VIDEO: One year ago, a man shot himself after setting a fire that destroyed several homes in Springfield, and today the first responders are looking back. “We started getting ready to fight fire. As we were pulling up on scene, glass exploded through the cab and something hard hit me in the left chest," said Captain Craig Degarlais with Eugene Springfield Fire.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KEZI-TV ABC 9

The Burlington Rescue Squad will dissolve at the end of the year due to difficulties keeping up with increased call volume and a decline in volunteerism, Mayor Jeannie Hefty has announced. The dissolution will leave the City of Burlington Fire Department to pick up rescue services for city residents.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times

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