Embattled Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed, who has been heavily criticized since 36 people died in the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse blaze, is on leave from the department tending to a sick relative, according to a fire official. Deputy Chief Mark Hoffmann said he was told Reed was out due to a sick family member, and that he and Deputy Chief Darin White have been rotating as interim fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

At around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Mikaela Milano's video enabled, motion activated doorbell caught the unluckiest of visitors; smoke and flames, billowing from a raging fire just behind her apartment in Maplewood, New Jersey. Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze as it tore through – at a shockingly fast rate – a still under construction AvalonBay apartment complex.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: PIX11.com

You've probably heard of fire departments hosting bingo nights to raise money, but what about naughty bingo? One volunteer fire department in Schuylkill County says it's had to get creative with fundraising events. The Hometown Volunteer Fire Company is preparing to host its second adults-only naughty bingo night.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNEP-TV Newswatch 16

The NFPA 1971/1985 Task Group on Eye and Face Protection released a survey to help develop minimum standards for fire and EMS eye and face protection. Firefighters currently use partial face-shields, bourkes and goggles. However, many remove all form of face and eye protection from their helmet, and often times protection is damaged or dirtied.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

When a check for nearly $83,000 arrived in the mail last month from the estate of a woman thankful for the help Sebastopol firefighters gave her over many years, Fire Chief Bill Braga was elated by the largest windfall his agency had ever received. “It’s five, six years’ worth of flipping pancakes,” Braga said.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Santa Rosa Press Democrat