As an emergency medicine resident at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Zachary Wettstein, MD, has seen the effects of wildfires firsthand. On days when it’s really smoky, he says, “I’m not surprised that I’m seeing more people with shortness of breath.” Densely smoky days certainly are growing as wildfire season worsens, experts say, spurred in part by such environmental changes as earlier snowmelts that can cause drier, hotter conditions.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AAMCNews

In 2020 Arkansas' minimum wage goes up 75 cents: from $9.25 an hour to $10 an hour. For firefighters starting out in Harrison, they currently only make $9.40 an hour. “Roughly 10 members of our department were going to fall below that minimum wage if we didn’t do something," said Harrison Fire Chief Marc Lowery.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KYTV NBC 3

The Port of Seattle Fire Department promoted Stephanie McGinnis from Shift Captain to the Port's first female Battalion Chief during a badge pinning ceremony Wednesday morning. McGinnis will oversee one of four shifts within the Fire Suppression Division that responds to emergencies and calls for the Sea-Tac Airport.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

One hundred and thirty years ago this week, on October 17, 1889, the Seattle Fire Department was created, just a few months after the devastating fire that turned most of the city's downtown into "a horrible black smudge." Gardner Kellogg, a volunteer firefighter since 1870, was named the department's first chief.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seattle Magazine

A school in south Seattle had to cancel some classes after someone allegedly set fire to one of their buildings. St. Bernadette Catholic School on SW 128th Street in White Center released a statement Thursday, saying a fire caused major damage to their primary building, which houses the pre-school to third-grade classrooms.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle