A DC Fire and EMS report says that improper positioning of equipment and a rookie's inexperience were the biggest contributing factors in an apparatus incident that left a young firefighter with severe injuries in August 2017. Probationary firefighter Dane Smothers Jr. was serving as a lineman (nozzle firefighter) during a Capitol Hill house fire on Aug.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse.com

Five members of a family, including three young children, were killed early Sunday morning after their getaway cabin near Hood Canal exploded and burned, according to Jefferson County fire and police officials. The family was from Monroe and used the 250-square-foot cabin frequently, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seattle Times

Police said a Decatur man tried to kill himself by setting his trailer home on fire and then threatened to assault one of the firemen who was trying to put the blaze out. A sworn police affidavit said the 24-year-old man, who is accused of setting the fire in an office of the trailer in the 2000 block of Hedrick Court on Saturday night, also told police he knew his mother was present in the structure at the time.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Herald & Review

With fire season heating up in Southern California, firefighters unveiled a new “fire hydrant” for helicopters on Monday that could drastically reduce turnaround times for water drops in remote areas. Set on a 1,700-gallon metal water tank, the Remotely Activated Snorkel Site uses robot-controlled valves to tap into an area’s municipal water system, allowing quick access for snorkel helicopters that otherwise would have to spend valuable minutes flying to a reservoir or other water source.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Register

One person has died in a fire that burned a home in the Blue Ridge area of North Seattle. The fire broke out in the 2100 block of NW 96th Street just after 4:30 p.m., Seattle Fire officials said. Firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames shooting from the home. The victim was found in a living room on the second floor of the home, said SFD spokesperson Kristin Tinsley.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000