Two Eastern Iowa fires that killed a combined nine people, including four children, within five days made 2017 the deadliest year in more than a decade for fire deaths in Iowa. The State Fire Marshal’s Office reported 38 confirmed fire deaths as of Wednesday, with another 13 expected to go on the list, said Ron Humphrey, special agent in charge of the Office’s Arson and Explosives Bureau.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Gazette

West Lebanon Township has suspended and decertified Speedwell Fire Company as a first responder because company members allegedly responded to a call after drinking alcohol. Seven out of nine fire company members who responded to a call at 10:10 p.m. Dec. 14 were under the influence of alcohol, township commissioner John Brenner said in a letter to Lebanon County EMA Director Robert Dowd.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lebanon Daily News

A Hibbing, Minn., fire that claimed several lives Tuesday took a heartbreaking turn on Wednesday when Hibbing authorities revealed that the deaths included a retired city fire captain, his wife and two of their grandchildren. Steven Jon Gillitzer, 67, and his 63-year-old wife Patricia Lynn Gillitzer died at their home while attempting to rescue their grandchildren in 20-below temperatures, the Hibbing fire department said in a statement Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: mprnews.com

Firefighters across Delaware are moving toward a universal procedure for answering the most serious call that can come over their radios — the one that signals one of their own is in trouble. Delaware firefighters all soon will be using the same mayday signal, an attempt to keep them better coordinated if the worst should happen.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: delawareonline.com

A Pompano Beach charity that collected more than $43 million for breast cancer research, families of fallen firefighters and fire victims, kept most of the money, authorities say. The Florida Attorney General’s Office is seeking to shut down the Community Charity Advancement, Inc., which did business as Breast Cancer Research and Support Fund, U.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun Sentinel