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

On December 13, 16 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 11, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A Chicago firefighter died early Monday morning, after falling through an elevator shaft while battling a warehouse fire in the South Chicago neighborhood. Crews were called to the scene in the 9200 block of South Baltimore Avenue for a fire in a vacant warehouse around 2:40 a.m., according to Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: cbs chicago

A community is mourning the loss of firefighter that died in the line of duty on Friday. 56-year-old Larry Millard of the Endeavor Fire Department was responding to a crash on Interstate 39 just after 4:00 p.m. on Friday. A driver did not see the firetruck and swerved to avoid it, and struck Millard.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Five firefighters were taken to the hospital after their fire truck caught fire in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Saturday night. Members of the Gladwyne Fire Company were heading back from a non-fire call shortly before 7:30 p.m. on the 600 block of Spring Mill Road when their fire truck's engine suddenly caught fire.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

New York’s Bravest can take the heat, but some can’t stand the noise. Nearly 1,500 FDNY firefighters and retirees joined with other smoke-eaters to file a mass lawsuit claiming years of exposure to loud sirens are making them deaf. The 4,000 plaintiffs contend Illinois-based siren manufacturer Federal Signal Corp.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york post

Crews battled a two-alarm fire Friday afternoon in a three-unit residence in south Minneapolis. Firefighters were called to a residence on the 2000 block of 5th Avenue South near Franklin Avenue at about 1 p.m. Crews arrived and rescued three people from the inside the building. They then concentrated on the second and third floors of the building, which is where the fire is believed to have originated.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCCO-TV CBS 4

On December 10, 9 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Four people are dead after a medical evacuation helicopter based out of Visalia crashed east of McFarland Thursday night, said Dan Lynch, EMS director for Fresno County. The SkyLife medevac helicopter was transporting a patient in critical condition from Porterville to San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield when it crashed near Highway 65 and Sherwood Avenue, said Lynch, who oversees emergency medical services in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sacramento bee

As the water raining down from the overhead sprinklers pooled in rivers of blood and the smell of gunpowder hung in the air Wednesday, Ryan Starling remembered his training. He got out his white tape. More than two dozen victims lay on the floor at the Inland Regional Center, the 33-year-old medic recalled Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: los angeles times

James V. Maguire, a paramedic with the Hillsborough Rescue Squad, died in the line of duty on Monday. Maguire had responded to a call near his home on Sunday afternoon and performed CPR for an extended period of time. Less than 20 hours later, he apparently suffered a heart attack, the squad announced.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Newark Star-Ledger/NJ.com