On Saturday August 27th, Espanola Firefighter/EMT-I Theresa Martinez lost her home and all her posessions in a structure fire. Unfortunately her mobile home was not insured. She and her four children were out of town. They lost their pet dog in the fire. An assistance fund has been set up for Theresa at the Bank of America. It is called the Theresa Martinez Fund, Acct#439002250351. Any donations other than cash such as gift cards or clothing should be directed to Ron Padilla President of Local 4339. His number is 505-927-2529. They are in need of childrens clothing.

On Thursday October 2nd, an Espanola paramedic interupted an attempted car-jacking at his home, in his garage and suffered critical stab wounds requiring that he be flown to UNMH. His wife and children were inside the family vehicle at the time. His family was unharmed, but although he is recovering well, he will be unable to work for awhile. An assistance fund has been set up for him at the Bank of America also. It is called the Benefit Account for Sahaj Khalsa, Acct#439002249605.

NIOSH is investingating a Line-Of-Duty Death involving the catastrophic failure of an aerial waterway during an industrial fire in Pennsylvania. A Deputy Fire Chief was struck in the head by the monitor and 30 feet of waterway on April 8, 2008. He died instantly. Althought the investigation is not completed, NIOSH wants to advise all fire departments of the importance of properly securing their aerial waterway devices. Preliminary findings are showing that many aerials do not have a secondary stop for the waterway, therefore if the pin is not correctly seated, the potential for failure exists. Please check the link for more information and pass it on, for Safety's sake!  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/SafetyAdvisory05052008.html