Jay Redmond said it was the longest minute and a half in his life. Redmond is a captain in the Concord Fire Department, and those 90 seconds happened while he was on duty in the early morning of Jan. 4. Redmond used the department's radio system that night to contact three firefighters in the West Concord Fire Station, and when there was no answer, he was concerned.
- PUB DATE: 7/7/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Concord.WickedLocal.com

PHOTOS - A massive four-alarm fire broke out early Friday at a huge apartment complex under construction in Oakland, engulfing the six-story, mixed-use building and raising concerns about a teetering crane that appears to be on the verge of collapsing. Crews responded when the fire broke out around 4:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 7/7/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

A firefighter was lowered down a 200-foot elevator shaft Wednesday — six times the distance of any practice run — to help rescue four men trapped in an elevator at a Brooklyn Con Edison plant. Firefighter James Dowdell, 32, was lowered to the top of the elevator inside the Hudson Ave. building in Vinegar Hill about 7:40 a.
- PUB DATE: 7/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Fires sparked by illegal fireworks Tuesday night forced Fresno Fire Department crews to suspend responses to medical emergencies, as Fresno, Clovis and Fresno County reported a 65 percent increase in fire responses this year compared to 2016. In assessing a Fourth of July weekend that strained fire departments, officials said firefighters from the three agencies received 325 calls for service and responded to 98 vegetation fires, two vehicle fires, two apartment fires and three residential fires.
- PUB DATE: 7/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fresno Bee

Detroit firefighters and emergency technicians are being fitted for body armor, although union officials say the ballistic vests that were purchased last month aren’t right for the job because they don’t protect against stabbings. Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones told The Detroit News in May he had secured funding to outfit his employees with the protective gear.
- PUB DATE: 7/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit News