House Speaker Tim Armstead has called for a bill that will double the death benefits for emergency personnel who die in the line of duty to be retroactively effective Jan. 1, in light of a crash that killed two members of the Pratt Volunteer Fire Department. In a letter addressed to Gov. Jim Justice, Armstead requested that changing the effective date of Senate Bill 625 “be placed on the call for a special session if one is to be held in the near future.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Charleston Gazette

A Chicago Fire Department lieutenant faces a misdemeanor charge after he punched his colleague in the face at a Far South Side fire station, according to authorities. Chicago fire Lt. Leonard Johnson, 53, was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor battery after an argument with a 52-year-old male firefighter descended into a fistfight, according to a Chicago police spokeswoman.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

The state fire marshal wants Michigan fire departments to report their use and disposal of a chemical-laden firefighting foam that has contaminated state groundwater. The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) announced the survey effort on Wednesday, March 28. State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer wants to know how much Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) is, or was, in use around the state and develop a strategy for its disposal, the state says.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mlive.com

The parking lots of Charlotte Fire Department stations are monitored by security cameras — and many are blocked off with gates — because thieves have repeatedly targeted firefighters' personal cars over the years. In December, Charlotte City Council agreed to spend up to $185,000 to outfit the rest of the city's fire stations with security cameras, hoping to cut down on break-ins.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Charlotte Observer

An 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of starting a suspicious fire that gutted a Bellevue mosque last week, police said. The arrest follows an investigation into the blaze at the Islamic Center of Eastside at 14700 Main Street, which had previously been damaged by arson in January 2017 and was vacant at the time of the latest fire.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000