While some stories this past week involved crews battling blazes, others were about the consequences faced by responders following their actions during incidents.
In New York City, a jury decided it was unacceptable for an FDNY EMT crew to show up without oxygen and to stay for 20 minutes for another ambulance to transport a girl in cardiac arrest.
The girl – now paralyzed, but aware – was awarded $172M.
The case has been making its way through the court system for 16 years.
Meanwhile, a 90-year-old woman was loaded into a D.C. fire engine to be transported to the hospital after an ambulance never arrived.
The medic called dispatch advising the patient had gone unconscious, and they were headed to the hospital. The ambulance was sent to another call.
Read and watch about the latest from the nation's capital.
In San Francisco, two assistant chiefs have been suspended for their actions after a ladder truck – driven by a suspected drunk firefighter – struck a motorcyclist and left the scene before he could be tested for his level of intoxication.
The motorcyclist was seriously injured after being tossed into a fire hydrant.
The firefighter showed up at his firehouse two hours later. He submitted to at least three sobriety tests, each of which showed his blood-alcohol level above the 0.08 percent that constitutes drunken driving.
Also this week, Firehouse Magazine Editor Harvey Eisner announced gripping presentations will take center stage during Firehouse Expo in July.
Attendees will hear how crews handled two recent significant incidents – a fiery train crash in Canada and a mass shooting in a Colorado theater.
In addition, a Charleston firefighter who lost nine friends in the Sofa Super Store fire will take the crowd on an emotional roller coaster as he describes how the incident affected him.
Also in the news, the last survivor of the 1949 Mann Gulch fire, one of the worst for the U.S. Forest Service, died.
Robert Sallee lied about his age to become part of the crew, and was involved in the blaze that killed 13 smokejumpers.
