Houston Fire Department Capt. Bill Dowling died Tuesday, according to the department. Both of Dowling's legs were amputated after he was injured in the Southwest Inn fire in 2013. Dowling was injured on May 31, 2013 -- which is considered the deadliest day in Houston Fire Department history. Believing people were trapped in a fire that engulfed the Southwest Inn along the Southwest Freeway, Dowling led a rescue attempt during which four fellow firefighters died and 13 others were injured.
- PUB DATE: 3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

As overtime costs rose dramatically at D.C. Fire and EMS, the city’s top fire official approved more than $20,000 in bonuses for some of the leaders in his department, according to financial figures obtained by NBC Washington. “I gave bonuses to four assistant chiefs and one civilian,” Fire Chief Gregory Dean told NBC Washington.
- PUB DATE: 3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTOP-AM 1500 Washington

Bryan Sheppard’s long wait for freedom ended late Monday afternoon in a deep embrace with the daughter who never gave up on him. Sheppard, the youngest of five people convicted in the 1988 arson fire that killed six Kansas City firefighters, walked free Monday for the first time in nearly 22 years. “It’s overwhelming, really,” Sheppard said moments after his release.
- PUB DATE: 3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas City Star

For London’s new fire brigade commissioner Dany Cotton, being a firefighter does not mean being a “six foot hairy-arsed man.” Although Cotton, now 47, is the brigade’s first female commissioner in its 151-year history, she has served the department since she was 18. She oversees 102 fire stations, 4,800 uniformed firefighters and 800 other personnel.
- PUB DATE: 3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

The former treasurer of the Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department was such a smoke-eater buff that he spent $9,000 to buy himself a 1931 American LaFrance antique fire engine. Problem is — the money wasn’t his. Michael Klein pleaded guilty in White Plains federal court Tuesday for stealing more than $5.7 million from his fire department to buy himself that collectible and a host of other lavish gifts, including a 55-foot yacht he named “K’Bam.
- PUB DATE: 3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post