Fighting wildfires in Washington costs an average of $153 million a year. Last year, Public Lands Commissioner Hillary Franz offered a plan to cope with some of those costs. How did the proposal fare? Under the state budget just finalized last week, the Department of Natural Resources will receive $48.
- PUB DATE: 5/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: iFiberOne

A longtime town firefighter recently filed a claim seeking payment for all hours worked as a volunteer over the last three decades, igniting potentially lengthy negotiations at a time when Waterford and other towns are shaking up fire services to address increasing concerns over manpower and labor laws.
- PUB DATE: 5/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Day

Monday marked the first day of testimony in the trial of two men accused in the Oakland warehouse fire that left 36 people dead more than two years ago. Derick Almena, 49, and Max Harris, 29, have been jailed since their arrest in June 2017. Prosecutors say Almena rented the warehouse and Harris acted as "creative director," helping book concerts and collect rent.
- PUB DATE: 5/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Los Angeles

Ed McLaughlin was 15 years old when he saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time. “I went to Philmont Scout Ranch, south of here, and hiked and fell in love with the area,” he said. Years later, McLaughlin’s brother bought a lot in the Forbes Park neighborhood in Costilla County, nestled near the Spanish Peaks in southern Colorado.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: 9 News

VIDEO: First responders who helped save the lives of the 143 people on board the Miami Air plane that went skidding into the St. Johns River Friday night say it's their job but not something they will soon forget. More than 100 firefighters from across the city worked together to quickly get passengers off the wing of the airplane and back to shore.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News 4 Jax

Mayor London Breed swore in new Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson on Monday. Nicholson, who has served with the department for 25 years in a variety of roles, most recently as deputy chief of administration, is the second woman to be appointed chief and the first openly LGBT person to hold the title. Her instalment follows the retirement of Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, who led the department for 15 years.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Examiner

VIDEO: A 9-year-old boy from Rose Township is on a big mission to save lives. Lucas Vetter is raising money to buy lifesaving CPR machines for the fire department in Livingston County and he has reached his first milestone in his goal. "They showed us the LUCAS and I instantly became insanely impressed by how amazing it was," Vetter said.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Click On Detroit

Last summer, two Falmouth police officers were shot while responding to an incident on Ashley Drive. The suspect was also shot several times by police. All three were treated at the same time on the front lawn of the home by emergency medical staff from the fire department. Officers Ryan Moore and Donald DiMiranda and suspect Malik Koval all survived, but the tense scenario underlined the need for firefighters to have some protection when providing treatment under potentially dangerous conditions.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cape Cod Times

Officials confirm a firefighter died while fighting a fire early Sunday morning in Christopher. Seventeen fire departments and six police departments assisted in battling the two-story structure fire. The Christopher Police Department said a call came in around 3:30 a.m. reporting a fire at 118 West Market Street.
- PUB DATE: 5/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSIL-TV 3

A veteran paramedic who overcame a hardscrabble Bronx childhood to log an incredible 28 years with the FDNY will have stars in her eyes and four more on her collar Tuesday as the history-making new Chief of EMS. Lillian Bonsignore, a single mom barely out of her teens when she started as an emergency medical technician in 1991, becomes the first woman to hold the rank in the department’s 154-year history.
- PUB DATE: 5/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

VIDEO: 19 elected officials and leaders from Wichita and surrounding cities suited up in protective gear to see what it is like to be a firefighter for a day. In small groups, participants took turns battling a structure fire under the controlled supervision of firefighters. "We had fire going over the top of our heads," said David Dennis, Sedgwick County Commissioner of District 3.
- PUB DATE: 5/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSNW 3 Wichita

Since 1885, New Jersey firefighters and their families have benefitted from a special fund designed to support them in times of tragedy and financial hardship. It helps pay for the burials of fallen firefighters, provides financial assistance for first responders hit with medical bills, and even provides in-home health care for those who are aging and suffering from physical ailments.
- PUB DATE: 5/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

A longtime member of the Tulsa Fire Department received a historic confirmation to the State Fire Marshal Commission. Gov. Kevin Stitt recently appointed Training Chief Julie Lynn as the first woman to serve on the commission. She will replace Stan May, who resigned as commissioner after being elected to the state House of Representatives in January.
- PUB DATE: 5/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tulsa World

Firefighters in Miami Beach are concerned that nepotism played a role in selecting this year’s recruit class, creating an unfair hiring process and possible safety risks, according to three current firefighters who spoke on the condition of anonymity. More than 500 people applied for coveted positions with the Miami Beach Fire Department last fall and 124 made it past the written exam and physical agility test to the interview round.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Miami Herald

A public service announcement that spotlights the shortage of volunteer firefighters in Connecticut is up for an Emmy award. Shot by professional cinematographer and Hebron volunteer firefighter Matthew Troy, “See You Out There” features 85 volunteers from 16 departments across the state. The regional Emmy awards are to be presented on June 15 in Boston.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant

VIDEO: A strong wind gust thrust a bounce house-type inflatable into the air Wednesday, injuring five Washington state high school students, officials said. The inflatable went airborne at about 2:30 p.m. during an Associated student body event at Zillah High School, outside of Yakima, according to a statement from the school.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

Eight firefighters and a police officer were injured at a solar energy storage facility in the aptly named town of Surprise, Arizona last month when they answered a call to inspect an energy storage system (ESS) fire. The situation quickly took a turn for the worse when an explosion blew the container’s doors off.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1.com

Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. plans to set up a $105 million fund to help survivors of recent California wildfires likely started by the utility's equipment, according to a court filing Wednesday. PG&E's "wildfire assistance program" would provide relief for people who lost property during huge blazes in 2017 and 2018, said the filing in U.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Bay Area

The San Francisco Giants honored Joanne Hayes-White, the city's first female fire chief, on Wednesday during her last official public appearance before she retires. She threw out the ceremonial first pitch during a Giants-Dodgers game. Hayes-White served for 30 years with the department. "It's pretty surreal right now.
- PUB DATE: 5/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU Fox 2

Orange County’s newest fire station, its first in the booming Horizon West community near Disney, means more money in Joan Sullens’ pocket. The Horizon West resident now qualifies for a premium-reducing, fire-protection discount on her homeowners insurance policy because firefighting crews are much closer.
- PUB DATE: 5/2/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel