The chief of the McDonald Volunteer Fire Department was killed in an explosion in West Virginia. Scott Albertini, died Tuesday morning at the Midland Resource Recovery plant in Barbour County, West Virginia. Two people were killed and one person was injured in an explosion at the same plant last month.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KDKA-TV CBS 2 Pittsburgh

Thirty-two members of the Chicago Fire Department’s brass resigned their exempt positions Monday and returned to rank-and-file status in a fight over pay and benefits that will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The bosses will return to their career service ranks of battalion chief and, in one case, paramedic field chief, but will continue to “act up” in their exempt positions.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times

The city of Houston is gearing up to play hardball with its firefighters union in advance of contract mediation by passing less favorable employment terms that would take effect if the firefighters' current agreement lapses next week. The changes subject to City Council approval Wednesday would come a month after the fire union declared an impasse in negotiations with the city.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

A Kansas City firefighter is awake from a coma after suffering a heat stroke, and doctors are trying to determine if energy drinks may have played a part in his condition. The Kansas City Fire Department says he was participating in a training exercise last Saturday, June 10, when he suffered a heat stroke.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCTV-TV CBS 5

The Los Angeles Fire Department could soon seek federal permission to fly drones, a tool that officials say could help them track down missing hikers, gauge the risks in burning buildings and search confined spaces. A Los Angeles City Council committee voted Tuesday to allow the department to start seeking Federal Aviation Administration authorization to use “unmanned aerial systems,” despite objections from groups concerned about privacy rights.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times