Tacoma firefighters were investigating the cause of a fire Thursday at old Puget Sound Hospital after battling the blaze for about an hour, spokesman Joe Meinecke said. He gave this account: Firefighters arrived about 2:45 p.m. and found smoke and flames coming from the first floor. They cut their way into the building through metal doors and escorted at least two people off of the fifth floor.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 1:51:24 AM - SOURCE: Tacoma News Tribune

An Upper Peninsula firefighter who is being held responsible for the deaths of two of his fellow firefighters is now facing additional charges. Micheal Allen Johnson of Baraga is said to be the man behind the wheel on August 27th, 2016, when the Beartown Fire Department bus he was driving suddenly struck the median, killing Alan Schwartz, 25, and James Shelifoe Jr.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC 10 - Ishpeming, MI

Firefighters from across Tennessee flocking to Gatlinburg to battle a growing firestorm couldn't be sure the fire hydrants they uncapped would provide any water. And within two hours of the mega wildfire reaching the city Nov. 28, the hydrants were running dry. "Water loss occurred in certain areas as early as 8:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

Communities just downstream of California’s Lake Oroville dam would not receive adequate warning or time for evacuations if the 770-foot-tall dam itself — rather than its spillways — were to abruptly fail, the state water agency that operates the nation’s tallest dam repeatedly advised federal regulators a half-decade ago.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sun

The son of Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks has filed a federal civil complaint against the City of Utica alleging the city violated federal and state anti-discrimination laws. On Dec. 2, John Brooks filed the federal civil complaint saying he was subjected to a hostile work environment at the Utica Fire Department — where he has been employed as a firefighter-paramedic since 2006 — because he requested an accommodation as a practicing Nazirite.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer Dispatch