Three days before a candle likely ignited a Oakland apartment house blaze that killed four people, inspectors ordered a dangerous extension cord removed from the same room where the fire started. The news, revealed in an interview Tuesday with Oakland Assistant Fire Marshal Maria Sabatini, raises the possibility that a resident of the second-floor room was using a candle because electricity was no longer available.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

West Haven Fire Department Deputy Chief Scott Schwartz has been out of work for more than a month, placed on paid administrative leave after a series of clashes involving him and a rank-and-file firefighter, according to several sources. Schwartz, who also is the city’s emergency management director, has not been suspended from that job.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Haven Register

Government inspections of railroads that haul volatile crude oil across the United States have uncovered almost 24,000 safety defects, including problems similar to those blamed in derailments that triggered massive fires or oil spills in Oregon, Virginia, Montana and elsewhere, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

In the operational command structure of the fire service, the ability for firefighters to contribute good ideas is difficult if not wholly impossible. Accused of jumping over the chain of authority, displaying bad behavior or simply being a poor follower, good firefighters are acutely aware of the lack of opportunity for input.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

A plan spearheaded by three Westport-area men would combine fire districts between Westport and Tokeland with the City of Westport into one regional fire authority. “It would take the four fire districts we have here and combine them with the City of Westport Fire Department,” said Westport Chief Dennis Benn.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily World