Charlotte Firefighters are waving a red flag about a new change to city policy in how first-responders are dispatched to medical calls. The change was announced last week. It creates a type of response being referred to as a “Sierra Call.” WBTV Investigative Reporter David Hodges says the change comes as MEDIC struggles with staffing issues and to keep up with call volume.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTV CBS 3 Charlotte

A Senate committee passed a bill Tuesday that would stiffen criminal penalties against those who murder an on-duty firefighter. Under the proposal (SB 370), the convicted murderer of a firefighter would face the same consequences as a person who killed a police or correctional officer — life in prison without the possibility of parole.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Florida Politics

VIDEO: An explosive fire erupted at Ballard Commons Park just after noon on Tuesday. A troubled homeless encampment has taken over the greenspace for many months. In August, violence began mounting at the camp when a woman was shot and several people were assaulted. This was the second dangerous fire since September.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

Monday marked the 110th anniversary of a Nov. 1, 1911, flash fire in the Imperial Powder Company building on Coal Creek Road that killed eight young girls who worked there rolling dynamite. As was done on the 100th anniversary, the Pioneer-Greenwood Cemetery in Chehalis hosted a ceremony honoring the lives lost in the tragedy — which has come to be called “The Girls” by many locals — at their shared gravesite.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Chronicle

An elderly man and one of his dogs were killed in a house fire in Airway Heights Tuesday afternoon. Smoke was seen from the back of the house around 1:40 p.m. Crews were able to get the fire under control within a few minutes, but the victim had passed away by the time they found him. Firefighters were able to save two dogs in the fire.
- PUB DATE: 11/2/2021 11:20:23 PM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4 Spokane