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

A push to force Lincoln and Omaha to make significant changes to their pension plans for new police and fire employees met firm opposition from union leaders and some city officials during a legislative hearing Tuesday. But the proposal's backers called it essential to ensuring the state's two largest cities meet their obligations to cops and firefighters going forward.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lincoln Journal Star

Saginaw Township (MI) Fire Department pumper. Metro Star cab and chassis; Cummins ISL9 380-hp engine; Waterous CSU C20 1,500-gpm pump.

Emergency officials say there have been more reports of people walking on the icy surfaces of lakes, ponds, and rivers since temperatures have dropped below freezing. The Walla Walla County District 5 Fire Department was joined by the Pasco Fire Department and the Columbia Basin Dive Rescue team for to practice dive rescue training in a frozen pond.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2017 8:12:06 PM - SOURCE: KAPP-TV Yakima

A Pierce County Sheriff's deputy is hospitalized in stable condition after his patrol car was hit head-on in Parkland Tuesday afternoon. Investigators said the crash happened around around 3:30 p.m. on Tule Lake Road S. near Washington High School. They said the driver of the truck veered into oncoming traffic to try and get around another car.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2017 5:52:35 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000