Fans flooding into Houston for Super Bowl LI could land in hotels and motels that have not been fully inspected, a local critic of the Houston Fire Marshal's office said Thursday. Randall Kallinen, a civil rights attorney who has represented fire inspectors, said the department scaled back inspections about a year ago in favor of self-inspection forms that could be filled out by the facilities.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

The Kleberg County Volunteer Fire Department's Fire Chief was flown to a San Antonio burn center Wednesday afternoon. According to the Department, Patrick Guzman, who is also a bus driver with Ricardo ISD, was doing maintenance on a school bus in the bus yard when the radiator ruptured. We're told Guzman suffered second degree burns on his arms and chest.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KZTV-TV CBS Action 10 News

Sacramento firefighters worked more than a quarter-million overtime hours in 2015, with some firefighters working thousands of extra hours, according to a new city audit released Thursday. The Sacramento Fire Department spent more than $13 million on overtime pay in 2015, in addition to more than $44 million in regular pay, based on the report by City Auditor Jorge Oseguera.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sacramento Bee

VIDEO - "Rare circumstances and operational errors" caused an explosion during a training exercise in October that injured two of the town's firefighters, investigators have concluded. While the report does not explicitly fault any state or local fire personnel for the explosion, it does indicate operators of a fire simulator did not use the equipment properly and did not follow one safety protocol.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MassLive.com

Last fall, close to 50 members of the fire service and major fire service organizations gathered at the Johnson Foundation Inc. at Wingspread complex in Racine, WI, to evaluate the fire service and examine both long and short term challenges. Wingspread VI was the 50th anniversary of the Wingspread Conference, which began in 1966 at the same location with 11 members on the committee.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse