Kimberly Gregory held up an urn containing the ashes of her 20-year-old daughter Michela as she faced the men held responsible for the notorious Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 people one and a half years ago. “This is all we have left of her,” Gregory said as a somber Derick Almena and Max Harris listened inside the courtroom at their sentencing hearing Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 8/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Mercury News

The death toll in what was already the most lethal year for firefighters in California since 2008 increased to five Thursday, when a heavy equipment mechanic was killed after falling asleep at the wheel on his way to the fire lines near Redding, a family member told The Chronicle. Andrew Brake, 40, of Chico died in a single-car crash on his way to work on the Carr Fire, which had already claimed the lives of two firefighters and five other people, including a woman and her two great-grandchildren, and a PG&E lineman, who died trying to restore power to the area.
- PUB DATE: 8/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SF Gate

The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC) Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have partnered to develop and release the Lavender Ribbon Report: Best Practices for Preventing Firefighter Cancer. This report provides 11 actions that can be taken to mitigate the risk of cancer for firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 8/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

A logging truck driver is recovering after being run over by his own fully loaded truck near Lake Kapowsin in Pierce County on April 16. West used a special set of skills to save his own life, even though he ended up losing a leg. "I basically felt or heard the bones in my leg break," Troy said. As he stood tightening the load of his logging truck deep in the woods, it started to skid, knocking him under the back wheels.
- PUB DATE: 8/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

Teamwork between first responder departments in Effingham County and the use of technology helped find a runaway juvenile on Sunday. Police Chief Jeff Fuesting said city and county police officers searched for the youth after first checking several locations where the 12-year-old boy typically was known to be.
- PUB DATE: 8/10/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Effingham Daily News