CPF Pres. Brian Rice speaks with Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg on Proposition 1 and being part of the solution. For many Californians experiencing homelessness, firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics are the first and only resource they have when they are in crisis. This is an unacceptable and unsafe reality, both for the Californians who are in need of shelter, services, or treatment and for the firefighters and EMTs who are charged with responding to these crises. More resources are needed for targeted solutions, and a higher priority must be placed on treatment and housing as permanent solutions instead of a temporary fix for those who struggle with homelessness. This is why Proposition 1 is needed in California. Prop 1 is a commonsense solution that will fund programs that get people the treatment they need - not in tents or in jail cells. Prop 1 doesn’t raise taxes, and Prop 1 doesn’t take funding from existing firefighter budget resources. CPF President Brian K. Rice sits down with Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg to discuss Proposition 1, which will be on our March primary ballot in California.

The 2023 legislative session in Sacramento wrapped up with solid wins for California's firefighters, the result of CPF's strong advocacy that works across the partisan aisle. On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, CPF President talks with Republican Assemblyman Heath Flora of Ripon about the legislative year, significant measures for firefighters, and the importance of working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Funded by the Department of Justice, the Cal-LAST program is the result of a landmark partnership between the California Fire Foundation and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. This critical team provides comprehensive rapid-response support for local fire departments that lose one of their own. The primary mission of the team is to provide assistance and comfort to the family and department in the immediate aftermath of a line of duty death and help with filing DOJ-PSOB, state, and local benefits.  CPF President Brian Rice sits down with two members of the Cal-LAST team to find out what drives them to support the fallen and their families and peers. Thomas Jay is a retired Battalion Chief with the City of Riverside Fire Department. He has led the CPF Honor Guard for more than two decades and has been part of Cal-LAST since its inception. Tracey Hansen is a retired Chief of the Cosumnes Fire District who is a member of the CPF Pipes and Drums and has recently joined the Cal-LAST team. In this episode, they discuss how they became involved with Cal-LAST and what it means to them to support the fire service and the fallen brothers and sisters. Thomas and Tracey also break down the various components of the team and how they provide support to fire departments across California.

Firefighters are exposed to stresses on the job that few can contemplate. Sometimes, the job can take its toll. Nationally, firefighter suicides now consistently exceed the number killed in traumatic incidents. As part of the joint fire service Suicide Prevention and Awareness Stand Down in May, CPF President Brian Rice reconnects with Oxnard Fire Chief Alex Hamilton. A former Oxnard Firefighters board member, Chief Hamilton has developed groundbreaking peer-to-peer suicide awareness training for firefighters. He was first interviewed on Fire Wire in 2019. Among the subjects discussed are the impact the past four years, including the pandemic and increase in catastrophic wildland fires, have had in firefighters' mental wellness and what individuals can do to help themselves and others at risk of suicide.

CPF President Brian Rice continues his conversation with retired Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 President Richard Mayberry about the Sacramento firefighters strike of 1970. Mayberry and over 400 of his fellow firefighters walked off the job in October of 1970 in an action that had broad ramifications for the firefighter labor movement. Mayberry himself was arrested, tried and acquitted for his role in the action. Listen to Part 1 HERE: https://cpffirewire.podbean.com/e/cpf-fire-wire-sacramento-firefighters-on-strike/

At a time when firefighters were underpaid, disrespected and subject to the whims of their employers, the firefighter union movement asserted itself in the early 1970s with an unprecedented wave of strikes. On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, we present Part One of a two-part episode that tells the story of one of those strikes, and how it was part of a pivotal moment for firefighters and the labor movement. Joining CPF President Brian Rice is Richard Mayberry, longtime president of Sacramento Area Firefighters 522. Mayberry was a relatively new firefighter in October of 1970 when more than 400 Sacramento City firefighters walked off the job. In Part One, Mayberry talks about the conditions firefighters faced at the time, and what drove them to an action that put every firefighter's job on the line.

Civilian federal firefighters  have finally won a protection that state and local firefighters in California have had for 40 years -- a workers' compensation presumption for firefighter cancer. The victory, part of the federal defense authorization passed last year, caps a decades-long fight that was led by California's federal firefighters. On this CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice discusses this important victory, and the work done by CPF and IAFF to help federal firefighters, with Charlie Martinez, CPF's 5th District Vice President and a 31-year federal firefighter.

The California Firefighters Memorial is a touchstone of remembrance for frontline firefighters and their families. The centerpiece of this tribute -- the Memorial Wall that carries the names of more than 1,500 fallen firefighters -- is running out of space. CPF President Brian Rice talks with California Fire Foundation Executive Director Rick Martinez about the meaning of the Memorial and plans to expand it to ensure that all fallen firefighters can have their sacrifice memorialized. cafirefoundation.org/memorialexpansion

On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice discusses CPF’s legislative wins, the legislative process and the importance of building relationships at the local political level with CPF Director of Governmental Affairs, Doug Subers and CPF Governmental Advocate, Meagan Subers. CPF closed out a successful legislative session as Governor Newsom signed many priority bills, including SB 1127: Workers Compensation Presumption Reforms, and AB 450: Paramedic Disciplinary Review Board. As part of our legislative advocacy we also worked to stop AB 1993, a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that infringed on the rights of labor unions to meet and confer over such issues. Listen to the episode to learn what it takes to win for our members at the State Capitol.

