Rebuilding Our Memorial to the Fallen

John Stamp
The hallowed grounds of the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial are a place where thousands gather every September to celebrate and honor the lives of IAFF members who have died in the line of duty during the past year. Hundreds more make private pilgrimages throughout the year. To ensure the integrity of the site remains intact for future generations of fire fighters and their families, the IAFF will be putting forth a resolution at the 2014 Convention for reconstructing the entire Memorial site.

Giving Muscular Dystrophy the Boot

John Stamp
May 9, 2014 – The year was 1954. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the White House home, a gallon of gas averaged 22 cents, and the television show “Father Knows Best” kept Americans captivated with Hollywood’s version of the perfect family. But, as explained in a 1954 article published in The Press-Gazette (Hillsboro, Ohio), no one knew best when it came to treating the estimated 200,000 Americans diagnosed with a strange ailment called muscular dystrophy. This “very costly disease,” the article explained, baffled researchers, and although the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), founded in 1950, was dedicated to “seeking the cause and a cure for this mysterious and fatal malady,” insufficient research funds kept progress at bay.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Hits United States

John Stamp
May 9, 2014 — MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), the severe viral respiratory illness that has been infecting people in the Arabian peninsula, has made its appearance in the United States for the first time. On May 2nd, 2014 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first US case in an individual who had recently traveled from Saudi Arabia to Indiana.