Ghost Ship master tenant Derick Almena and his second-in-command, Max Harris, were arrested Monday and charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in conjunction with the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship fire that killed three dozen people. Alameda County prosecutors found the pair hoarded flammable materials from floor to ceiling in the warehouse, created an illegal party space, and even blocked one of only two exits from the second floor the night of the fatal fire.
- PUB DATE: 6/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

The city of Fayetteville will seek an outside review of its recruitment practices at the Fire Department, which lags behind many other cities at hiring minorities. City Manager Doug Hewett announced Monday night he has asked the Raleigh office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to review the department’s hiring practices, after several Fayetteville City Council members have grown concerned that only about 3 percent of firefighters are black or another minority.
- PUB DATE: 6/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Fayetteville Observer

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman said Wednesday she'll hire 100 firefighters now that the fire union has won an arbitration case dealing with firefighters' schedules. Neuman said she'll ask the County Council for $3 million to pay for the new firefighters and add fire training academy classes.
- PUB DATE: 6/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun

The City Council on Tuesday night is expected to approve taking two former Fort Worth firefighters to court in an attempt to recover more than $92,400 they were overpaid when they left their jobs. The payments were compensation for unused vacation, holiday and sick leave that workers were provided when they retired or left their jobs.
- PUB DATE: 6/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Star-Telegram

Firefighters are at an elevated risk of getting the deadly skin cancer, melanoma. In fact they are three times more likely to get it than the general population. That’s according to a recent study. But now cutting-edge technology has just arrived in Tucson to help protect our first responders. “The first time you hear somebody say you have cancer – it’s definitely a shocking thing,” Northwest Fire Deputy Chief, Ryder Hartley said.
- PUB DATE: 6/6/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tucsonnews.com