Mill Valley fire Chief Tom Welch acknowledges that tougher fire prevention regulations for vegetation might face some opposition, but he vows to persist after his experience as a North Bay fire victim. In the aftermath of the devastation in Sonoma and Napa, Mill Valley fire officials say it’s time to refocus their energy on vegetation management.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Marin Independent Journal

A state fire marshal’s review of the blaze that killed San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem found firefighters and commanders made several mistakes while fighting the major fire at Ingram Square Shopping Center. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said firefighters approached the blaze like a residential fire, rather than a commercial one, and failed to use a hose or rope when they entered the building to look for people possibly trapped inside.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Conexion SA

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