Local 718 posted photos today of firefighters' cars at Engine 33 and Ladder 15 at Boylston and Hereford streets after the firefighters "returned to the firehouse to find their personal vehicles severely damaged and vandalized." Read more.
A firefighter on Tower Ladder 10 at the 746 Centre St. firehouse in Jamaica Plain today sued the city and Fire Commissioner Paul Burke for the four-day suspension he says he got after the department had done nothing about the poor condition of the sidewalk and driveway outside the station and he wrote directly to the city's chief of streets. Read more.
A pedestrian was taken away in critical condition after being hit by Engine 24 on Bowdoin Street near Geneva Avenue in Dorchester around 12:25 p.m.
Two ambulances were summoned to the scene, one for the victim and one for firefighters on the truck, which is based in Grove Hall.
Amanda the roving UHub photographer spotted Santa Squirrel outside the Dudley Street firehouse in Nubian Square today.
The Zoning Board of Appeal this week rejected a Wrentham Street resident's request to build a second, house behind hers, with members saying they objected to a curb cut more than twice as large as normally allowed and a long driveway wide enough that firetrucks could pull in for a fire and then turn around without having to navigate the narrow street. Read more.
The Dorchester Reporter reports the deal was announced at this morning's Greater Boston Labor Council’s Labor Day breakfast - and that it was reached, as only a Boston labor deal could be, around 10 p.m. on Sunday in the back room of the Brendan Behan Pub in Hyde Square.
The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld the city of Boston's 2021 order requiring municipal workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19, saying public-health needs outweighed the collective-bargaining rights of the police and fire unions that sued over the policy. Read more.
Every winter, the Boston Fire Department cuts a hole or two in the frozen surface of Jamaica Pond so its divers can practice some cold-weather rescuing. The pond never really froze up this winter, except thinly during that brief weekend freeze, but divers were out in the cold water today anyway.
Despite the lack of ice it is important to maintain efficiency .
Michael Browder, Jr. today sued Boston for a minimum of $8,342,068 in damages for putting him on unpaid leave in October, 2021 after denying his request for a religious exemption from the city's requirement that employees get Covid-19 shots. Read more.
Two captains in the Boston Fire Department, along with two firefighters in Everett and Whitman, today asked a judge to order the state to give a promotional exam scheduled for Saturday, which the state canceled to try to figure out what to do about exams after a judge in another case ruled that the test used to promote police officers to sergeants was racially biased. Read more.
Mayor Wu today named Paul Burke of Roslindale as the Boston Fire Department's new commissioner, replacing Jack Dempsey, who retired.
Read more.
Handmaid had a great view on Fan Pier this morning of two fireboats, one an active BFD vessel, the other a retired 1940s fireboat seen above, shooting water high into the air, as part of a "water cannon display" for the National Fire Protection Association's conference in Boston.
From the complaint: Boston firefighters knee deep in foam.
More than a dozen firefighters from Worcester to Boston today sued 3M, DuPont, Honeywell and other manufacturers of the "turnout gear" they wear at fires and a type of chemical foam they often use, alleging the companies have known for years the products contain a class of chemical that has been linked to cancer and other ailments and which winds up in firefighter's bodies in high concentrations. Read more.
A Massachusetts Appeals Court justice has order Boston not to carry out its Covid-19 vaccination mandate for city workers until she can review the situation. Read more.
The Boston firefighters union is telling members today that the city has given employees yet another week to show proof they've gotten at least one Covid-19 shot and will not start putting the unvaccinated on leave until at least Jan. 31. Read more.
The folks at the City Archives have posted photos of three firefighters at a fire after the Blizzard of '78 and wonder if you can identify them and the location of the fire. This isn't a quiz - this time, they don't know the answer either and are seeking help. Read more.
The head of the Boston firefighters union is telling members tonight that the union will give the bargaining table one last try but if the city refuses to yield on mandatory vaccinations - or offer the union something decent in return - "we are prepared to take our fight to the street." Read more.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke says he agrees with unions representing firefighters and police superior officers and detectives that in terms of collective bargaining, Mayor Wu was wrong to unilaterally impose an absolute requirement that city workers get vaccinated against Covid-19 after her predecessor had signed agreements letting workers opposed to shots undergo weekly testing. Read more.
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