CPF

CPF joined local public safety agencies and Gov. Schwarzenegger Tuesday morning in a call for a state budget resolution. CPF President Lou Paulson joined health care workers, school and other public safety officials, to highlight the impact of the budget impasse on the communities they serve.

With California in the grips of its third catastrophic fire season in five years, CPF is backing an effort that seeks to check uncontrolled growth in the state's fire-prone wildlands. Assembly Bill 2447 would require that any new construction in the wildland-urban interface pass a simple test before it is approved -- can it be protected from devastating wildfire.

A Special Election to fill the post of CPF 2nd District Vice President has ended with the election of Ventura County Professional Firefighters Local 1364 President Chris Mahon. Mahon, who currently serves on CPF's Health and Safety Committee, was the only individual nominated for the post and was elected by acclamation.

 Vallejo's residents are paying the price for their city's bid to politicize the bankruptcy courts. According to the Associated Press, about one in six Vallejo police officers have already left the department in the last year, and crime is on the rise. Vallejo has summarily rejected all contract concessions, and has, instead, asked the courts to take the unprecedented step of breaking all its contracts.

A CPF Trustee and proud member of Long Beach Firefighters Local 372 has won decisive re-election as the IAFF Western Trustee. Tony Mejia won an overwhelming vote during the IAFF Convention in Las Vegas this week. Mejia was first elected IAFF Western Trustee in February, winning a vote to complete the term of Trustee Bob Greenwood, who died in January. 

As part of its unprecedented bankruptcy filing, Vallejo has petitioned to have all of its labor contracts voided by the bankruptcy court. If allowed to stand, Vallejo’s attack on its own employees would send shock waves throughout the labor movement, setting the stage for a cascade of tactical “bankruptcies”, all filed with the sole purpose of reneging on their employees. 

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday in Redding to honor a CAL FIRE pioneer who died in last week's devastating helicopter crash in Trinity County. U.S. Forest Service helicopter inspector pilot James Ramage -- CAL FIRE's very first firefighting helicopter pilot -- will be honored in ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, August 16th, beginning at 2:00pm at the Redding Convention Center. Ramage, 63, was among nine people who died August 5th in the crash of a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, which was transporting firefighters working on the Iron Complex.

The first forestry pilot hired by CAL FIRE -- then the Department of Forestry -- was among those who died in last week's devastating helicopter crash in Trinity County. James Ramage, 63, was on board the Sikorsky S-61 helicopter that went down August 5th, killing nine and injuring four. Ramage worked for CAL FIRE for two decades before retiring in 2004. He then moved over to the U.S. Forest Service, for whom he worked as a helicopter inspection pilot.

Officials have officially declared that nine people died in the crash of a firefighting helicopter on the Iron Complex in Trinity County. The nine -- a USFS official, one of the pilots and eight private firefighters -- were on board a Sikorsky S-61 firefighting helicopter when it went down Tuesday evening near the 18,000-acre Buckhorn Fire. Four other individuals have been hospitalized, and one remain in critical condition.