The area’s first house fire of the year took place shortly before 5 a.m. Monday in the 11800 block of Southeast 261 Place, Kent, the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority reported. Three adults and two dogs escaped from the two-story house and called 911 after they were awakened by their smoke alarms.
- PUB DATE: 1/2/2018 1:43:13 AM - SOURCE: Kent Reporter

A man allegedly tried to stab a firefighter who was trying to save him from an early morning house fire in Citrus Heights, police said Sunday. Police were already at the scene when firefighters responded to the fire on Glenn Avenue at 1 a.m, said Sgt. Wesley Herman of the Citrus Heights Police Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sacramento Bee

A Cranston fire lieutenant is the suing the city and the firefighters’ union after the deputy chief allegedly punched and slammed him while on duty in September, because the lieutenant had refused to participate in a “Fill the Boot” fundraising campaign. Scott Bergantino filed suit in U.S. District Court, alleging that Deputy Chief Paul Valletta Jr.
- PUB DATE: 1/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal

A lawsuit filed last week in federal court contends the city of Wichita does not pay its fire department investigators fairly for their work. At issue in the complaint is how many hours the investigators have to work before they begin receiving overtime. Currently, Wichita Fire Department investigators and firefighters get paid time and a half if they work more than 204 hours in a pay period, which is 27 days long, according to the lawsuit.
- PUB DATE: 1/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Witchita Eagle

State fire commissioner Tim Solobay stepped down Sunday with the resurfacing of a sexual harassment claim filed six years ago by Rachel Moore, who worked as an aide to Solobay when he was still a state senator. At the time, he denied Moore’s claim that he slapped her on her rear end in his Harrisburg office, but on Sunday, he tendered his resignation to Governor Wolf.
- PUB DATE: 1/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS Pittsburgh