Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner agreed to a 7 percent pay increase for police officers just weeks before a Houston referendum vote to determine whether firefighters deserve comparable pay for similar ranks. Turner announced some of the details of the pay raise at Wednesday's city council meeting. The two-year agreement with police will cost the city $52 million and goes into effect July 1, 2019.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 13 Houston

Rensselaer Fire Chief Bill Hummel resigned Wednesday just hours before volunteer firfighters are set to bring concerns about training and proper equipment to city officials. City volunteer firefighters and county officials say both the chief and an assistant chief have stepped down. While the mayor and the chief have not returned calls for comment, the volunteers believe the resignations are a direct response to growing tensions between volunteers and career firefighters within the city.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNYT-TV 13 Albany

As Anaheim Fire Chief Randy Bruegman’s retirement approaches, he discusses the future of firefighting and allows that if departments fail to change it could mean fewer men and women prepared to battle infernos. Along with more mega wildfires and tornadoes of flame never seen before in modern history, the chief points out that 85 percent of calls are for emergency medical service.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Prosecutors are recommending an 89-year prison term for the “serial arsonist” who set a fire in her nail salon that resulted in the deaths of two Kansas City firefighters. Thu Hong Nguyen, 46, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday by Jackson Country Circuit Court judge Joel P. Fahnestock. She was convicted of murder, arson and assault in the Oct.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas City Star

Verizon said Tuesday that it is not slowing down or degrading the wireless services of North Carolina residents who have been affected by Hurricane Florence, after a report surfaced accusing the company of "deprioritiz[ing]" mobile data plans. A hurricane victim identifying him- or herself as a Verizon customer posted to reddit Monday saying that it has been days since it has been possible to check Facebook or email from a mobile device in a small town in eastern North Carolina.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Greensboro News & Record