Rules cited in the dismissal of an Atlanta fire chief that require city employees to get pre-clearance for outside employment are not constitutional, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. But U.S. District Judge Leigh May ruled in the city's favor on a number of other constitutional issues raised by former chief Kelvin Cochran in a lawsuit filed against the city and Mayor Kasim Reed.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Times

Police officers rode their horses with attached antlers to make them look like reindeer. Cheer squads pumped up a crowd of families who watched the Twinkle Light Parade in Nob Hill earlier this month with glee. But trouble wasn’t far away. “It was an evening that took a frightening turn for one little girl and her mother,” Albuquerque Fire Chief Gilbert Santistevan told a news conference to honor a pair of quick-thinking firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Albuquerque Journal

Congress today passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), a comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax code. The IAFC applauds Congress for addressing several important issues affecting the fire and emergency service, including: Fire Sprinklers: Since the devastating 2003 fire at the Station Nightclub in Rhode Island, the IAFC has urged Congress to incentivize business owners to retrofit their properties with fire-sprinkler systems.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

The Baltimore Fire Department is reeling as the city has experienced the most fire deaths in a decade, Chief Niles R. Ford said Wednesday. Twenty-eight people have died in fires with more than a week left to go in the year — more than half of them in just four incidents, according to the Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun

Pierce County firefighters have a fire under control at a mobile home park in Puyallup. The fire destroyed a mobile home near the 8000 block of River Road East on Thursday morning. Pierce County Fire tweeted out a photo that showed smoke coming from the mobile home. Fire officials said the family living there was able to get out safely, however, their home is a total loss.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO.com