Andre Esposito, chairman of Utica’s Civil Service Commission, believes the board has a tough decision to make within the next few months. The commission is considering a request from Mayor Robert Palmieri to authorize an open competitive exam to vet candidates for Utica’s next fire chief. This would open up the test to internal and external candidates for a fire department historically led by internal promotion.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch

Verizon Wireless and a Kansas-based construction company said Thursday that they were responsible, through an as-yet-unnamed subcontractor, for work being done at the site of a massive natural gas explosion Tuesday that rocked Sun Prairie’s downtown, killing a volunteer firefighter and critically injuring another.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Journal

A $156,360-a-year deputy district chief has been demoted –– and faces a lengthy suspension along with a paramedic-in-charge for their participation in, yet another timekeeping scam in the Chicago Fire Department. Sources identified the demoted deputy district chief as Edgar Ignacio Silvestrini, who was in charge of the fire department’s Medical Administration Regulatory Compliance section.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times

An inferno that has burned from California into Oregon over the past week and is believed to have killed one person should be fully under control by Sunday, officials said. The Klamathon Fire, which started July 5 in Siskiyou County, was 75 percent contained Thursday evening at 36,500 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SF Gate

A major upgrade called Smart 911 was launched Thursday to help improve Cincinnati’s 911 operations in the wake of a teenager's death. “This will be able to save lives,” said Cincinnati Councilwoman Amy Murray. When someone calls 911 from a cellphone key information will now be displayed on the dispatcher’s screen about the caller if they've signed up for the program.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLWT-TV NBC 5 Cincinnati