A large crowd of firefighters took the podium at City Council on Tuesday, pleading for higher pay. Mayor Kelly's budget is currently under review, and one measure focuses on a 24% salary increase for fire cadets. Right now, the starting salary is $32,524 . The increase would bump it up to $40,330. It's an increase that firefighters say is sorely needed.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVC-TV ABC/FOX 9 Chattanooga

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A Fort Atkinson photographer captured history for his hometown during a warehouse fire earlier this month. On August 10, Spencer Jelinek said he saw smoke from his balcony. Instead of running from the fire, he ran toward it. “It was just a split reaction. ‘I need to go do this,’ and I did it,” he said.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMTV NBC/CW+ 15 Madison

Throughout the response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and its ensuing illness COVID-19, fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel have consistently served on the front lines while caring for patients and responding to other calls for emergency service. These fire and EMS personnel place themselves in inherently dangerous positions while caring for patients in austere environments and responding to emergencies unrelated to whether a caller has COVID-19.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org

About one-third of the 1,600 wildfires reported in Washington state started west of the Cascades. Now, for the first time, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources is basing an air tanker, along with other aircraft, at the Olympia Airport so crews can fight those fires on the side of the state that’s most associated with rain, but where summers have become drier.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

The Green Ridge Fire continues to slowly grow in the Blue Mountains 30 miles east of Walla Walla, with an additional 49 acres burned Monday, Aug. 23. The fire, which has burned for more than six weeks, has consumed 39,471 acres of mountainous wilderness as of Tuesday, Aug. 24, and is 35% contained. Despite warming temperatures and drier conditions Monday, fire growth remained minimal due to residual moisture from the weekend’s light rains.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Walla Walla Union-Bulletin