Reducing the amount of paid time off for Muskegon firefighters and cutting back retiree benefits will be the city's top priorities at the bargaining table now that nearly $700,000 in cuts have been approved. High overtime costs, prompted by the level of vacation and sick time, and skyrocketing pension and retiree health costs are the primary problems facing the department's budget, according to City Manager Frank Peterson.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MLive

Two months before 36 people died in the Ghost Ship fire, an Oakland Fire Department employee entered the warehouse and observed exposed electrical wiring, recommending tenants fix the hazard, according to an amended lawsuit filed Wednesday by attorneys representing victim families. The 179-page amended lawsuit adds the city of Oakland, Alameda County and state of California to a growing list of defendents, and alleges the agencies failed in their duties to shut down the crowded fire trap and its illegal parties.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

About two dozen Wenas Valley homes remained under mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday evening after a wildlands fire grew to more than 2,800 acres. By Wednesday evening about 130 local, state and federal firefighters were battling flames on a ridge thick with sagebrush and tinder-dry cheat grass. A forecast of decreasing overnight winds was expected to help with fire Thursday, but the relief could be short-term with winds expected to pick up over the weekend.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Yakima Herald

Branson (MO) Fire & Rescue custom PRO pumper. Predator Severe Service 100 cab and chassis; Cummins ISL9 450-hp engine; Hale DSD 1,500-gpm pump; 500-gallon polypropylene tank.