Firefighter was told after 9-11 stop watching videos of it

Nearly 2 decades after 9/11, a former firefighter sees the NYC memorial for the first time
Pennsylvania State Capital Bureau
Candy Woodall
September 7, 2021

He told a fire department counselor he was having trouble sleeping. When he did, he had nightmares about anger and fighting. He complained of irritability, of an inability to calm down or take pleasure in anything. He couldn't remember certain things he witnessed at Ground Zero.

Her advice, according to court records: Stop watching 9/11 videos. She did not refer him for further treatment; she also said that, after 9/11, the fire department counseling staff was overwhelmed with work and seeing hundreds of employees.

Michael Silvestri dipped his fingers into the flowing water and made the sign of the cross, from his forehead to his broken heart.

The waters here, in the South Pool of New York City's 9/11 Memorial, are like holy water, he said.

"It's sacred. It's their graves," Silvestri said.

His cross was also a silent prayer for the strength he needed to stand at this memorial for the first time.

Faith had helped Silvestri, now 59, get this far.

The former firefighter survived 9/11 two decades ago, but he's been fighting for his life ever since.

Silvestri moved to Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, more than a decade ago to get away from all the reminders on Staten Island. He was haunted by painful memories, undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and the survivor's guilt that devoured him alive. It culminated in 10 seconds of rage 16 months after 9/11 that nearly cost him everything, followed by years of the slow path toward healing, the hard work of turning survival to rebirth.
read more here

7 Year old daughter of firefighter found in Surfside rubble

Please pray for all the families involved but hold a special place in your prayers for this firefighter. 

Miami Firefighter's 7-Year-Old Daughter Found in Surfside Collapse Rubble
NBC Miami
Published July 2, 2021

The body of the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter was recovered from the site of the collapsed condominium tower in Surfside, officials said Friday.

The girl's body was found in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South Thursday night by members of the Urban Search and Rescue Team.

The firefighter, a member of the team that found his daughter, was notified immediately, officials said.

Family members identified the girl as Stella, the daughter of Graciela Cattarossi, who lives in the building with her parents, Gino and Graciela Sr. The three adults remain missing.
read more here

Firefighter killed by another firefighter

UPDATE

California fire crews attend graduation to support daughter of slain firefighter

read the story here

2 firefighters shot, 1 killed by off-duty colleague at LA County Fire Station 81; suspect dead
FOX 11 News
By Mary Stringini
June 1, 2021

Firefighter specialist Tory Carlon, 44, was killed in the shooting. He was a twenty-year veteran of the department, Osby said.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - An off-duty firefighter opened fire Tuesday at Los Angeles County Fire Dept. Station 81 in the Agua Dulce area, killing a fellow firefighter and injuring another. The suspect then fled to his home in nearby Acton, barricaded himself inside, and set the house on fire before he was believed to have been found dead.

"I never thought one of our firefighters would face danger at one of our own community fire stations," said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.
read more here

St. Petersburg firefighter fighting for benefits after cancer hit

Firefighter suing city of St. Petersburg after being denied benefits for cancer diagnosis

Aug 16, 2019

Lt. Francis applied to the city for the benefits on July 1. The lawsuit says that despite the fact that Lt. Francis met all the prerequisites for obtaining the benefits, his application was rejected because he was diagnosed before July 1 when the law went into effect.

A local firefighter is suing the city of St. Petersburg after he says he was denied benefits he should have received after his cancer diagnosis.

Back in May, Governor DeSantis signed a bill granting firefighters certain benefits upon receiving a cancer diagnosis.

Lt. Jason Francis has been employed by the city of St. Petersburg's Fire Department for more than 16 years.

"I've always wanted to do it," Francis said.

He said he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in January of 2019. He had to undergo surgery to have his thyroid and dozens of lymphnodes removed.
read it here

Florida firefighter's widow wins $9 million after husband killed

Florida firefighter's widow wins $9 million verdict in pizza delivery death

Domino's Pizza plans to appeal
Florida Today
By Rick Neale
August 07, 2019

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - In January 2011, retired Brevard County Fire Rescue District Chief Richard Wiederhold swerved to avoid a collision when a Domino's Pizza delivery driver turned in front of him on State Road 50 in Christmas.

Wiederhold's Toyota Tacoma overturned on the highway — rendering him a quadriplegic with a fractured spine, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.

He died from medical complications 15 months later. After a lengthy legal battle, an Orange County jury awarded his widow, Yvonne, a $9 million verdict in mid-June.

The court case continues. Last week, Circuit Judge Renee Roche denied a request for a new trial by attorneys representing Domino's Pizza. The company is preparing to appeal the $9 million judgment, said Yvonne Widerhold's attorney, Mark Avera, a partner with the Gainesville law firm Avera and Smith.

