CPF Fire Wire California Professional Firefighters

For decades, CAL FIRE firefighters have been forced to work 72-hour workweeks despite the standard 56 implemented at many departments around the state.  This has led to retention issues for the department and caused harm to CAL FIRE firefighters' families, physical health, and mental health. 
Governor Gavin Newsom has included the 66-hour workweek in his proposed 2024 budget, which is currently under consideration by the California Legislature, bringing Local 2881 one step closer to parity. 
On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, CPF President Brian Rice meets with CAL FIRE Local 2881 President Tim Edwards to discuss their ongoing fight to bring the hours in their workweek closer to the rest of the California fire service. The CPF membership has stood in solidarity with Local 2881 in this fight, and will need to continue to do so to help them get to 56.

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.
 

CPF Pres. Brian Rice speaks with Cal-LAST members Thomas Jay and Tracey Hansen on honoring our fallen and being part of this invaluable team.

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/