Line of Duty Death – Brother Todd A. Landreth – Local 3406 Norfolk Airport

 

It is with deepest regret and sorrow to report the line-of-duty death of Brother Todd A. Landreth (Local 3406 – Norfolk Airport).

 

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 3pm at the Norfolk Fire-Rescue Training Center, 7120 Granby Street., Norfolk, Virginia 23505; phone: (757) 441-5252.

 

Expressions of sympathy or condolences for Brother Landreth’s family or Local 3406 can be sent to – Local 3406, 7120 Granby Street, Norfolk, VA 23505.

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VPFF Urges Passage of Retroactive COVID-19 Presumption

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Change Your Clock…Check Your Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarms

When it’s time to change the clocks, it’s time to check your smoke and CO alarms!

Smoke Alarms

A working smoke alarm significantly increases your chances of surviving a deadly home fire.

  • Install both ionization AND photoelectric smoke alarms, OR dual sensor smoke alarms, which contain both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors.
  • Test batteries monthly.
  • Replace batteries in battery-powered and hard-wired smoke alarms at least once a year (except non-replaceable 10-year lithium batteries).
  • Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, both inside and outside of sleeping areas.
  • Replace the entire smoke alarm unit every 8-10 years or according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Never disable a smoke alarm while cooking – it can be a deadly mistake.
» Smoke Alarm Safety for People With Access or Functional Needs
  • Audible alarms for visually impaired people should pause with a small window of silence between each successive cycle so that they can listen to the instructions or voices of others.
  • Smoke alarms with a vibrating pad or flashing light are available for the hearing impaired. Contact your local fire department for information about obtaining a flashing or vibrating smoke alarm.
  • Smoke alarms with a strobe light outside the home to catch the attention of neighbors and emergency call systems for summoning help are also available.
  • YouTube

 

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

More than 400 people die each year in the United States from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) whose data includes consumer products and vehicles.​ Often called the invisible killer, carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel can be sources of carbon monoxide.​

  • CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
  • Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for placement and mounting height.
  • If the audible trouble signal sounds, first check for low batteries. If the battery is low, replace it. If it still sounds, call the fire department. 
  • If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow.
  • During and after a snowstorm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove and fireplace are clear of snow build-up.
  • A generator should be used in a well-ventilated location outdoors away from windows, doors and vent openings.
  • Gas or charcoal grills can produce CO — only use outside.​

*NFPA

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VPFF Endorses Ed Kelly for IAFF General President

At the 2020 VPFF Convention, delegates unanimously endorsed Ed Kelly for IAFF General President.

 

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September is Preparedness Month

 

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Virtual Fill The Boot

Since 1954, the support of #IAFF has made Fill The Boot a lifesaving tradition. But the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected fire fighters’ efforts to Fill the Boot for MDA, while the critical need for fundraising to help find a cure and support those served by MDA remain. Click image to donate!

 

 

 

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Rice Strategies, LLC

VPFF Lobby Day – January 15, 2020

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Join Us In Richmond To Ask Legislators To Support Fire Fighter Health and Safety!

Virginia Fire Fighters have introduced legislation for several years now to improve Virginia’s Workers Compensation System. However, those efforts have failed. Join us in Richmond on January 15, 2020 to demand our elected officials support the health and safety of Virginia’s fire fighters! Our fire fighters, their families and your communities are counting on you!

Be sure to join us at 10:00 AM at the Bell Tower for the Honoring Our Fallen Ceremony. We will remember those lost to occupational cancer and honor those fighting a diagnosis.

#SupportOurFirefighters
Virginia State Capitol
1000 Bank St
Richmond, VA 23219
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VPFF Statement on Release of Workers’ Compensation Study

RICHMOND—President Robert Bragg, Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, today released the following statement on the conclusion for the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s Study on Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation System and Disease Presumptions.

​“We welcomed the long-awaited conclusion of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study on Virginia’s Workers Compensation System and Disease Presumptions.  The Virginia Professional Fire Fighters (VPFF) is pleased with JLARC’s findings as it confirms what our fire fighters have been saying for some time. The requirements for cancer presumption are overly burdensome and counter to the presumption statute. We appreciate the professionalism of the JLARC staff and the thoroughness of the research provided in their report.

The VPFF eagerly looks forward to working with General Assembly and other stakeholder organizations to ensure these recommendations are fully implemented. Our fire fighters have earned these benefits and we will work vigorously to improve their occupational disease protections. Further, the VPFF will adamantly oppose any initiatives to reduce existing presumption benefits or prevention funding.”

The full report can be viewed here

 

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Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation System and Disease Presumptions Report

 

 

 

 

Read JLARC report on Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation System and Disease Presumptions – December 2019

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