United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 President Frank Lima says high overtime costs for the Los Angeles Fire Department stem from LAFD's failure to hire firefighters over the last five years.
An Oceanside couple whose premature baby was saved by two Oceanside firefighter-paramedics has found a unique way to pay tribute to their child's rescuers. The two middle names of little Zavier Morgan Stephan Pestana honor the Local 3736 members who saved him.
More than 70 members of Marin Co. Firefighters Local 1775 -- clad in red local T-shirts -- "walked the talk" Tuesday night, joining labor partners in sinking a plan by the Marin Co. Board of Supervisors to back Chuck Reed's anti-pension ballot initiative.
Decimated by budget cuts that have left the department down as many as two-dozen firefighters per shift, San Jose has once again failed to meet the countywide 9-1-1 response standard. It's the 14th straight month that San Jose has failed to meet the standard.
A Santa Clara Superior Court judge has invalidated the central provision of a pension-slashing initiative in San Jose that threatened basic retirement rights for millions of California workers. The closely-watched decision ruled that the city's Measure B illegally cut the pensions of current workers.
The Sacramento Bee -- and its affiliated newspapers in Modesto, Fresno and Merced -- has renewed an attack on legislation aimed at easing a 100-year-old restriction on firefighter survivor benefits.
UPDATED: Dry winds and hot temperatures are fanning fires throughout the Southland. A wind-whipped fire in Glendale is forcing school and neighborhood evacuations. Meanwhile, the 18,000 acre Springs Fire in Ventura Co. has reached the ocean and is threatening high-priced homes in Hidden Valley and Malibu.
About 200 people gathered at a chapel in San Bernardino for a two-hour memorial ceremony for retired fire engineer Gerald Mohney who died of brain cancer on Dec. 13 after 36 years in the fire service.
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CPF President Lou Paulson joined 54 other select Californians on Monday, December 17th to participate in the Electoral College.
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Seven-year-old Daniel Barden of Sandy Hook Elementary wanted to be a New York City firefighter like his father's cousins. On Wednesday, FDNY firefighters in full dress uniform paid tribute to young Daniel, who was killed in Friday's Newtown school massacre.
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Santa Maria firefighters responded to a destructive house fire during the holidays, and managed to save the family and its Christmas presents.
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A local firefighters union cheers Gov. Jerry Brown's decision to deny parole to a man convicted in an arson murder of a 34-year-old firefighter.
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Off-duty Santa Rosa firefighter Tony Camilleri is being credited for spotting a Petaluma house fire and alerting the occupants to the danger.
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CalPERS is fighting back against a hostile anti-pension "crusader" who leveled misleading attacks at the nation's largest retirement system.
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It looks like the promise of pension "reform" comes with a price tag for San Diego taxpayers. In its new city budget, San Diego officials predict a $44 million hike in the pension obligation, most of it caused by last year's Proposition B.
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A $1.24 million federal Homeland Security grant to the Pinole Fire Department could reignite a two-year debate over the closing of the Pinole Valley Fire Station.
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Monrovia Firefighters Local 2415 are saddened to announce the passing of Fire Captain Marlowe Crawford.
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Ten Years Honoring California's Fallen -- The California Firefighters Memorial marked a decade honoring California's fallen firefighters with a two-day commemoration in Sacramento. CPF Firevision provides a recap of the moving ceremonies.
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Detroit firefighter mounts video camera to helmet for a full year to expose the dangers faced by firefighters at a time when firefighters around the country are fighting more fires with fewer resources.
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After noticing an increase in boat traffic in recent years, members of Oxnard Firefighters Local 1684 have begun incorporating marine firefighting to the list of skills they are required to master to server their constituents.
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Yet another Texas billionaire has decided he's going to spend big to "reform" retirement security in California. Voters, however, are tired of the posturing.
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San Jose fire officials have conceded that their response time statistics are off the mark, and that they are missing their targets more than they've let on. The "data error" was used to justify staffing cuts that have compromised public safety in San Jose.
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It is with great sadness that IAFF Local 2881 announces the passing of CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Karen Jones Shubin. Karen passed away peacefully at her Napa home on Jan. 23, 2013 after a two year battle with cancer.
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Gabe Stirnus, an engineer and member of Sonoma Valley Firefighters Local 3593, was named firefighter of the year in Sonoma by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and took top prize in the 16th VFW district as well as earning recognition at the state level.
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On a divided vote, the San Bernardino City Council imposed contracts on unions representing firefighters and police officers. The city is pursuing bankruptcy protection, in part by forcing its employees to pay the freight for a history of mismanagement.
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Orange City firefighters have reached agreement on a new contract that preserves minimum staffing requirements designed to protect citizen and firefighter safety.
