Buffalo Grove officials announced Wednesday they are challenging a decision to award a full line-of-duty death pension to the widow of a 51-year-old Buffalo Grove firefighter, arguing not enough evidence exists that his fatal colon cancer was related to his work. The full pension award for Kevin Hauber’s wife, Kim Hauber, and their four children represented an “unprecedented” claim and marked the first award of its kind in Illinois after the Buffalo Grove Fire Department Pension Board determined earlier this year that Kevin Hauber’s cancer was caused in the line of duty, village officials said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

Firefighters from Grant County Fire Districts 10, 11 and 3 and the Bureau of Land Management rescued a woman in her 60s who fell over 100 feet down a cliff at the I-90 Vantage scenic view area Wednesday evening. She was taken to Quincy Valley Medical Center. The Grant County Sheriff's Office says she was conscious and talking to rescuers when she was pulled out.
- PUB DATE: 6/20/2018 9:17:08 PM - SOURCE: KXLY4 News

Fire season has already made its mark on the Inland Northwest and now, crews are getting ready for the heat of summer. Dozens of firefighters took training to new heights Wednesday. As part of the Eastern Washington Interagency Fire Training Academy, crews worked to load rigs onto a helicopter during a 16-hour course.
- PUB DATE: 6/20/2018 6:09:55 PM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4

Fire district officials recently announced two changes that may affect some islanders financially. Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) has discontinued its membership program, Your Call, created to offset islanders’ costs of ambulance transport to area hospitals. Additionally, the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau recently downgraded the fire protection rating for islanders at the far north and south ends of Vashon and the southern half and eastern edge of Maury Island.
- PUB DATE: 6/20/2018 1:48:12 AM - SOURCE: Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

The City of Buffalo will pay a total of $1.2 million to a dozen white Buffalo firefighters who claimed they were passed over for promotion because of their race. The $1.2 million settlement was approved Tuesday by the Buffalo Common Council and brings to a close a 2007 lawsuit that accused the city of illegally allowing two promotional lists to expire because minority firefighters had performed poorly on civil service exams.
- PUB DATE: 6/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Buffalo News