On December 16, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Renewal of the Zadroga Act, legislation that provides health benefits for first responders who grew ill after the Sept. 11 attacks, has been included in the year-end tax and spending bill Congress is to consider later this week. An $8.1 billion measure to renew the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act will be included in a $1.
- PUB DATE: 12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV 7online.com

Kansas City police are investigating a fatal shooting, possibly self-inflicted, of a Kansas City firefighter at 34th and the Paseo, near a fire station. A resident of the area heard a gunshot, looked outside and saw the body between Kansas City Fire Station 17 and a residence to the south, police said.
- PUB DATE: 12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas City Star

A potential deal to fix the U.S. Forest Service's chronic wildfire funding problem collapsed Wednesday in Congress. The lack of action means the Forest Service continues to face the prospect of cannibalizing its budget to fight wildfires while having fewer resources to reduce fire danger in the first place.
- PUB DATE: 12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Oregonlive.com

Key evidence that could explain why the Granite Mountain Hotshots moved from a safe location into a treacherous box canyon where 19 men died on June 30, 2013, was in the Office of the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's possession but was not provided to a contracted state investigation into the disaster, autopsy records obtained by New Times show.
- PUB DATE: 12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: phoenix news times

For the past couple of weeks, the Washington Park Fire Department has been busy putting out multiple fires, but it's department chief is now answering questions about the past of some firefighters. “Yes, I know both of my deputy chief and both my captain are both convicted of arson,” said Fire Chief Charles Schreiber said.
- PUB DATE: 12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: kmov.com

On December 15, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A medical helicopter crashed in Arizona, killing two crew members, the copter's owner said. A third crew member is safe, said Christina Brodsly, spokeswoman for the company Air Methods. There were no patients aboard the aircraft, when it went down. "We are deeply saddened by the news that two of our crew members were taken from us, and our hearts go out to their family and loved ones," the company said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: cnn

An Enid Fire Department fire captain has been terminated following an October incident involving a laser allegedly pointed at an airplane. Fire Civil Service Commission Secretary Corbin Baker read the findings of fact and conclusions of law just before a nearly 12-hour meeting concluded shortly after 9 p.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: enid news & eagle

A township fire district must pay upwards of $1 million in back pay, benefits and interest to two firefighters who were fired in what has been deemed retaliatory union-busting, according to their union rep. "The taxpayers in the district get stuck paying the bill for six years of legal bills and pay for something they got no services for," said James Hannon, the president of the union representing Monroe firefighters, after an Appellate Division ruled last week in the union's favor.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Newark Star-Ledger/NJ.com

Four years after former Highwood Fire Department Deputy Chief Ronald Pieri was arrested on charges related to payroll fraud, a Lake County Circuit Court judge has found him guilty on a single count of false entry for falsifying time records. But Judge Victoria Rossetti found Pieri not guilty on two counts of official misconduct and two counts of theft of government property.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: chicago tribune

The holiday spirit is normally alive and well this time of year in Oakville, Washington. It is a town of 700 people that is not accustomed to controversy. When volunteer firefighters at Grays Harbor Fire District No.1 put a biblical message on their sign, someone complained. The fire commissioner ordered the sign to come down and their Christmas tree turned off.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: kiro tv

On December 14, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 13, 17 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 12, 15 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A federal jury has rejected an Oakland firefighter's claim that he was harassed and retaliated against by his supervisors because he was black. Ronald El-Malik Curtis sued the city in 2010, accusing his supervisors of failing to take action after his fellow co-workers began harassing him. Curtis said other firefighters tampered with his food, stole his car keys and even placed a dead bird under his bed.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: inside bay area

When firefighters approached the two-story brick warehouse early Monday morning, they did not know the building's elevator shaft was an unprotected abyss, part of ongoing construction at the site. The owners of the structure at 9213 S. Baltimore Ave. did not have proper permits for the work, the city's building department says, and a complete removal of the building's elevator was underway without authorization.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: chicago tribune

The deadline to apply for the IAFC’s Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI) has been extended to January 8, 2016. Developed by the IAFC and funded by Motorola Solutions Foundation, FSEDI provides new and aspiring fire chiefs with the tools they need to have a successful and productive tenure.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

A New Haven firefighter was arrested Monday, accused of stealing approximately $125,000 from a 95-year-old city woman, according to police. Kenneth Burgos, 41, was charged with first-degree larceny and tampering with a witness, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman. An investigation into the alleged theft began in September, when the victim notified police that several thousand dollars was missing from her bank accounts, Hartman said.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new haven register

PHOTO - Firefighters told children not to expect a visit from Santa this year after pretending their fire truck had run over and killed him. Daily Mail reported that the Saltash (England) Fire Station posted an image of Santa on the front of their fire truck on their Twitter page. In the photo, Santa is seen hanging above the engine’s bumper as if he has just been smashed.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1