"He was dependent upon a ventilator to breathe. Being rendered a quadriplegic when you're in your retirement and in your twilight years, enjoying life. ... I have represented clients such as Rich over the years — and to describe it as catastrophic is really inadequate," Avera said.

"To go from being able to do anything he wanted to do — flying planes, running marathons as a younger gentleman, hike, camp, enjoy his life with his fiancée, Yvonne — and to go to being bed-bound and be totally dependent on others," he said.

Wiederhold served with Brevard County Fire Rescue from 1988 to 2005, retiring as a district chief overseeing nine fire stations across the southern part of the county. He was one of six finalists in the city of Cocoa's 2007 fire chief job search.
read it here

Firefighter lost three children in day care fire near station

update

Funerals held for 4 children killed in day care fire

A funeral service was held Saturday in Erie for 8-year-old La'Myhia Jones, 6-year-old Luther Jones Jr., 4-year-old Ava Jones and 9-month-old Jaydan Augustyniak. All are siblings. The funeral for 2-year-old Dalvin Pacley will be held Monday.

Three of the victims were the children of a volunteer firefighter, Luther Jones. Their mother, Shevona Overton, is also the mother of Jaydan. An adult and two adolescent boys were able to escape. Fire officials suspect last Sunday's blaze was accidental and possibly electrical.
read it here

Firefighter loses three kids in Pennsylvania day care blaze that kills five

NBC News
By Tim Stelloh
Aug. 11, 2019

A firefighter lost three children in an early morning blaze that tore through a home day care in Pennsylvania, killing five and leaving a woman injured, authorities said.

Joe Crotty, chief of the Lawrence Park Volunteer Fire Department, said firefighter Luther Jones was responding to another fire when the blaze ignited at Harris Family Day Care in Erie, NBC News affiliate WICU reported.

Jones had no idea his children were at the overnight day care center a few blocks away, the station said.

It's "unthinkable," Crotty said. "It's really beyond comprehension."

Earlier, city officials said in a Facebook post said that firefighters responding to a structure fire shortly after 1 a.m. rescued seven people who were trapped inside a home.
read it here

Dale Boyd Knox mystery plane crash strange ending

Piecing together a local pilot’s life and sudden death

Altamont New Scotland
August 7, 2019

Albright described it, all these years later, as “like he was saying one last goodbye.”

After waving, Albright said, the pilot “does a circle over the top of me and then boom, into the cliff.”

Dale Knox served in the military from 1952 through 1956, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs online records. One of his duties was to serve as a flight mechanic, his brother said, fixing planes that were on the ground or even in the air.

VOORHEESVILLE — Dale Boyd Knox of Delmar was 38, a husband and father, fire-district commissioner, military veteran, and small-business owner. He died 47 years ago when the single-engine plane he was piloting crashed into a cliff on the Helderberg escarpment in New Scotland near Thacher Park.

He was alone in his four-seater Beechcraft BE35 V-tail Bonanza at the time of his crash on April 12, 1972.

The plane’s remains still lie in the deep woods off Picard Road, and his family is still haunted by the mystery surrounding his death.

Dale Knox’s older brother, Alan Knox, remembers him as “one of the most fun-loving and hardest-working people around” and as “an all-around guy.”

“There’s a French phrase, joie de vivre,” Alan Knox said. “If ever there was somebody who enjoyed life, it was Dale.”
read it here

72 Year old homeless veteran doused with water by firefighter?

Officials investigating accusation that KC firefighter doused homeless camp with water on frigid night

FOX 4 Kentucky

Sean McCowell

January 2, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It's being called an act of needless cruelty.

A homeless man said Kansas City firefighters doused him with water from their hoses, and he said it happened on one of the coldest nights of the winter. Kansas City officials confirm an investigation into the matter is underway.

The underpass at 20th and Oak streets is cold, but it's home to several people who have nowhere else to go.

One of them, 72-year-old Phil Bucalo, said workers from Kansas City Fire Department came to put out his campfire early Tuesday morning. When they did, he said they intentionally flooded him and his belongings on the cold night.

Bucalo, a native of New York City, said it was only a small fire, and since he now lives on the streets of KC, it was his means of keeping warm.

"I said, 'Look, if this little fire here presents a problem, I'd be more than happy to put it out,'" Bucalo said.

But Bucalo, who said he once served in the U.S. Army, said the firefighter with the hose in his hand didn't care, and water from that hose doused the fire, as well as Bucalo and all of his belongings, in weather that went below 20 degrees.

read more here

New firefighter has a leg to stand on...really!