Cancer remains the leading cause of job-related illness and death among active firefighters. Now, a worldwide scientific panel -- the International Agency for Research on Cancer -- has said it more plainly than ever --  being a firefighter can cause cancer. On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice discusses the IARC finding and what it means for firefighters who've been denied presumptive Workers' Comp support.  Guests: Dr. Jeff Burgess, noted firefighter cancer researcher and invited contributor to the IARC working group. Bryan Frieders, President, Firefighter Cancer Support Network

The cause of protecting the lives and livelihoods of firefighters must be defended every day.  Nothing is forever. On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice talks with Dave Coker, president of the Professional Firefighters of Greensboro (NC) Local 947. A longtime labor leader who cut his teeth as a lineman and CWA organizer,  Brother Coker talks about the importance and value of the union movement in a state where collective bargaining is illegal.  -- Professional Firefighters of Greensboro https://local.iaff.org/local0947 Organize the South Blog https://organizethesouth.substack.com West Virginia Mine Wars Museum https://wvminewars.org

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams are an indispensable part of major disaster response. California is the birthplace of USAR, and firefighters form the foundation of the state's eight USAR Task Forces. CPF President Brian Rice talks with one of the founders of USAR, Cal-OES Director Mark Ghilarducci.

As the behavioral health challenges faced by firefighters come out of the shadows, peer support has become an important way for firefighters to comfortably share their struggles. CPF’s sponsored legislation signed in 2019 — AB 1116 — is designed to bring peer support into every fire department, with groundbreaking confidentiality provisions. On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice talks with the author of AB 1116 — Assemblymember Tim Grayson — about the new law and the importance of peer support.

CPF President Brian Rice provides an update on CPF's work in Sacramento to protect its 32,000 front line firefighter members. Among the issues CPF is working on at the Capitol include: -- Workers' Comp Presumptions -- Firefighters are facing months, and sometimes years of needless battles fighting insurers over presumptive workers' comp claims. CPF's signature legislative effort would crack down on local governments and insurance companies aggressive and routine denials. -- Paramedic Wait Times -- Even before the COVID crisis, firefighter-paramedics have faced ER wait times of hours, as ambulances stack up waiting for patients to be transferred. CPF has been working on ways to moderate these epic "wall times", both now and in the future. -- Employer Vaccine Mandates -- CPF is forcefully opposing recently introduced legislation that would impose a vaccine mandate on public and private employers, including building a statewide labor coalition. -- Private Contract Firefighters -- President Rice discusses how CPF is pushing back against the encroachment of under-trained, poorly-paid private contract firefighters whose employers are trying to capitalize on California's wildfire crisis. President Rice speaks in conversation with CPF's Sr. Communications Advisor Carroll Wills.

Fighting side-by-side in the halls of power, CPF and the building trades have formed a united front that has won many battles for working people, from retirement security to stopping contracting out services to low-wage, undertrained workers. This month on CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice has a conversation with one of the toughest and most influential labor leaders in the state: Robbie Hunter, outgoing president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council. The two men discuss the common values shared by firefighters and construction workers, the critical need to protect health and safety for workers in a dangerous job, and the importance of working people standing united together. cpf.org cabuildingtrades.org

This past July marked the one-year anniversary of the dramatic and devastating fire aboard the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship docked in San Diego. In this edition of CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice talks with San Diego Federal Firefighters Local F-33 President Ian Piccolo. They discuss the incredibly difficult and dangerous firefight, and the critical efforts to ensure that the toxic exposures faced by members are recognized and appropriately treated by the Navy and DOD.

Every day, firefighters are exposed to events and scenes few can imagine, and sometimes they can push men and women to the brink ... and beyond. In 2021, firefighters are more likely to die from suicide than from traumatic line of duty death. In this edition of CPF Fire Wire, we hear the story of one firefighter's struggle, in his own words. Anaheim Firefighter/Paramedic Matt Fiorenza's story of how he came close to ending it all, and how he came back, will resonate with many.  If you are struggling, you don't have to struggle alone. Help is available. HealingOurOwn.org.

The challenges facing California remain as daunting as ever, from catastrophic wildfire to housing to COVID-19. The California Legislature is at the center of these challenges. In the latest edition of CPF Fire Wire, President Brian Rice talks with the top leader in the California State Senate -- Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins. Senator Atkins serves the 39th District, located in San Diego, and has been a staunch ally and advocate for firefighters during her time as a legislator and before, as a member of the San Diego City Council.  -- Background, information about Senator Atkins: sd39.senate.ca.gov

A January California Superior Court ruling will, if upheld, permanently strike down the most draconian pension-slashing initiative in California history: San Diego’s Proposition B. The 2012 pension grab in San Diego, which wiped out secure pensions for all city workers except police officers, has been the subject of an eight-year court fight. In the latest edition of CPF Fire Wire, President Brian Rice talks with San Diego City Firefighters Local 145 President Jesse Conner about the long legal fight, what the court decision means for retirement security, and the impact the San Diego fight will have on the ongoing effort to provide secure retirement for firefighters.

In the past 12 months, California has experienced the teeth of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as record-shattering wildfires. The man charged with guiding the state through the crises of 2020 is Gov. Gavin Newsom.  As he did a year ago, Gov. Newsom again sits down for a conversation with CPF President Brian Rice to talk about issues affecting the state, including COVID-19 and the promise of the vaccines, forest management, the economy and what it’s like to navigate a year like no other.