A federal jury this week awarded $500,000 to a former Klamath fire chief after finding Klamath County Fire District No. 1 breached his contract when it fired him in August 2013 without due process. James Wenzel served as fire chief for five and a half years. His lawyer argued that the county failed to provide Wenzel adequate notice or a hearing before his termination and never told him why he'd been under investigation.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com

PHOTOS - Thousands of people from across the nation gathered in Emmitsburg this weekend to pay tribute to fallen firefighters. The 37th annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend was a chance for families, friends and colleagues to grieve and honor their loved ones killed in the line of duty.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Frederick News-Post

The mayor has ended a stepped-up fire watch program that has been criticized heavily as a waste of resources by the city’s firefighters union. In a press release issued Saturday, Mayor Tony George stated: “At this time, after evaluating all of the available data and information collected over the past two months, the decision has been made to restore the prior Community Fire Watch schedule.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Leader

After months of trading barbs from a distance, Mayor Sylvester Turner and the head of Houston’s firefighters’ union met in a vigorous but civil debate Saturday, displaying their fundamental differences over just about everything related to the November ballot referendum that would grant firefighters pay “parity” with police officers of corresponding rank and seniority.
- PUB DATE: 10/8/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

El Dorado Springs Firefighter Russ Hayes, 62, has died after a wreck in a firetruck. The El Dorado Springs firefighter lost control of a vehicle in Stockton, and was life-flighted to Springfield. El Dorado Springs City Manager Bruce Rogers tells KOLR10 that Hayes, 62, was on his way to have a pump inspected for annual certification on one of their trucks.
- PUB DATE: 10/5/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ozarks First