Disabled veteran graduates fire academy

NBC News
November 19, 2018

(KING) An injured veteran in Washington continued his tradition of serving others with an important graduation ceremony Saturday.

Retired Air Force Tech Sgt. Daniel Fye was serving his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2011, when he stepped on an IED.

He lost his left leg below the knee, and fought for months of surgery to keep his right leg.

Within two years, he was able to walk without any help.

Today, he's achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter, after graduating with honors from the South Sound Fire Academy.
read more here

Navy Veteran-Firefighter found dead months after losing wife

Ex-Nassau County firefighter wanted for DUI in wife's death found dead

News4Jax
By Ashley Spicer - Reporter, anchor
October 23, 2018

CALLAHAN, Fla. - A 48-year-old Navy veteran and retired Nassau County Fire-Rescue lieutenant wanted on a DUI manslaughter warrant connected to the death of his wife was found dead Tuesday afternoon, the Nassau County Sheriff's Office said.

The Florida Highway Patrol issued an arrest warrant last week for Curtis Bollinger, and he retired from the Nassau County Fire Department two days later. The Nassau County Sheriff's Office hadn't been able to locate him but got a call that his car had been seen at a cemetery at Live Oak Baptist Church in Callahan.

When deputies responded about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, they found Bollinger dead inside the car from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Bollinger and his wife, 29-year-old Shannon Bollinger, were in a motorcycle crash at 1 a.m. April 15 on State Road 200 in Callahan. Curtis Bollinger drove into the median and his Harley Davidson overturned. Both were thrown from the bike. Shannon Bollinger landed in the roadway and was killed when she was hit by another car.
read more here

85% First Responders dealing with mental health issues from job

THE CALIFORNIA REPORT

'A Little Broken' - First Responders Grapple With Unseen Scars of the 2017 Fire Siege

KQED News

Sukey Lewis

October 12, 2018

Shortly after Lucas Boek joined his local fire department, he saw a veteran firefighter walk into firehouse and drop all his gear. “’That’s it, I’m done,’” Boek remembers the man saying. “’I can’t do this anymore.’ And he left.”

A Cal Fire firefighter watches for spot fires from a controlled burn at the edge of the Ranch Fire in 2018. (Anne Wernikoff/KQED)

Over the years, the incident stuck with him.

Now, Boek is sitting and talking with two other men in a Ukiah high school classroom. Between the three — medic Corey Bender, 44, and firefighters Lucas Boek, 40, and Brendan Turner, 46 — they have nearly 60 years of experience in emergency response. Sixty years of running toward car accidents, gunshots and flames.

But it’s not the physical danger of the work that these guys are talking about today.

It’s something else, something that until recently has been pretty difficult to discuss openly: their mental health. A 2017 study found that police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Another survey done last year by the University of Phoenix found that 85 percent of first responders have symptoms related to mental health issues.

read more here

Call to help Iraq Veteran, left him beaten

Army vet sues St. Tammany sheriff, deputies over alleged beating, possible brain injury
The New Orleans Advocate
BY SARA PAGONES
JUL 6, 2018

On Jan. 21, Cambre posted on social media that he was struggling. When friends began calling him, he didn't answer the phone, prompting someone to call the Pearl River police and request a check on his welfare. Jessica Picasso, a Pearl River officer, and a paramedic with St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 11 responded to the call, the suit says, and tried to convince Cambre to go to the hospital.

Army veteran Chris Cambre, who says he was beaten by St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's deputies during a welfare check in January, is shown the following day with a facial laceration.
Photo provided by Chris Cambre

Chris Cambre, an Iraq War veteran who claims he was severely beaten by St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputies in January, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his civil rights were violated by excessive use of force and an unauthorized search of his Pearl River home.

The suit, filed Thursday, names Sheriff Randy Smith and five deputies individually. But it also names Smith in his official capacity, alleging he showed deliberate indifference to civil rights by failing to adequately train officers and commanders or discipline them. It also accuses the Sheriff's Office of covering up misconduct.

The suit alleges that the same culture at the Sheriff's Office and such violations existed before Smith took office two years ago.

The situation changed, according to the lawsuit, when the Sheriff's Office sent deputies at the request of Assistant Fire Chief Matt Parrish. A Pearl River incident report, not cited in the lawsuit, says Parrish had instructed a dispatcher to send backup because of Cambre's military training and prior comments he had made about committing "suicide by cop."

When deputies arrived at Cambre's trailer home they had their rifles drawn, the suit says, but they secured them in Picasso's police unit after Cambre showed that he was not armed.

