The branch of the Houston Fire Department responsible for ensuring building safety keeps inadequate records, does not examine buildings on a regular schedule and inflated its inspection numbers, all while blowing past its overtime budget, according to an audit released by the city controller's office Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

The government’s building safety experts warned last year that the drive for greater energy efficiency meant more and more buildings are being wrapped in materials that could go up in flames. In a report compiled before the Grenfell Tower disaster on Wednesday, the Building Research Establishment, which works for the Department of Communities and Local Government on fire investigations, said attempts to innovate with insulation were leading to an “increase in the volume of potentially combustible materials being applied” to buildings.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Guardian

Barrow Neurological Institute unveiled a mobile treatment vehicle Wednesday stocked with emergency-room and communications equipment that will be used to provide faster intervention for stroke victims in the Phoenix area. Officials with Barrow, which is partnering with the Phoenix Fire Department in the effort, said their goal is to reduce deaths and long-term disabilities from strokes through quicker intervention.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix

How do you improve the relationship between police, firefighters and the public? The city of Columbus is trying something new. People from the community are helping make the next hires in the police and fire department. The city has hired nine community evaluators; a diverse group from across the city.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCMH-TV NBC 4 Columbus

The three baby sitters gathered in a suburban Puyallup home April 15 were doing what teens do. “We were just talking about life and stuff,” Karsyn Perez, then 13, said. The teens were grouped around the kitchen’s island, listening to music and deciding what to have for dinner. Upstairs were eight younger siblings and friends playing games.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The News Tribune