It took a second alarm to summon enough crews to knock down a fire Wednesday afternoon at a hotel in Tacoma's South End. Crews were dispatched about 3:45 p.m. to the Howard Johsnon, 8726 S. Hosmer St., for a report of a fire on the second floor, Tacoma Fire Department spokesman Joe Meinecke said. The fire was contained by about 4:45 p.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2018 1:40:56 AM - SOURCE: Tacoma News Tribune - Metered Site

An arbitrator agreed a veteran Toledo firefighter was erroneously demoted from captain to a line firefighter after the administration said the captain used “poor judgment” at a fatal fire scene. The arbitrator, Mark Glazer, ruled this week that Capt. Kim Hood be reinstated as captain with seniority.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade

On July 1, Rhoda Mae Kerr will pin five brass bugles on the collar of her Fort Lauderdale Fire and Rescue uniform—the number symbolizes her rank, and five is the highest. On that day Kerr will also make history as the department’s first female fire chief in its 106-year history. Kerr comes from a lineage of firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fort Lauderdale Daily

Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri’s office released another statement Wednesday in response to reports on the conduct of former temporary fire Chief John Kelly, who resigned from his position last week amid allegations of professional misconduct. Kelly — appointed interim chief last July in place of Russell Brooks, who remains on administrative leave — stepped down to become a deputy chief after an investigation into text messages sent between Kelly and 23-year-old Carmen Ambrose, the son of Deputy Chief Mark Ambrose, that make references to watching pornography and other lewd acts that occurred on fire department property.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch

A fiery uproar in the town of Morris could have left residents without a volunteer Fire Department. A statement from the department was released Tuesday announcing that its members had voted to “cease providing fire, rescue, and EMS services,” as of June 30. The statement noted that the decision was not made lightly, but came after the department felt it could not come to a “reasonable working relationship with the town administrators.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Connecticut Post