Daily…
- Tweet Tweet… A Little Birdie Just Told Me Your Engine Company Was Out Of Service – November 25, 2010
- Camden NJ FF Bobby Eckert oozes pure class Monday; Tuesday, he and 1/3 of his department are axed… – January 17, 2011
- Timely Monday Morning Training – November 27, 2011
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