A brand new lieutenant in the Portland Fire Bureau acted heroically and put his life at risk Wednesday morning to save lives when an explosion destroyed a building and injured several people, the bureau’s fire chief said. Chief Mike Myers said during an afternoon news conference that Lt. Peter St. John was injured in the explosion and had been taken to a hospital.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland

A brand new lieutenant in the Portland Fire Bureau acted heroically and put his life at risk Wednesday morning to save lives when an explosion destroyed a building and injured several people, the bureau’s fire chief said. Chief Mike Myers said during an afternoon news conference that Lt. Peter St. John was injured in the explosion and had been taken to a hospital.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland

Active duty Yonkers Fire Lt. John "J-Rod" Rodriguez died Tuesday night from a 9/11-related cancer. He was 53 years old. Rodriguez leaves behind a wife and two children. "John Rodriguez was first and foremost a family man, a loving and devoted husband and proud father," said Yonkers Fire Union President Barry McGoey, who joined the department with Rodriguez in October 2000.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News (Lohud.com)

Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago on Wednesday defended his 60-day suspension of a lieutenant who refused to send underlings into an area where they might be exposed to Ebola but said the city will accept an arbitrator’s ruling overturning the suspension. Santiago said the decision not to appeal the arbitrator’s ruling had nothing to do with the no-confidence vote taken Sept.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times

Two firefighters were rescued after falling through a stairwell in a burning home Thursday morning at Eichelberger Street and Wherry Avenue. Authorities say they fell through a stairwell about 10 feet into the basement. They were being evaluated for injuries. No further details were immediately available about what injuries they suffered.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A Phoenix firefighter was called to the home where he grew up to help in the effort to save his father's life. Derek Dee was on Engine 20 when he realized he was headed to his parents' home on Sept. 10. Dee's father, 71-year-old Tommy Dee, was suffering from cardiac arrest. His mother called 911 and his parents' neighbor performed CPR.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS 5 AZ KPHO

Off-duty firefighters are searching on both sides of the Cascades looking for Ken Ward. He is a fellow firefighter who has been missing since Oct. 16. Ward has been a firefighter at Mountain View King County Fire District #44 for 10 years and always shows up for work. When he didn't show up Monday, fellow firefighters and his family knew something was wrong.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4

On October 19, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A paramedic received stitches Tuesday afternoon after an unconscious man's dog bit her as she helped try to revive him on Madison' south side, fire officials said. The Madison Fire Department said firefighters and paramedics responded to a report of an unconscious person in the basement of a home in the University Hill Farms-area neighborhood at 2:07 p.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 7:47:03 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

A family of five escaped a house fire in Appleton early Wednesday morning. The Appleton Fire Department says without working smoke alarms, it could have been “truly tragic.” Firefighters were called to the 200 block of N. Lawe Street at about 5:26 a.m. Crews arrived on scene to find smoke and flames in the basement.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 6:47:59 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

On October 17, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

La Crosse County emergency communications are getting a boost this year and by 2022 will have coverage as good as it can get, given the county’s terrain. By the end of the year, the county will add the first of seven new transmitter sites to improve the county’s radio system, which is used by the sheriff’s department as well as the emergency dispatch center and the highway department.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 3:10:46 AM - SOURCE: Lacrosse Tribune

The city has released the names of the three men being considered for Kenosha’s next fire chief. The three finalists are Battalion Chief Matthew Haerter, Battalion Chief Kenneth Schroeder and Capt. Charles Leipzig Jr. A decision could come later this month. The Police and Fire Commission opted to look at internal candidates rather than perform a nationwide search.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

PHOTOS - A massive explosion, apparently ignited by a natural gas leak, ripped through a building Wednesday along the popular Northwest 23rd Avenue shopping district, causing destruction and injuring five people, including three firefighters, authorities said. Initial reports indicate no fatalities.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: OregonLive.com

Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a lawsuit filed against the City of Austin, challenging the city’s labor agreement with the Austin Firefighters Association, his office announced Tuesday. Paxton’s office said the agreement with the firefighters association allows for “release time” and therefore allows firefighters to work for the union at taxpayer expense.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVUE-TV ABC Austin

PHOTO - Another Shreveport firefighter is injured after another fire truck rollover Tuesday night. This makes the second rollover for the department within 3 days. More than a dozen first responders were at the crash scene just before midnight in the 300 block of Montana Street in Shreveport's MLK neighborhood.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSLA-TV Shreveport News 12

Mayor Tammy Long dismissed South Weber Fire Chief Thomas Graydon after he refused to terminate the deputy chief following an investigation into allegedly falsified payroll sheets, City Manager Tom Smith said Tuesday. The investigation by Graydon determined Deputy Chief Frank Patrick entered inaccurate information on South Weber Fire Department run sheets, which are records of firefighter participation on fire calls and are used to fulfill payroll, Smith said.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ogden Standard-Examiner/StandardNET

One of the goals of the U.S. Fire Administration is to reduce risk and increase resiliency through programs and training in preparedness, prevention and mitigation. As part of USFA, the National Fire Academy (NFA) has offered courses focused on prevention since its doors opened in 1980. Strategic Analysis of Fire Prevention Programs was one of the four courses offered in the original Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) in 1985.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

According to the Arkoma Police Chief, three children were killed in an early morning mobile home fire Wednesday morning (Oct. 19). Neighbors said it happened around 4 a.m. on Lowery Street. "I saw the fire starting on the front porch of the trailer," said neighbor Rick Deguzman. "I immediately rushed upstairs and got my mother.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KFSM-TV CBS 5 Fort Smith

On October 18, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.