This market has become a graveyard. A day ago, families wandered through rows of stalls at San Pablito, searching for fireworks to launch during the holiday season. Now, forensic teams are combing through the charred rubble of this market north of Mexico City, searching for victims' remains. At least 32 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a massive series of explosions Tuesday, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

The Austin Fire Department this year has seen a spike in crashes involving fire vehicles that has led the agency to enact a new disciplinary system, which has rankled the firefighters union and has already led to more than 20 suspensions in recent months. Over the past six years, the department has averaged 54 crashes a year involving fire equipment and vehicles.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman

Farrell council voted on Monday for a settlement with their former fire chief, William C. Mortimer Jr., that would allow him to forego possible jail time in exchange for giving up his sick time buyout, the city manager said. “We allowed him to resign and in exchange we get to keep the money,” City Manager Michael Ceci said.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sharon Herald

Lawyers representing Derick Ion Almena, the manager of the Ghost Ship warehouse, say negligence on the part of Oakland city officials was to blame for a fire that killed 36 people this month, and not their client. In a joint statement released Monday, the lawyers said Alameda County officials who are now investigating the blaze have a “conflict of interest” and that Almena will likely be made a scapegoat in the deadly Dec.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times

PHOTO - A driver who ignored a fire hydrant in a south Omaha neighborhood had their windows smashed out by firefighters Sunday. Firefighters were forced to smash the windows of the car parked near South 19th and M streets. Firefighters had to thread the fire hose through the car to fight the house fire which reportedly displaced a metro family.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOWT-TV NBC 6 Omaha

The 2016 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant application is due to open in January. Recently, FEMA released information to assist departments in planning their applications for the upcoming program opening. These documents revealed several changes to critical sections of the program that may impact departments’ ability to apply for funding and information needed for their application.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

On December 20, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: They come to put out fires and inspect gas leaks -- but Captain Thomas Brunner wants to make sure his firefighters can save a life whether there's a fire or not. At Janesville Fire Department where he works, there are numerous firefighters who are also paramedics. Now, the department is providing special Advanced Life Support (ALS) kits to equip those who are trained to respond to medical emergencies - whether they're in an ambulance or a firetruck.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2016 8:53:50 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

On December 19, 14 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 19, 10 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 18, 16 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: At least six homeowners in northern Chippewa County were forced out of their home after a home exploded near New Auburn. Shortly after 9:00 Monday night crews responded to a home near Long Lake. The New Auburn Fire Department said it was a brand new home, still under construction and a few months until being ready to live in.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2016 12:42:56 AM - SOURCE: WQOW-TV ABC 18 Eau Claire

Leonard Carmichael Jr., who grew up in North Trenton dreaming of being a Trenton firefighter, has retired as deputy chief, the department's highest uniformed rank. Carmichael served over 25 years and held every position in the department, having served as acting fire director for 10 months in 2010 - and briefly in 2014.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Trenton Times

Dundee Volunteer firefighter Ruben E. Mast, 43, of Dundee, died after a traffic crash while reportedly responding to a call out at about 4:59 p.m. Monday. Mast was transported by Smith Ambulance to Union Hospital in Dover, where he later succumbed to his injuries, according to officers with the New Philadelphia Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Philadelphia Times-Reporter

An 11-month-old girl is out of the hospital and expected to be alright after being rescued by a group of Richmond firefighters Saturday afternoon. “We're talking literally seconds here from tragedy to triumph,” said Capt. William M. Martin with the Richmond Fire Department. Engine Company 11 was the first on the scene at Fairfield Court Saturday afternoon.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVR-TV CBS 6

State troopers were investigating two separate crashes on Interstate 85 in Concord overnight, and one of them involved a fire truck. Concord firefighters were called to a wreck on I-85 northbound, between Bruton Smith Boulevard and Poplar Tent Road, around 1 a.m. While emergency crews were still on the scene, about 45 minutes later, a BMW sideswiped a Concord fire engine that was blocking the three left lanes of the interstate, according to troopers.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSOC-TV ABC 9 Charlotte

A federal training facility in Anniston has temporarily suspended all chemical and biological operations, according to a statement given to students who trained there. The announcement comes as officials investigate a mistake that led to first-responders training with a lethal rather than a non-lethal version of the toxic compound ricin.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Anniston Star

On December 19, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: The death toll rose to 12 Monday after a tractor trailer barreled into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, Germany. The White House says the crash appears to be a terrorist attack. NBC26 spoke with Fond du Lac Fire Chief Peter O'Leary who is vacationing in Germany. He says he spent the day at Frankfurt's Christmas market and planned to return to do more shopping, but after hearing the news of what happened, he's decided against it.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2016 8:59:37 PM - SOURCE: WGBA-TV NBC 26 Green Bay

Fond du Lac County will begin searching for a new director of communications and emergency management in the new year now that James McNabb has retired. Bobbie Hickens has been appointed as interim director until an appointment can be made with approval from the Fond du Lac County Board of Supervisors, said County Executive Allen Buechel.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2016 6:56:27 PM - SOURCE: Fond du Lac Reporter