As wildfires swept through and decimated neighborhoods in Northern California, some of the first responders lost their own homes as they were helping to evacuate residents. One of them was Mill Valley Fire Chief Tom Welch. Welch, a Santa Rosa resident, lost his home, then went back and helped with the fire response in Napa and Sonoma counties after he and his family evacuated, Linn Walsh, assistant to the Mill Valley city manager, said Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SFGate.com

The head of the union representing rank-and-file St. Paul firefighters has filed a workplace conduct complaint against Fire Chief Tim Butler, saying he used a derogatory term in an email to a firefighter last week. Butler said on Monday that he used a term that was “unprofessional and uncalled for” when he was frustrated.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Paul Pioneer Press - Twin Cities.com

The names of 112 New York City firefighters who died of illnesses after spending time working in the rubble of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attacks were added Tuesday to a memorial in the state’s capital city for firefighters killed in the line of duty. The Fire Department of New York firefighters make up most of the 118 new names etched onto to the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial located at the Empire State Plaza in downtown Albany.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Freeman

A firefighter who was terminated for alleged racist misconduct is receiving support from his former colleagues. FOX2 reported that probationary firefighter Robert Pattison was fired for bringing a watermelon to his new station that is predominantly black on his first day after some African-American firefighters were offended.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

The State of California will take Washington up on its offer of fire assistance. Late Tuesday afternoon, the Washington Department of Natural Resources says California has accepted its offer and will take eight wildland firefighting engines, each with a crew of four, and two 20-person hand crews. They'll help fight the fires which continue in the state.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5