None of the deputies asked Picasso to brief them or asked her if Cambre was being aggressive, the suit alleges.

Cambre was taken to a local hospital by an ambulance, but none of the deputies accompanied him, the suit says, even though Picasso told them she was the only officer on duty in Pearl River that night. 

read more here

Police Officer Lost Battle For His Own Life

Lancaster police officer's death ruled a suicide; first responders urged to get help 
York Daily Record 
Geoff Morrow 
Published June 27, 2018

Lancaster City Police on Wednesday announced that the recent death of Patrol Officer Mark Gehron, 43, was a suicide. Gehron, a 19-year veteran of the police bureau, died Saturday, June 23. 

He was previously a volunteer firefighter and, as a police officer, received several awards and commendations. 

Gehron was also the father to sons Chris and Carter, both of Lancaster. In its release, the Lancaster Police Department said the law enforcement community experiences an average of 130 deaths a year related to officers in crisis. read more here

Volunteer Firefighter admitted he embezzled from death benefit fund?

Veteran Volunteer Firefighter Accused Of Embezzling Thousands From VFD
CBS Pittsburg
By Paul Martino
May 17, 2018

CASTLE SHANNON (KDKA) — A veteran volunteer firefighter in Castle Shannon was charged Thursday with embezzling nearly $140,000 from the department’s death benefit fund, but the state auditor general says even more money is unaccounted for.

The Allegheny County District Attorney took over the investigation after the state auditor general uncovered tens of thousands of dollars in unaccounted for money.

Castle Shannon volunteer firefighters learned they were swindled when they confronted 76-year-old John Montgomery last month. They say Montgomery told them, “Yeah, I stole it.”

“What’s sad is that this was a member of the fire department who had worked with his fellow firefighters for over 40 years and had achieved a position of trust,” attorney John Zagari said.
read more here

Why let your engine overheat?

Crying keeps your engine cool!
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 6, 2018

We have all heard the saying "men don't cry" but that must have originated from a man who couldn't do it. Think of what he was like. He must have been one nasty individual.

Imagine not being able to cope with strong emotions. Then again, imagine what it must have been like to not be able to release that negative power. His engine must have overheated all the time.

Radiators A radiator is an integral part of your car’s engine coolant system. Its primary task is to keep the engine cool — if the radiator were to malfunction, the pistons would seize up, destroying the engine. In effect, the radiator along with the rest of the cooling system is your personal insurance against a devastating repair bill.

If you have PTSD after doing your job, then there are things you need to know beyond what you imagine.

You may think that others like you do not need to cry. After all, you are so courageous that you were willing to die for the sake of someone else. Right? Why were you willing to do that? Is it because you did not care about any of them?

Would it help to know that one of the most courageous men to walk this earth cried? 

He was feeling such empathy for someone else, he could not control his emotions and he wept.

I am sure by now you know where I am going with this. That man was Jesus. When He was in the garden, knowing His days on earth were coming to an end, He had such and inner struggle going on that when He did not weep, the emotional pressure was so great that his sweat came out as drops of blood.

42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22)

His engine overheated. Now, sure, you can dismiss all of this but then you'd have to dismiss the fact that Jesus knew all along who He was and what He was supposed to do. He also knew when it would happen. 
read more here

Con-Man claimed to be Firefighter on 9-11

Con Man Outed after Claiming to be Ground Zero FF
Palm Beach Post
ELIOT KLEINBERG
MAY 4, 2018

Fairfield Fire Department Deputy Chief Kyran Dunn told The Palm Beach Post this week the agency has no record of Shapiro working there. A photo provided to The Post shows Shapiro wearing a yellow helmet that says "Fairfield Fire Department" with a 4-digit number, his name and "lieutenant." Shapiro's Facebook page has a close-up of the helmet.

PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE Steven Shapiro.

May 04--WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- When Don Prince saw a news story about Steven Shapiro being arrested on charges of credit-card theft, he recognized him right away. Prince co-founded a substance-abuse treatment center for first responders. Shapiro, he said, worked there for a while. And told people he was a fire lieutenant in Connecticut and had been at ground zero on Sept. 11. 2001.

By all accounts, he wasn't. And he hadn't.

Such hoaxes are rare, but Prince says he and his colleagues have no patience for them.

"There were 343 firefighters who died that day," he said. "And it hits every one of us directly in the heart."