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Robert Sapien, president of San Jose Firefighters Local 230 explains how politics in San Jose are driving up crime rates and firefighter emergency response times.
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Using teachers, police officers, firefighters, and garbage truck drivers as scapegoats for budget shortfalls, the so-called “reformers” who want to overhaul public employees’ pensions are playing a game in which "If you feel like you’re losing, you change the rules."
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The Brown Administration has released a new draft fire safety standard that could eventually lead to the removal of cancer-causing chemicals from flame retardants used in furniture.
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Capt. Darrin Witt, a member of Huntington Beach Firefighters Local 3354 receives a bravery medal for rescuing a victim from a fire while he was off-duty.
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Sponsored by the CFFJAC's Commission to Recruit Women for the Fire Service, the Career Expos provide a unique opportunity to spend a day with firefighters and find out if a career in the fire service is right for you.
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San Bernardino's police and firefighters unions will ask a judge later this week to let them sue the bankrupt city over pay and benefit cuts, arguing that officials have abused bankruptcy laws to impose concessions on safety workers.
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The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) provided San Diego firefighters and other public workers with a major victory this week. In an exhaustive and well-documented decision, the PERB's chief administrative law judge ruled that San Diego's pension-slashing Measure B violated state collective bargaining law.
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It is with great sadness that Ventura City Firefighters Local 3431 announces the passing of Retired Fire Captain John Duff. John passed away with his family at his side on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 after a long and hard battle with job-related cancer.
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Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 is remembering the legacy of one of its own, whose profound impact extended well beyond his profession and his community.
Retired Local 522 member Cliff Haskell, who died at home in Sacramento Feb. 11, was the driving force behind the creation of the Firefighters Burn Institute. The Institute –...
A Santa Cruz Fire Department ladder truck, an engine and a battalion chief all responded to the call for help when detectives Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and Elizabeth Butler were shot. Firefighters even shielded innocent bystanders from bullets.
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More than 700 California firefighters are scheduled to get layoff notices tomorrow, and local public safety grants face steep cuts ... all courtesy of the latest round of federal budget brinksmanship.
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CPF Firevision is California Professional Firefighters' online video news service.
So Cal Firefighters NO on 32 -- IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger joins CPF President Lou Paulson hopscotched around California this week to spread the word to firefighters about the deceptive Prop. 32. The tour included ten different stops in...
CPF Firevision is California Professional Firefighters' online video news service.
Santa Rosa NO on 32 -- IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger joins CPF President Lou Paulson at an evening No on 32 barbecue this week, hosted by Santa Rosa Firefighters Local 1401. The stop was the first in a four-day swing through the state by IAFF...
Supporters of Prop. 32 claim that it "cuts the money tie between special interests and politicians." It's a lie. And an $11 million donation from a shadowy Arizona nonprofit illustrates why.
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WATCH AND SHARE -- Prop. 32 on the November ballot goes after firefighters and working families, but gives special exemptions to wealthy corporate and individual interests. Firefighters talk about how this will impact their lives and the lives of those whom they serve.
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Uniformed firefighters, family members and dignitaries from throughout California gathered Saturday in Sacramento to pay tribute to those who gave their lives to protect the lives and property of Californians.
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So Cal Firefighters NO on 32 -- IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger and CPF President Lou Paulson hopscotched around California this week to spread the word to firefighters about the deceptive Prop. 32. The tour included ten different stops in Southern California, with great response at every one.
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IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger joins CPF Pres. Lou Paulson at LA County rally, wrapping up CPF's 14-stop statewide No on 32 tour.
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In the fight against Proposition 32, the stakes are high and every vote counts. That was the message delivered this week by IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger during a four-day, 14-stop tour of California fire stations and union halls.
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USAR teams from L.A. County and Riverside have been placed on alert and firefighters from Northern and Southern California are being dispatched to support response efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
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San Diego City Fire Fighters Local 145 won a huge victory in Tuesday's election, as a harshly anti-firefighter Councilman Carl DeMaio lost his bid to become mayor of San Diego. DeMaio spearheaded a June ballot measure that imposed a privatized pension system on firefighters and other city workers.
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An Arizona-based "non-profit" that made a secret $11 million contribution to a Yes on Prop 32 committee has admitted to acting as an intermediary for a group connected to super rich oil magnates the Koch brothers. According to the Fair Political Practices Committee, it's the largest case of campaign money laundering in California...
California’s firefighters earned a hard-fought but historic win in last night’s elections. Despite $60 million in spending – much of it from billionaire special interests – California voters rejected Proposition 32, a measure that would have silenced the voices of working people.
