Former Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Chief Jeffrey Collins and a pair of other high-ranking officers in the department were forced out of their jobs because of a “civil conspiracy” being carried out by the county government, a lawyer representing the officers said Thursday. The lawyer provided no details about the nature of that conspiracy, but she did say her firm has given the county notice that it intends to sue on behalf of the former officers.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Palm Beach Post

Nearly four months after his arrest, charges against a retired Griffin Fire Department Battalion Chief were dismissed Thursday, Pike County District Attorney Benjamin Coker said in a statement. Emory Leroy Rickerson was arrested Oct. 10 after he refused to remove his car so Georgia State Patrol troopers could access the crash scene on Ga.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Francisco Palma dangled upside down, his right leg caught and mangled in the teeth of ditch-digging equipment resembling a giant chain saw. Only his head and shoulders touched the ground. A trencher caught the pants leg of the 46-year-old construction worker last week. It flipped him over and nearly severed his leg.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dallas Morning News

A South Kitsap Fire and Rescue lieutenant has been charged with a felony for allegedly sending sexually-charged texts to a 15-year-old girl. Richard Dean Christenson, who started with the fire department in May 1990 according to his profile on LinkedIn.com, was charged Tuesday in Kitsap County Superior Court with communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kitsap Sun

VIDEO - A firefighter from Monroe, Washington helped calm residents after a stressful night of emergency calls - with a serenade on their vintage piano. Greg and Meagan Bennett were home when one of their carbon monoxide alarms went off. They checked the batteries and the alarm stopped. But two hours later, the other alarm sounded, so the couple called for help.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2018 10:57:19 PM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5