Five members of a family, including three young children, were killed early Sunday morning after their getaway cabin near Hood Canal exploded and burned, according to Jefferson County fire and police officials. The family was from Monroe and used the 250-square-foot cabin frequently, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seattle Times

Police said a Decatur man tried to kill himself by setting his trailer home on fire and then threatened to assault one of the firemen who was trying to put the blaze out. A sworn police affidavit said the 24-year-old man, who is accused of setting the fire in an office of the trailer in the 2000 block of Hedrick Court on Saturday night, also told police he knew his mother was present in the structure at the time.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Herald & Review

With fire season heating up in Southern California, firefighters unveiled a new “fire hydrant” for helicopters on Monday that could drastically reduce turnaround times for water drops in remote areas. Set on a 1,700-gallon metal water tank, the Remotely Activated Snorkel Site uses robot-controlled valves to tap into an area’s municipal water system, allowing quick access for snorkel helicopters that otherwise would have to spend valuable minutes flying to a reservoir or other water source.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Register

A former Whatcom County firefighter who died of cancer this week is being listed as a line-of-duty fatality under state law that classifies certain kinds of cancer as job-related. Firefighter John Swobody died Monday night after a years-long battle with lung cancer, said Chief William Pernett of North Whatcom Fire and Rescue.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald

A firefighter died from injuries he sustained while battling a grass fire in the Davis Mountains in West Texas on Sunday, according to fire officials in Weatherford. Andy Loller, 42, a Weatherford firefighter, was deployed to assist firefighters across the state at the Scenic Loop Complex in Jeff Davis County, Weatherford Fire Marshal Bob Hopkins said.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Star-Telegram