Chicago has the largest number of women fighting fires and working on ambulances of any city in the country, the city’s fire commissioner said Wednesday, but they make up less than 10% of the department’s total personnel. In a department that has long dealt with diversity issues, aldermen also pressed Chicago Fire Department officials to better address the under-representation of black and Latino firefighters on the force, an annual complaint when officials come to City Hall for their budget hearing.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune - Metered Site

The California wildfires and PG&E’s incompetence are having a terrifying impact on the residents of California, who face not only immense risk to life and property, but a growing number of power and telecom-related outages that make a bad problem worse. There are more than a dozen wildfires currently raging across California, and heavy winds this week are only expected to exacerbate the problem.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Vice

Clallam County Fire District No. 4 has been awarded first place for management excellence by the Washington Fire Commissioners Association. It’s the sixth year in a row that the fire district has ranked in the top three when compared to similar-size districts, according to the district. The district earned first place in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, and earned second place in 2015.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Peninsula Daily News - Metered Site

Firefighters worked to douse a blaze burning a homeless encampment in Olympia Thursday morning. The fire broke out just before 6 a.m. in the 1400 block of Wheeler Ave. SE, according to Olympia Fire. A Tumwater firefighting crew noticed the flames while driving along I-5 and called it in. An Olympia fire engine arrived on the scene to find extensive flames burning a non-sanctioned camp, said Assistant Fire Chief Mike Buchanan with Olympia Fire.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

Firefighters battled a house fire in Longview early Thursday morning. Crews from the Longview Fire Department and Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue responded to the fire at a home in the 400 block of 25th Avenue. When crews arrived to the scene, they found flames on the second floor of the two-story home. The blaze was extinguished after about 20 minutes.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPTV FOX 12 Beaverton