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It is with great sadness that IAFF Local 2881 announces the passing of CAL FIRE Firefighter Luis Alfonso Magallanes-Molina of the Butte Unit. Luis passed away on Sunday, November 11, 2012 following his courageous five year battle with cancer.
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After one of the most expensive initiative campaigns in state history, California Professional Firefighters this week began airing a radio spot thanking voters for their trust and support in rejecting Proposition 32, the Special Exemptions Initiative.
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Off-duty firefighter Kevin Buccola walked out of his gym on Nov 13th to find a crowd of people gathered around an unconscious man. Without Buccola's leadership that Tuesday morning, longtime Merced resident Richard Kirkman could have easily died from the heart attack he suffered.
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The San Jose Mercury News joined a growing list of those who are saying NO to Prop. 32 -- the Special Exemptions Act. "A sham," says the Merc, "that would magnify the influence of wealthy interests while shutting out many middle class voters."
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An architect charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of a firefighter last year will face trial. Prosecutors allege architect Gerhard Becker negligently installed outdoor fireplaces in his home, a decision they say led to the death of veteran firefighter Glenn Allen.
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As lawmakers prepared to vote Friday on an historic rollback of retirement security, critics say the proposed pension deal usurps collective bargaining and is unbecoming of politicians who claim to support the Middle Class.
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A San Jose firefighter who suffered an on-scene heart attack is awake and alert after a week of unconsciousness. Frank Ryan collapsed Aug. 30 while on the scene of a fire at St. Patrick's Cathedral in downtown San Jose.
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On the last day of the legislative session, the California Senate and Assembly approved legislation that imposes sweeping changes in California's public pension system.
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Local I-79 and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Fire Department is saddened to announce the untimely death of Firefighter Jeffrey Gonser.
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CDF Firefighters Local 2881 sadly announces the passing of Fire Captain Dennis Hanson. Dennis has lost his battle with job-related cancer and passed away on Sep 8, 2012.
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Select Southern California Papa John's Pizza locations will dontate a portion of proceeds to the CA Fire Foundation Sept. 11 - Oct. 21.
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A secretive out-of-state Super PAC with ties to billionaire oil tycoons the Koch Brothers has dropped $4 million in support of Proposition 32. The deceptive initiative would silence the voices of working families and let Koch-style Super PACs spend unlimited amounts on politics.
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Legislation imposing sweeping rollbacks on retirement security for future public workers was signed today by Gov. Jerry Brown.
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In editorializing against Prop. 32, the San Francisco Chronicle says voters should "see through the facade" and vote NO.
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Every year, California Professional Firefighters takes a moment to celebrate the heroic images that honor the noble profession of firefighting. Share your unique view of the front lines and you could be awarded $1,500!
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Have you heard? Prop. 32 gives special breaks to the wealthiest special interests while silencing the voices of everyday Californians. Check out and share the first No on 32 spot.
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Once more, secretive organizations and super-rich individuals are trying to mislead voters by claiming to offer campaign finance reform. So says The Sacramento Bee in urging California voters to reject the deceptive Proposition 32 and its phony reforms.
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Recent polls show that the public isn't necessarily clamoring for more attacks on pension. A trio of recent polls indicate that a majority of Californians believe recently passed changes either went too far or are about right.
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Your profession in the palm of your hand. The CPF Mobile App helps CPF members keep up with the latest news and critical information affecting their lives, their families and their futures. Download today for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones.
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The battle to silence labor has moved from Wisconsin to California with Prop. 32 ID'ed as the "starkest threat" to labor in the nation.
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The Legislature has adjourned for 2011/2012 session and September 30, 2012 marked the bill signing deadline for the Governor to take action on measures that were passed by Legislature. Among the measures signed and vetoed by the Governor were many sponsored and supported by the CPF. Here is a wrap-up of a handful of bills of interest to CPF...
The Los Angeles Times says Proposition 32 "is a deceptive measure that would disproportionately weaken some special interests while leaving others essentially unaffected."
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This year, as we commemorate our 10 year anniversary of the California Firefighters Memorial, we hope you will help us memorialize the sacrifice and dedication of our fallen heroes over a very special two day event October 19- 20, 2012.
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The cities' anti-labor, anti-firefighter spin being peddled about municipal bankruptcies is coming unraveled. Turns out Stockton and San Bernardino were sub-prime central, and were done in by housing meltdown ... not labor contracts.
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Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014 is saddened to report the death of Firefighter/Paramedic John James Cobos.Brother Cobos suffered from job-related cancer and died October 12th.
