One person died in an abandoned building fire early Wednesday morning in Tacoma. Authorities say the abandoned building near S. 19th and Tacoma Ave. had become a homeless encampment. Firefighters were called around 3:00 a.m. to reports of fire at a commercial building. Crews discovered mounds of trash inside the building which made it tough for them to get in and attack the flames.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2017 7:52:42 AM - SOURCE: KCPQ-TV FOX 13

One week after finding out that she had stage four lung cancer, the unthinkable happened. A Cheney woman lost everything she owned in a house fire. “She just needs help and we’d like to see that happen,” says the woman’s friend, Trina Stout. Stout has known Anita Whitaker for more than 15 years and says she’s like a second mother to her.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2017 4:04:24 AM - SOURCE: KAYU-TV MyFox Spokane

Union officials say 12 off-duty firefighters were shot while attending a country music festival in Las Vegas, including two who were wounded while administering CPR to gunshot victims. Angelo Aragon, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Nevada, said Tuesday that all the firefighters survived their wounds.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Reno Gazette-Journal

An Army veteran who has spent the past 24 years as an Austin firefighter is now the city’s first female fire battalion chief, officials announced Monday. Rebecca Ackerman, who is one of 73 women — including Austin Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr — among 1,007 employees in the Austin Fire Department, was promoted to battalion chief after serving as captain in the communications section.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman

A union Facebook post about fire department staffing shortages concerned residents early this week, but a councilman says the city is in the process of filling vacancies. The International Association of Firefighters Local 539 posted Sunday that six companies were out of service that day: “To our community and our members out there today, please be careful.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Virginian-Pilot