Washington fire crews that mobilized to help fight the Thomas Fire in California will be home for Christmas. WA Strike Team 1, which included firefighters from several agencies, will begin driving home Friday. “They worked hard and were able to help protect homes and help prepped people to come back to their homes after evacuations.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2017 10:25:15 AM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2

An initial review of the data recorders and cameras on board the Amtrak train that derailed in DuPont, Washington, on Monday suggests the train was going 78 mph in the moments before impact -- nearly 50 miles over the speed limit at that location -- and that the crew realized the speed was too high moments before, the NTSB announced Friday.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2017 6:03:16 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

After negotiations between key House and Senate congressional members, agreement was reached on a compromise package, H.R. 4661, the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017. The bill includes a reauthorization of the USFA and keeps all major components of S. 829, passed earlier by the Senate, with the one exception that a sunset provision was added through 2024.

H.R. 4661 maintains the basic structure and authorization levels under current law, makes the necessary technical corrections earlier agreed to and provides a six year reauthorization through FY 2023, with an extra year before the sunset provision applies (2024).

Visit www.fama.org for more information.

Don't judge, just refresh in your mind the actions you take when you get a truck ready to pump at a job, whether it's a structure fire or a vehicle fire. And, keep up on your preventive maintenance.

AMLIN, OH—Sutphen Corporation has announced Southeast Fire, of White Bluff, Tennessee, as the official Sales and Service Representative for Sutphen Fire Apparatus in the States of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi.

Zach Rudy, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sutphen Corporation, explains how Southeast Fire came to represent the Company, “Sutphen not only prides themselves in building the highest quality fire apparatus on the market, but we also understand that service after the sale is key in providing the customer with the best possible experience. After meeting with leadership from Southeast Fire we learned that our beliefs for taking care of the customer were aligned.  Their commitment to customer service is second to none, making them the ideal business partner for us. We are extremely happy to welcome Southeast Fire to the Sutphen team.”

Sutphen Corporation’s President, Drew Sutphen, shares, “The entire Sutphen team, and family, are excited to welcome Southeast Fire to our dealer network. Southeast will contribute to Sutphen’s mission to provide the safest, most reliable, fire apparatus in the world, through their dedication to customer focus and service after the sale.”

“After learning there was an opportunity to work with such an exceptional builder, we knew right away that we wanted to be a part of this”, stated Southeast Fire co-owner Jon Wise. He continued, “When first meeting everyone at Sutphen, I left that day feeling just like a part of the family. It was clear to me this was going to be a perfect fit.” The way Sutphen conducts business and their manufacturing processes are very similar to what we do at Southeast. This should be a very seamless transition.”

Co-owner of Southeast Fire Kevin Williams adds, “We are so excited be a representative of Sutphen and be a part of such a historic fire apparatus team and family!”

Southeast Fire operates a full service fire apparatus service shop as well as fire apparatus and equipment sales center.  Southeast’s highly skilled and certified team of EVT’s provides maintenance services for all makes and models of emergency vehicles at their main service center located in White Bluff, Tennessee. In addition they offer on-site repair at your station or emergency repair at any location that is needed.  Southeast Fire also offers a full line of fire equipment to provide solutions for all of your fire department needs in Tennessee and Northern Mississippi.

For more information, visit www.sutphen.com.