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The critics of public pensions have tried to inflate the supposed pension crisis by assuming incredibly low return rates for CalPERS investments. But a respected independent expert who co-authored a book on California government dysfunction says these assumptions have no grounding in history, and, if implemented, could cost the next generation.
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The decline in secure pensions has coincided with a disturbing increase in elder poverty and future "reforms" could push millions into poverty. So says a new report from the National Institute for Retirement Security.
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CPF is pleased to work with Kaplan University to offer a special opportunity for CPF members. CPF members can earn degrees in fire science and emergency management online while on the job, and may receive credit for JAC or SFM training.
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Bakersfield Firefighter Jimmy Watkins finished sixth Sunday in the men's cycling sprint at London's Olympic Velodrome. It was the United States' best Olympic finish in track cycling's blue-ribbon in 12 years.
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Media reports about the bankruptcies in Stockton and San Bernardino have tried to link these disasters to pension costs. CalPERS President Rob Feckner says the facts tell a different story.
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The East Bay Citizen: Prop. 32 on the November ballot virtually invites big money special interests to spend unlimited dollars on a "tsunami of initiatives" aimed at rolling back public and private sector workers.
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California Professional Firefighters has published its 2011 Annual Report, reviewing the highlights and accomplishments of the year as well as the challenges ahead. CLICK HERE to read and download the report.
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On Sunday, October 7, 2012, the Firefighter Cancer Support Network will celebrate its Fifth Annual Gala Dinner & Fundraiser, "Fight Cancer with Fire." The evening promises to be fun-filled, with surprise entertainment, at a wonderful venue, with a specially prepared meal!
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San Jose Firefighters Local 230 is saddened to announce the line-of-duty death of Captain Jose Martinez. Brother Martinez died August 12th from job-related cancer.
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In Part 2 of a series of profiles commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the California Firefighters Memorial in Sacramento, CPF President Emeritus Dan Terry recalls the founding of the Memorial.
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Nine fires that have collectively burned more than 400,000 acres may get an assist from Mother Nature as winds have begun to die down. More than 8,000 firefighters have been on the lines battling the blazes, the largest of which is on BLM land straddling the California-Nevada border.
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L.A. Times business columnist MIchael Hiltzik calls out Prop. 32's billionaire benefactors. Many are linked to secretive Super PACs that spend unlimited amounts on campaigns. All of them are exempt from the measure's provisions.
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At a news conference today in Los Angeles, Gov. Jerry Brown announced an agreement that will take public employee retirement security back to the Reagan years.
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California Professional Firefighters' online news service. Governor backs pension-slashing bill, spotlight on San Diego's fire-based bomb squad
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In a stinging rebuke, the Ventura County Star says Proposition 32 -- The Special Exemptions Act -- is a "sham" in "unequivocally recommending a no vote."
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CPF Firevision is California Professional Firefighters' online video news service. Recap of 42nd CPF Convention; Introducing the California Firefighters Endowment
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Terrorism Consequence Management: Behind The Scenes: Firefighters from San Diego and Livermore-Pleasanton participate in training scenarios, as part of California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee's upcoming online terrorism response training.
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CPF Firevision is California Professional Firefighters' online video news service. Decision 2010: Election wrap-up, the stakes in 2010, CPF political action award.
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Headlines: State budget deadlocked again, Corona FF bounces back from open heart surgery.
Fire Season 2010: A range of fire and weather experts agree -- California still faces a high fire risk this fall.
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Headlines: IAFF Convention comes to San Diego
Firefighters Giving Back: Founded by LA County firefighter Mike Dubron, the Firefighter Cancer Support Network offers hope and resources to firefighters deaing with cancer.
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Fresno's Littlest Hero: A Fresno 7-year-old saves her sisters and grandmother from a fire, with some help from "Firefighters On Your Side"
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The 2010 Governor's Race: Why it Matters to You: For firefighters, 2010 is the "election of your career." CPF Firevision contrasts Jerry Brown's 40 year record of support for firefighters against Meg Whitman's vow to take away negotiating rights, secure pensions and job security.
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CPF at Rose Parade. CPF Pipes and Drums make first appearance at New Year's parade
Fred Couples Helps Firefighters: Pro golfer gives to CA Firefighters Endowment
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The 2010 Elections: Firefighter-friendly candidates did well in the 2010 November election.
CFFJAC Career Expos: The CPF co-sponsored Commission to Recruit Women for the Fire Service holds its 3rd annual Career Fairs, to attract the next generation of first responders.
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State of the State. Gov. Brown delivers first state-of-the-state message of new term.
Firefighters Giving Back: First responders give back at holiday time.
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California Professional Firefighters' online video news. Protecting Your Retirement: A Special Report on the 2010 Pension Fight.
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