Mayor Scott Eisenhauer proposed laying off 16 firefighters at a Tuesday night budget meeting as a result of a contract arbitration decision. Eisenhauer, who described the cuts as a "harsh" plan, proposed reducing fire department personnel from 42 to 26 after learning earlier in the day that the city lost an arbitration decision on the firefighters' contract regarding minimum manning and salaries.
- PUB DATE: 3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Champaign News-Gazette

A new analysis says San Diego needs to build at least 10 additional fire stations and embrace new emergency response methods to adequately serve the sprawling and increasingly congested city. The new emergency response methods, primarily two-man “fast response” squads and additional engine companies during peak hours, can help meet response time goals in many areas, but won’t eliminate the need for the new stations.
- PUB DATE: 3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune

A Miami defense lawyer’s pants burst into flames Wednesday afternoon as he began his closing arguments in front of a jury — in an arson case. Stephen Gutierrez, who was arguing that his client’s car spontaneously combusted and was not intentionally set on fire, had been fiddling in his pocket as he was about to address jurors when smoke began billowing out his right pocket, witnesses told the Miami Herald.
- PUB DATE: 3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Miami Herald

More than 10 percent of Iowa firefighters were granted national certifications over a four-year period despite failing exams at a state academy, authorities said Wednesday, as hundreds more were notified of the testing errors. The Iowa Department of Public Safety informed 739 firefighters in 94 departments this week that they should not have been granted certifications by its Fire Services Training Bureau, the agency said.
- PUB DATE: 3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report

A Miami defense lawyer’s pants burst into flames Wednesday afternoon as he began his closing arguments in front of a jury — in an arson case. Stephen Gutierrez, who was arguing that his client’s car spontaneously combusted and was not intentionally set on fire, had been fiddling in his pocket as he was about to address jurors when smoke began billowing out his right pocket, witnesses told the Miami Herald.
- PUB DATE: 3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Miami Herald