Shapiro, 56, had been booked April 16 on charges he used credit cards he found in the Delray Beach home of a woman from whom he rented a room to buy $1,823 worth of items, including a television.
read more here

Retired Firefighter Honors Brothers Lost to Cancer

Retired Orange County firefighter walks across state for fallen brothers
Click Orlando
By Amanda Castro - Reporter/Anchor
Posted: 12:18 PM, April 14, 2018

Tom "Bull" Hill raising awareness for cancer-related death benefits

MELBOURNE, Fla. - A retired Orange County firefighter is carrying the burden of his fallen brothers while walking hundreds of miles across the state to raise awareness for cancer-related death benefits.

Tom "Bull" Hill started his 700-mile journey in the Keys March 20. The 58-year-old has walked up the state and made his way to Melbourne Fire Station 74 Friday night.

On Saturday, he continued his journey up the Space Coast.

"It's an honor to carry these guys. That's the truth," Hill said.

Hill called it an honor and a burden as he stood over a table covered with photos of fallen firefighters and members of law enforcement. On the table were three large backpacks filled with more than 500 badges, shields and names of first responders who passed away.

The retired Orange County firefighter said he's keeping a promise and walking in memory of two fellow brothers who died from work-related cancer.
read more here

UK Firefighters still struggle after Grenfell Tower

"It will stay with us forever": Hero Grenfell firefighters reveal emotional toll of dealing with tower tragedy
Mirror UK
Emily Retter
February 10, 2018

They worked relentlessly, up and down the smoke-filled stairs time and time again. The team had to listen to the screams and cries of victims and traumatised survivors in the worst blaze on our soil since the Second World War.

Tom Abell says he "shed a few tears" when the reality of the tragedy hit him (Image: Daily Mirror)

After witnessing the horrors of the inferno, Tom Abell and his colleagues are still suffering - but the brave crew are now set to run the London ­marathon to raise cash for victims

Driving day after day past the charcoal shell of Grenfell Tower , knowing first-hand the horrors that lay within, firefighter Tom Abell was unable to process what had happened there.

Based at the closest fire station, he and his watch had been first to arrive and then spent nine hours in the heart of the devastation.

They worked relentlessly, up and down the smoke-filled stairs time and time again. The team had to listen to the screams and cries of victims and traumatised survivors in the worst blaze on our soil since the Second World War.

Later, at North Kensington fire station, Tom read letters written in hopeful childish ­handwriting, with the pleading words: “My friend is still missing, can you help me find him?”

And he watched the events of June 14 over and over on television.

Yet it still took days before 31-year-old Tom could actually take any of it in. Then reality struck like a tsunami.

And today, Tom and his colleagues, along with the Grenfell residents, are still suffering torment over the blaze that killed 71 adults and children.
read more here

Canada Wants to Expand PTSD Coverage to Nurses

Ontario wants to extend PTSD coverage to frontline nurses

Ottowa Citizen

Joanne Laucius

December 15, 2017

The Ontario Ministry of Labour wants to extend “presumptive” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) legislation to include up to 140,000 frontline nurses.

If the proposal becomes law, it will cover the nurses for “stress and impairment to functioning,” including painful flashbacks, nightmares, outbursts and thoughts of suicide and guilt or sadness following a traumatic event.

There are up to 140,000 frontline nurses in Ontario. SUNMEDIA

“With the new proposed presumption, once a frontline nurse is diagnosed with PTSD by either a psychiatrist or a psychologist, the claims process for WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) benefits will be expedited, and nurses will not be required to prove a causal link between PTSD and a workplace event,” said the ministry in a statement.

In April 2016, Ontario passed the Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Act, creating the “presumption” that PTSD diagnosed in first responders was work-related — so covered workers do not have to prove the link between their work and PTSD. 

The act covered about 73,000 first responders in the province, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, corrections workers and dispatchers. But nurses were not included, sparking an outcry from the group.

read more here

Sailor Shot and Killed at Oceana Naval Air Station Was Volunteer Firefighter

Navy identifies sailor shot and killed at Oceana Naval Air Station
The Virginian-Pilot
By Courtney Mabeus
17 hrs ago

Before entering the Navy, Wright, who was believed to be in his early 20s, was a volunteer firefighter with the Franktown Fire Protection District, about 35 miles southeast of Denver.

A sailor who crashed through Gate 2 of Oceana Naval Air Station late Friday made it all the way to the hangar for the squadron he worked for before he was shot and killed by a master at arms, U.S. Navy Fleet Forces Command said Sunday night.

Seaman Robert Colton Wright enlisted in the Navy in May 2016 and was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 81, based at Oceana, since Dec. 27, according to a Navy biography. He worked as an information systems technician for the squadron, which flies F/A-18E Super Hornets, according to the unit’s website.

Wright’s death occurred after a string of events that began with a hit-and-run about a mile from Oceana at the intersection of Dam Neck and Drakesmile roads just before 10 p.m. Friday.
read more here